Economist.com Cities Guide: Singapore Briefing - December 2005

News this month

Death in the morning

The Singapore gallows—the busiest in Asia—were in action again on December 2nd. At dawn, prison authorities broke the neck of Nguyen Tuong Van, a hapless drug mule caught in transit in 2002 with almost 400 grams of heroin. Usually there is little international fuss over the country's execution rate unless a prisoner is from another country. A 25-year-old Australian, Nguyen's final days on death row duly caused an uproar.

Canberra made repeated appeals for clemency, as did the Catholic Church. But Singaporean ministers insisted that Nguyen must be hanged, in line with the country’s strict drug laws. Local statutes mandate hanging for anyone arrested with more than 15 grams of heroin. Many in Australia were appalled that even after clemency for Nguyen was rejected, the Singapore authorities refused to bend the rules and allow his mother to hug him before he was killed. Instead they let the pair merely hold hands. John Howard, the Australian prime minister, told a Melbourne radio station that he believed the execution would “have an effect on the relationship [between Australia and Singapore] on a people-to-people, population-to-population basis.”

Fears for the future

The founding father of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, is adept at sounding the geopolitical alarm. Mr Lee’s latest cry came on December 5th, when he predicted problems in his region if Islamic extremists should prevail in Iraq. “If the jihadists win there, I’m in trouble here,” Mr Lee told Time magazine. “Their attitude would be ‘we’ve beaten the Russians in Afghanistan, we’ve beaten the Americans and the coalition in Iraq. There’s nothing we cannot do. We can fix South-East Asia too.’”

Singapore's authorities are acutely aware that they run a small, predominantly Chinese state surrounded by larger Muslim neighbours. They have voiced fear that their pro-American stance could encourage terror groups to strike targets in Singapore.

Religious education

Few catch a glimpse of the murky world of Singapore’s Internal Security Act, a statute that empowers the authorities to detain particularly troublesome people without trial. The media do not get access to the detention centre, and the suspects’ cases never come to open court. Since 2001, the act, which was inherited from the colonial era, has been used to hold around three dozen alleged Islamic terrorists.

So it was all the more intriguing to suddenly hear of the Islamic scholars who visit the detainees to “correct” their deviant viewpoints. “It is their ideology [that’s wrong]; they want to bring back a caliphate,” Ustaz Haji Ali Haji Mohamad told the Straits Times on November 25th. Some appear to respond to the teachers, who undertake the job for no pay. But others are unmoved; they “are still obstinate” and “hold on to inappropriate beliefs,” said Ustaz (an honorific meaning “Islamic teacher”) Ali, a member of the Singapore Islamic Scholars’ and Religious Teachers’ Association. It's safe to assume these recalcitrant prisoners will not be released any time soon.

Marginal profits

Singapore Airlines gets a new chairman on January 1st when Stephen Lee, a former head of the local ports group, takes the controls. But the final address from the departing boss, Koh Boon Kwee, left the group’s employees with much to ponder. Mr Koh said the airline had done well to weather the turbulence of recent years—especially SARS—but added that profit margins were still too slim for comfort.

In a surprisingly frank farewell message in the company’s internal magazine, Mr Koh said that to break even SIA needed to fill 70% of its seats—just below its current rate of 74%. The difference between those figures on a Boeing 747 jet is just 15 passengers. “That is why this industry is always balanced on a knife's edge,” said Mr Koh. “Just 15 people can make such a big difference on one flight!” Mr Lee will have his work cut out.

Putting the bare in cabaret

“Singapore” and “raunchy” are not words that go together. The city-state is legendarily prudish and has long banned printed pornography. So it is easy to understand why a converted warehouse by the Singapore River should be causing such a stir. On December 6th it became the home of the first Crazy Horse cabaret in Asia, and the women—wait for it—dance topless.

This is a joint venture between a local entertainment group and the cabaret of the same name that has been entertaining Paris audiences since 1951. Its arrival comes as senior government policymakers start a drive to give their strait-laced city more “buzz”. The aim is to bring greater life to Singapore’s stilted atmosphere and lure more tourists. A recent decision to allow a casino was part of the same push.

Catch if you can

December 2005

Chinese New Year Light Festival

January 7th—February 12th 2006

New Year is the most important festival in the Chinese lunar calendar. The holiday falls between January 29th and 31st, when Singapore will in effect shut down (business travellers beware).

The build-up starts well before that, though, with decorative lights and special stalls throughout Chinatown from January 7th. Look out for traditional delicacies, including barbecued sweet meats and assorted biscuits. The crowds are often vast, cheerful and loud. Travel to Chinatown MRT and head for the noise.

More from the Singapore cultural calendar