Economist.com Cities Guide: Singapore Briefing - May 2005

News this month

Net losses

Defamation lawsuits in Singapore usually involve ruling-party politicians and their opponents. But in May, a government agency used the threat of legal action to force a university student into shutting down his online journal or “blog”. Chen Jiahao, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, apologised for his “Caustic Soda” blog, which criticised Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*star). Mr Jiahao's web journal had gripes about the agency (which had awarded him an academic scholarship) and its chairman. A*star said the student's remarks went “way beyond fair comment”.

The agency's behaviour brought a rebuke from the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists, which accused A*star of using lawsuits to “chill commentary on the internet”. Reporters Without Borders, which ranks Singapore only one place ahead of Iraq in its worldwide press freedom index, said the case underlined the limits of free expression in the city-state.

Easing back

Singapore's trade-driven economy enjoyed a bumper year in 2004, expanding by 8.4%. But this year is proving tougher. The ministry of trade and industry revised its official growth forecast on May 17th, warning that the economy will probably grow between 2.5% and 4.5%. (Its earlier forecast was between 3% and 5%.) The principal culprit was a poor showing in the first quarter, when year-on-year growth was just 2.5%. Friedrich Wu, director of the ministry's economics division, told reporters that a weak first quarter made the original forecast “unrealistic”. The new estimate matches revised forecasts from private-sector economists.

Flying high

Singapore Airlines has announced a record annual profit and a joint venture in China. Chew Choon Seng, the airline's chief executive, said the company made S$1.39 billion ($840m) in the year to March 2005. Singapore's revenues climbed by 23% to S$12 billion (also a record) and passenger numbers climbed by one-fifth.

The carrier now plans to expand into China. It has joined forces with China Great Wall Industry, a state-owned trading company, to launch a new cargo carrier named Great Wall Airline. Based in Shanghai, it will begin flying to China and destinations in Europe and America in early 2006. But Mr Chew warned of “challenges ahead”. Rising fuel prices and fierce competition from low-cost airlines, such as Malaysia's AirAsia, mean that Singapore must stay alert.

Stark reckoning

A rare bout of protest against the execution of a Singaporean convict suggests a sliver of dissent against the city-state's death penalty. The convict was Shanmugam Murugesu, a 38-year-old man who was arrested in 2003 for possession of more than a kilogram of cannabis. Singapore's laws stipulate the death penalty for adults caught with over 500 grams of cannabis. Mr Shanmugam was hanged at dawn on May 13th, despite petitions for clemency.

Singapore has one of the highest execution rates worldwide: according to Amnesty International, the city-state has executed 400 people since 1991. During the run-up to Mr Shanmugam’s hanging, his two teenage sons, Gopalan and Krishnan, distributed leaflets in shopping areas, and anti-death penalty campaigners held a vigil—an act they claimed was unprecedented.

Drop the “lah”

Visitors to Singapore are often struck by the fact that such a modern city-state has its own creole. Singlish—short for Singapore English—blends the tongue of British colonisers with Chinese dialects and a smattering of Malay. Among its most common traits is the punctuating of sentences with a forceful “lah”, which carries no meaning, but adds emphasis.

Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore's Cambridge-educated prime minister, wants this practice to stop. He is among the officials embarking on the Speak Good English campaign, an annual event aimed at sharpening the country’s competitive edge. On May 13th, Mr Lee urged Singaporeans to speak in full sentences and refrain from using “lah”. He also lashed out at text messaging, claiming the truncated spellings used on mobile phones could cause written-language skills to become “too mutated”.

Catch if you can

June 2005

Zheng He: 600th Anniversary Celebrations

June 10th-September 11th 2005

For a brief period in the 15th century, China poured a huge amount of energy into its maritime explorations. This resulted in seven remarkable voyages led by Zheng He (1371-1433), a eunuch admiral who explored the South Pacific, Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Africa. To mark the 600th anniversary of his first voyage, Singapore is staging several events.

The most interesting and accessible of these is an exhibition along Marina Promenade, exploring a controversial theory advanced by Gavin Menzies, a historian. Mr Menzies claims that Zheng circumnavigated the globe and discovered America. His book, “1421: The Year China Discovered the World”, now dominates the shelves of many of Singapore's bookshops.

Marina Promenade. For more information, and details of other events, visit the festival's website.

More from the Singapore cultural calendar