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  • Writer's pictureJim Khong

Singapore and its social engineering


Singapore: the President is Malay Muslim; the Prime Minister is Chinese Christian; the Chief Justice is Indian Hindu

As with any other tourist cities, Singapore offers T-shirts that say "My mother went to Singapore and all I got was this lousy T-shirt”. But there is one T-shirt that is uniquely Singapore: it says "Singapore is a fine city”, followed by a list of fines that you would expect in Singapore for your little social infringements – littering, jaywalking, chewing gum, urinating in the lift, not flushing public toilets after use. The list goes on. You can get it online: It is something Singaore


Yes, this is common sight in Singapore lifts

The Singaporean government is one of those rare ones that does not pass a law they cannot implement. And implement the laws they do. The story goes that following complaints of urinating in elevators in Housing Development Board (‘HDB’) flats, urine sensors were installed in elevators after the appropriate by-laws were passed to fine urinating in elevators. Apparently, the first person to be fined was a terrified little boy, caught by waiting officers when the elevator doors open. Also in another HDB flat, following an incident where somebody was killed by garbage dropped from an upper floor, by-laws were passed and radio-equipped officers were on duty to identify the high-littering culprits and relay the information to a colleague waiting at the floor to issue an immediate fine.


Welcome to social engineering Singapore style also known as the Nanny State. Despite ridicule and the negative overtones, it has interestingly created a highly disciplined population that is desired by firms seeking a well-trained workforce, willing to do as they're told. Here are a few interesting social engineering initiatives in Singapore.


Managing inter-racial relationships

When Singapore became independent in 1965, it was still very much a country riven by interracial violence. Numerous racial riots have been erupting in Singapore, the last of which took place in July and September 1964, claiming some 36 lives. The 21 July riot was particularly significant, taking place during a procession for a Muslim religious festival. While there was obviously a background of an ideological rift between the Malay supremacist party ruling at the federal level and multi-racialism prevalent in Singapore, the official Singaporean narrative of racial differences being at the root of communal riots led to the declaration of 14 July as Racial Harmony Day, when every year, schools celebrate principles of multiculturalism and tolerance between races. It seems to have worked as there were no more deaths from inter-communal violence in Singapore since then.


Singapore showcase: a mixed-race minister with Chinese and Indian parentage

The Singapore government has also held strongly to the principles of non-discrimination and have tweaked the Constitution intelligently to reflect these principles, as discussed in an earlier article. In contrast to Malaysia, where the official narrative of the country being a Malay nation is not contested in the mainstream media, Singapore constantly experienced angst when discussing it's national identity. One recurring discussion centres around what the national dress of Singapore is and periodic competitions gave rise to different permutations of how the traditional garb of the three different races of Chinese, Malays and Indians could be combined to a single identifiably Singaporean national costume. Singapore is also proud of its mixed heritage and are always happy to parade foreign minister Vivian Balakrisnan, son of an Indian father & a Chinese mother to showcase what Singapore is all about.


Social housing with Singaporean characteristics

The government has also successfully broken up racial enclaves by allocating publicly-built housing rather than allowing the public to choose their own units, thus avoiding entire blocks being Malay or Indian ghettos and forcing everyone to have multi-racial neighbours. The HDB flats has been successful in not only providing decent housing for Singaporean residents but it is also considered the cornerstone of building a Singaporean non-racial society.



Social housing in Singapore: A HDB flat interior. Singaporean magazines are full of articles on how to renovate HDB flats

By the way, social housing in Singapore has been exceptionally successful, with HDB flats being built for sale rather than for rent. Today 90% of Singaporean citizens and permanent residents own their own home, many of whom entering the property ladder via the HDB flat. HDB flats are built to much better specifications than social housing in many other countries and indeed are comparable to mid-range private apartments in most other countries.


Central Provident Fund

In common with most Asian countries, Singapore does not operate a welfare state although the high-quality state-run education is largely free and government medical services are subsidised. Singapore and Malaysia both operate very similar state-run pension systems, though. In pension-speak, they are funded, defined-contributions schemes.



A CPF infographic

In both countries, there is a mandatory saving scheme for all employees, the Central Provident Fund and the Employees Provident Fund in Singapore and Malaysia respectively. A proportion of the monthly salary is paid into the fund as enforced savings, 37% in Singapore and 24% in Malaysia, with lower proportions for those working beyond retirement ages. In Singapore, this is made up of 20% deduction from the employee’s salary and 17% contribution from the employer. These contributions go into individual accounts of the employee and can be withdrawn only on retirement but specific accounts can be withdrawn earlier for medical treatment or to purchase a house.


The contributions are tax allowable and the returns are tax-free. Returns in Singapore have been 3.5%, well above above the fixed deposit rate of 2.5% in Singapore, pretty good considering the risk free nature of the investment. Returns are even higher in Malaysia. The funds in both countries are managed by independent boards that so far seems to be competent from a governance point of view. Furthermore, unlike western countries where future pension payments were really just a promise by governments with no guarantee that there will be sufficient funds when workers eventually retire, the funds in Singapore and Malaysia are backed by investments in shares and bonds valued at market rate. As such, workers in both countries have the assurance that there will be real money to withdraw when they retire.


Corruption

Following the heart wrenching break with Malaysia 1965, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew accentuated the break with Malaysia with the institution of the dual policies of meritocracy and no corruption. The former contrasts with the Malaysian system of government based on racial politics while the latter becomes one of the foundations of Singapore’s economic growth. In Singapore today, one would not think of offering bribes that has become so instinctive in most other Asian countries.


He was the CEO and later minister pioneering the HDB, the cornerstone of Singapore but his suicide note said he had to pay the price of his mistake, while protesting his innocence

One way that they are eliminated graft in government departments was to peg government salaries to the private sector, ensuring that there is little economic need for corruption. There is also zero tolerance for corruption and allegations are normally pursued pretty much relentlessly. In 1986, there was a case of a government minister who was alleged to have taken bribes - he took his own life the following month. There was only one other case, in the 70s, where the minister fled the country but returned to face the charges only after the funeral of Lee Kuan Yew, the Singapore strongman who founded the policy.


Law abiding

Singapore always have some social campaign on at any one time

The result of these policies is a population who is, among other things, eminently law-abiding. Singaporeans do not jaywalk. I have always been fascinated by Singaporeans continuing to stand at pedestrian crossings because the lights are red, even though there are no cars visible on either stretches of the road as far as the eye can see.


In Singapore, I am comfortable to leave my cars doors unlocked in the car park or have my laptop in full view in my parked car, as long as it is in view of the CCTV. Crime is low. Low to the point that the Singapore police had to run campaigns to persuade people to be alert about crime using the tagline Low crime doesn't mean no crime.


And the campaigns. There are campaigns all the time telling Singaporeans how to behave in order to ensure a harmonious society. It is all very Asian, I guess.


This is not to say that Singaporeans have changed their DNA. At heart many of them are still opportunistic law breakers. This is evident when Singaporeans drive over to Malaysia, where they encounter long stretches of motorway they never get in their country. Some Singaporeans do speed and break other traffic rules, legal laws or just plain road courtesy, because enforcement by Malaysian police is virtually non-existent. So, it would seem that the law-abiding nature of Singaporeans is due, at least in part, to strict enforcement in Singapore. Still, I must say that enough Singaporeans do abide by laws in itself and not due to enforcement. This gives hope that the wilder side of the Asian nature that treats laws as situational rather than absolute, can be tamed. Maybe Asians can one day be more like the Japanese or is that a dream too far?


Singaporean meritocracy


Meritocracy is a constant subject of debate in Singapore

While most of the narrative on meritocracy is really about promoting people on the basis of merit rather than race, meritocracy is also about seeking to do the best that you can for the job at hand. Attending courses in Singapore for me is very unlike attending courses in Malaysia, where I often sit and think that I can do better than the trainer. In Singapore I find myself having to do a lot of work just to keep up with my fellow attendees because they ask questions that I don't understand.


This sense of meritocracy drive Singaporeans to compete well in the international economic arena. I remember a survey done some two decades ago on the rudest city in the world. Of course that position was taken by New York City with Singapore and Kuala Lumpur coming second and third respectively. The Malaysian side was in denial, claiming bias and a flawed methodology. The Singaporean side responded with an anguished debate over the cause of this rudeness and the solution. Singaporeans understand that rudeness deters tourism and thus hit their pockets, whether or not courtesy as part of the personal value system. The will to be the best often trumps any personal pride.


Singapore is what it is today because of the vision of one man, who has built up a very successful Singapore through social engineering. But complain as they might that they are oppressed in a nanny state, I get the feeling that Singaporeans are content, nay proud, to live in one.










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