What makes a city exciting? How do we make Singapore the most exciting city in Asia by 2050?
Opportunity. In simplistic terms, economic opportunity. But it’s not just about jobs. It’s about wealth creation. The best people on the planet don’t just want to make money, they want to be where the action is. They want to help make the future happen. Singapore is naturally quite well-positioned for this, starting with its geography (nicely nestled in Southeast Asia, between India and China, this was a substantial part for much of its economic activity historically)
Narrative. Singapore has been clinging on to a specific postwar national narrative that’s been due for an update for probably 10+ years now. Who’s going to do it? This is the job of artists and visionaries, to imagine a compelling future, and to share it with the population.
Immigration. As a citizen, I believe that it’s quite self-evident that Singapore needs top talent to survive and thrive and compete on the global stage. I’m not so convinced, however, that our immigration authorities, etc have done a great job of bringing in the best people. And I don’t expect bureaucrats to do a great job of this. I think it takes individual greatness to attract individual greatness. So I will be making this one of my priorities in life.
Culture. This is one of Singapore’s weak points. Part of how we got to where we are was by suppressing culture in order to focus on economic growth. But this is something that I believe can change in a single generation if we gather enough of the right people to do the right work. We have the media tools we need.
Challenges:
The dominant criticism of Singapore, culturally, is that it’s sterile.