Three biggest challenges for Singapore.....

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

SINGAPORE: Enhancing the economy, the ageing population and maintaining a national identity are the three biggest challenges that Singapore faces over the next half-century, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

The immediate challenge over the next decade is getting the economy to the next level, he said in an interview published by Time magazine on Thursday (Jul 23).

"We are looking for a path which no country has yet found and we are not even an economy like the Japanese or Germans, or never mind the big power economy. So to get to the next level is a big challenge, if we don't get to the next level then we will have malaise and the angst, and even disillusionment which you see in many developed countries," he said.

In this time, the country's demographics will not have become a major issue - but it will be in a generation's time, on a 25-year timeframe, Mr Lee said.

If Singapore does not get the balance between its birthrate and immigration policies right, the country could end up in the same "tight spot" the Japanese currently face, he added.

But the key to keep Singapore successful in 2065 - 50 years from now, and a hundred years from Independence - is in maintaining a unique sense of national identity, he told Time.

"Before you can make any policies and get people to say 'I want to do this or the other', first, people must feel that we are Singaporeans and we want to be together and we are different from the others and we are special," Mr Lee said.

"And keeping that sense of unity and specialness over the long-term - I think it is critical and it is a very big challenge."

THE SINGAPORE APPROACH

Mr Lee said that the landmark of 50 years of Independence is a time of both celebration and soul-searching for Singapore.

"After 50 years we still have a strong consensus and we can celebrate the 50th anniversary together. For many countries, the 50th anniversary is a very thought-provoking time; I mean it is troubled because the starting premises of the country - the initial fervour, the ideals have been modified, the political consensus is no longer there," said the Prime Minister.

"The world has changed and them, the society has changed and they ask themselves 'What am I, why do I still exist?'"

Asked to define if there is a "Singapore model" of development, Mr Lee said there was not so much a model but an approach that Singapore has always taken: A pragmatic one based on looking for "solutions which work".

"You are talking about both economic development as well as social development, and you are talking about a society and a political system where we are trying to work towards a middle ground rather than to work towards division between either economic interest groups or racial groups or rich and poor or left- and right wing - or geographical divisions. This is one Singapore to a very considerable extent," he said.

"There is competition, there is opposition, they compete, sometimes they win seats, but basically most people benefit from the system and uphold the system."

- CNA/es


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