Economist.com Cities Guide: Singapore Briefing - August 2005

News this month

No contest

Singapore’s president, S.R. Nathan, said last month that he would welcome opponents in the election on August 27th, having been the sole candidate in 1999’s “race”. But though three men did apply to run for the presidency—a ceremonial but influential post—a government-appointed committee deemed each of them “ineligible” on August 13th. None met Singapore’s strict qualifications, which require a candidate to have been the chief executive of a large company or have held a senior government post.

Mr Nathan’s most serious opponent would have been Andrew Kuan, a former finance executive for a state-run industrial real-estate company. Mr Kuan had promised to make the presidency more transparent, claiming that his candidacy would test Singapore’s commitment to democratic principles. But the election committee quashed his bid after the state-linked media carried reports that were critical of his employment record. The committee’s rejection of all three contenders ensures that government-endorsed Mr Nathan, a former intelligence chief and diplomat, will serve a second six-year team.

Birthday message

Singapore turned 40 on August 9th, marking four decades since the end of its brief membership of the Malaysian Federation. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong used the occasion to celebrate the city-state’s progress since 1965 and call for further innovation.

In his National Day speech on August 8th, Mr Lee hailed Singapore's economic success. The economy grew by 4% in the first half of the year and is projected to expand between 3.5% and 4.5% over the full 12 months. But to maintain growth, Mr Lee urged continuing reform.
Although the government maintains a battery of social and political controls, since taking office last year Mr Lee has pushed to liberalise the city-state, by cutting taxes, allowing more foreign investment and legalising casinos.

Mr Lee also stressed the dangers of terrorism, calling on Singaporeans to “remain vigilant against threats to our security.” The next day, he joined other ministers at a glitzy parade to show off the city-state’s military muscle.

Troublesome foursome

Singapore authorities like to keep a tight rein on public protests—unauthorised gatherings of more than four people have long been banned. But officials faced an unusual challenge on August 11th, when four protesters collected outside the offices of the Central Provident Fund (CPF), the state’s compulsory pension scheme. The quartet, which included the sister of Chee Soon Juan, a prominent opposition figure, bore T-shirts and a placard calling for greater transparency at the CPF and other state agencies. Mr Chee stood nearby but did not join the group, contenting himself with selling copies of his book.

The gathering in the heart of the business district soon attracted police, some of whom arrived in riot gear. They ordered the four to disperse or face arrest, saying they were causing a “public nuisance”. (The law forbidding such a “nuisance” is a wide-ranging statute to maintain public order.) The protesters complied, giving up their T-shirts and placard.

Tick tock

Singapore Airlines (SIA) fiercely guards its reputation for offering first-class service and new planes. Managers of the state-owned carrier were thus dismayed by the failure of Airbus, a European plane manufacturer, to deliver its new A380 aircraft on time. “Airbus took quite a long time to admit that the A380 programme was running behind schedule”, Choon Seng Chew, SIA's chief executive, told a German magazine in early August.

SIA had planned to have the A380 in its fleet by next March, making the airline the first in the world to offer passenger flights on the new jumbo jet. But the aircraft will not be available until November 2006, and Mr Chew insists that compensation is due. “It's like a taxi ride”, he argued. “The longer the ride, the dearer it is. It will cost Airbus more for every month of delay.”

Eye in the sky

Efforts to protect the Strait of Malacca became more vigilant on August 2nd. Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia—the three states that border the vital shipping lane—agreed to deploy military surveillance aircraft over the strait from September. The move, which follows the introduction of joint naval patrols last year, is the latest attempt to protect the shipping lane from piracy. Government officials also worry that terrorists may target commercial ships, although some experts claim that this concern has been overblown.

Securing the strait, which links the Indian and Pacific oceans, is particularly important to Singapore. As the world’s busiest trans-shipment port, the city-state gets an important economic boost from maritime traffic.

Catch if you can

September 2005

Mid-Autumn Festival

September 4th-October 30th 2005

One of the Chinese calendar’s most celebrated events, this festival marks the gathering of the harvest. Families traditionally gather on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month to hang decorative lanterns and feast on “moon cakes”, pastries stuffed with a variety of fillings, usually sweet.

The best place to enjoy this in Singapore is with the crowds in the Chinatown district. Festivities include a street procession and the lighting of the lanterns on September 4th, and a special market between September 4th and 18th. The celebrations continue at Singapore’s main arts centre, Esplanade, which is holding a series of festival-related concerts on the weekends of September 9th and September 16th.

Esplanade—Theatres on the Bay, 1 Esplanade Drive, Singapore, 038891. See Esplanade’s website for details. For tickets, call +65 6828-8388. See also VisitSingapore for information about the festival.

More from the Singapore cultural calendar