Economist.com Cities Guide: Singapore Briefing - August 2005

News this month

After the bombs

Singapore was jolted by the July 7th terrorist strikes on London’s transport system, which killed 56 people. Although no Singaporean nationals appear to have died in the four blasts, the city-state’s government remains concerned about its own vulnerability to attack. Some worry that the government's support for America's so-called “war on terror” makes the non-Muslim city-state a potential target. Since the attack on the World Trade Centre in 2001, Singapore has detained dozens of local militants supposed to have links to al-Qaeda.

After the first round of London bombings, one of which took place on a bus, Yeo Cheow Tong, the transport minister, said officials might install surveillance cameras in all buses. The technology is already used on most local underground trains. Mr Yeo also announced that underground trains would soon have a dedicated police unit. “Singapore is not going to collapse because of one attack,” he said. “But how we react, how resilient we are, will impress on the rest of the world and investors that Singapore is the right place to be in the long term.”

Poll hopes

Few get excited over elections in Singapore, as the People's Action Party (PAP) can be relied on to sweep the board. And it should be business as usual in this year's presidential poll, which must be held by August 31st. The incumbent, S.R. Nathan, a firm PAP backer, announced on July 12th that he would run for a second six-year term. The president has a largely ceremonial role, although he is required to keep an eye on the handling of Singapore's financial reserves, and to ratify senior government appointments.

Nominations have yet to close and an election date has not been set, so Mr Nathan, 81, may still face opposition. But eligible candidates must either have served in elected office or headed a company worth more than S$100m ($59m). Mr Nathan wants a fight this time, after a walkover in 1999. “It will be better,” he said. “Some people feel that I am not elected properly.”

Best buddies

Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s prime minister, signed a new strategic partnership with America during his visit to Washington in July. The so-called Strategic Framework Agreement cements Singapore's status as a good friend of Washington, but stops short of declaring it a treaty ally. This means that relations are in fine fettle, but the city-state is not legally obliged to come to Washington's aid—or vice versa—should this be required.

In truth the new deal mimics the states' existing relationship. This was just “more of the same”, according to a senior American official in Singapore. The bond was in evidence early this year, when American forces used Singapore as a base for bringing in relief after the tsunami in December. American planes and warships regularly call into Singapore, from where Washington projects its power into South-East Asia and beyond.

Uncharitable behaviour

A high-profile court case, an outpouring of public anger, resignations and recriminations: such events, common in many countries, are less so in tightly controlled Singapore. But a startling courtroom showdown in July involving top political figures has been the talk of the city-state. T.T. Durai, the boss of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), the country's largest charity, sued the Straits Times, a newspaper, for libel after a 2004 report that he had installed a gold-plated tap in his workplace bathroom.

After two days in the witness box, Mr Durai withdrew the lawsuit on July 12th. Under cross-examination, he admitted he was paid S$600,000 a year and had been less than honest about how many patients the NKF was treating. In response to public anger, he quit his post two days later, and the group's board also resigned. Goh Chok Tong, a senior minister, was then forced to defend his wife, an NKF patron, who had described Mr Durai's pay as “peanuts”.

The start of a beautiful friendship?

Relations between the national carriers of Singapore and Australia have been rather flighty recently. Canberra angered Singapore Airlines (SIA) in mid-June when it quashed the carrier's wish to fly from Australia's east-coast cities to the United States. So it was somewhat surprising, one week later, to hear the Australian prime minister, John Howard, and the trade minister, Mark Vaile, suggesting that Qantas, Australia’s national airline, and SIA might be interested in merging. This Australian salvo was followed on July 10th by a similar recommendation from Singapore. “I think we will encourage them to actively talk to each other,” said the transport minister, Yeo Cheow Tong.

Qantas executives are known to want to merge with another carrier by 2010, despite Australian regulations about foreign ownership that bar such a union. Qantas and SIA have been talking this year about sharing costs, especially for the giant Airbus A380, which both will soon use. But all the cosy talk has unsettled SIA's boss, Chew Choon Seng. “I had the sense of being told that I was going to get married and I didn't know about it,” he said.

Catch if you can

August 2005

“Betrayal”

August 18th-September 10th 2005

In August, the Singapore Repertory Theatre will stage an adaptation of Harold Pinter's “Betrayal”, a tale of love and deception that ends unexpectedly. The play's chronology is inverted, starting with a pained meeting between two ex-lovers and ending nine years earlier, when the pair first meet and start their adulterous liaison. Shabana Azmi, one of India’s leading actresses, stars.

Singapore Repertory Theatre, DBS Arts Centre, 20 Merbau Rd, Singapore 239035. See the SRT website for details. For tickets, call +65 6348-5555, or visit Sistic's website.

More from the Singapore cultural calendar