DOCSLIB.ORG

IN the COMPANY of CITIZENS: the RHETORIC of SINGAPORE INC. by ROHINI SHASHIKIRAN SINGH DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfill

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
IN the COMPANY of CITIZENS: the RHETORIC of SINGAPORE INC. by ROHINI SHASHIKIRAN SINGH DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfill IN THE COMPANY OF CITIZENS: THE RHETORIC OF SINGAPORE INC. BY ROHINI SHASHIKIRAN SINGH DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2016 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor John Murphy, Chair Professor Cara Finnegan Professor David Tewksbury Associate Professor Ned O' Gorman Abstract The leaders of Singapore take great pride in the small republic's economic achievements. Given its economic success, prominence in international markets, and cultivation of the world's highest density of millionaires, it is unsurprising that the nation is often referred to as "Singapore Inc.," a metaphor depicting the country as a corporate enterprise. But what happens to the relationship between people and their government when citizens are cast as shareholders and employees, and the government the nation's expert managers? How do these groups talk to each other and what kinds of arguments do they use to negotiate public problems? In this dissertation, I address these questions by exploring the implications of a corporate constitution of the nation for public deliberation. In asking what it means to run a country like a company, I engage with the concept of neoliberalism: the “leakage” of economic rationalities into non-economic spheres. This dissertation is thus a project in examining how neoliberalism affects the conditions of political participation by transforming a political relationship between citizens and their government into an economic one between workers and CEOs. Through an analysis of the annual National Day Rally address delivered by Singapore’s Prime Ministers from 1960 to 2014 and two public controversies over immigration and censorship, I show how the government borrows the logic and language of the business world to set the terms of public discourse and how the people respond in ways that alternately resist and reinforce these norms. I conclude that rhetorical scholarship can benefit by drawing on concepts from organizational communication and that Singapore presents a unique case of neoliberalism that blends the liberal focus on individual endeavor with republican notions of sacrifice for a common goal. ii Acknowledgements Seven years ago, I stepped into a graduate seminar titled “Conceptual Criticism in Public Address.” I had signed up at the last moment and thus didn’t know that readings had been assigned for that first day. However, people were kind – Courtney Travers (then Caudle) shared her printouts with me and I sat in a kind of haze as John Murphy led us patiently through John F. Kennedy’s speech at American University. I remember dutifully jotting down notes such as “read Northrop Frye,” “check who Northrop Frye is” and “look up chiasmus (sp?).” Since then, I have been the recipient of many small and large acts of kindness from my colleagues and advisors at Illinois. Chief among them are my dissertation committee, headed by my advisor John Murphy whose steady hand, keen eye, and infinite patience are paralleled only by his warmth, humor, and stellar presidential impressions (we also talked about triadic repetition that first day). Cara Finnegan taught me the importance of engaging with primary texts closely and sensitively, be they photographs, essays on counter-publics, or National Day Rally speeches. As she said in a class on public sphere theory, “What Does The Text Say?” Ned O’Gorman took me on as a research intern when I was very green and gave me a front row seat into how a rhetorician combs through archival records and conceptualizes a large historical project. Dave Tewksbury gave me the chance as his teaching assistant to explore the history of mass media and seems to have discovered an unbeatable formula for how to be both authoritative and affable. I also thank my friends and family for putting up with many anguished discussions about Singapore, neoliberalism, and Midwest weather (No, Nikki Weickum, 50F is not “pleasant”). Marissa Lowe Wallace, Courtney Caudle Travers, and Natalie White have been stalwart supports through long chats and even longer conference presentations. Nikki Weickum is a delight who is equally able to conduct a conversation in person or via post-it notes left on your computer, and is one of the warmest people I am lucky to know. Tania Rozario has been a source of joy, advice, and excellent tea. She’s not half bad – for a Malaysian. Ada Fung Platt, my dearest friend, is an editor with a gifted way with words. Her love, counsel, and singular ability with a baking pan kept me going through college and graduate school. My husband Ben served on the front lines of this dissertation. He has listened to arguments, entered into discussions about the project, talked me back from deleting the whole thing, and humbled me with his kindness and faith in me. He’s also quite good with a quiche. Finally, my mother Glenda Singh, who uprooted her life to move to Singapore, who pursued and obtained a graduate degree so she could get a job in a new country, and who did all these things while looking after my family, bears the greatest thanks. Her hard work, selflessness, and love is a constant source of awe and if I become half the person she is, I’ll have really made something of myself. iii Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: THE NEOLIBERAL ISLAND .................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2: RALLYING THE NATION: THE CORPORATE METAPHOR IN NATIONAL DAY RALLY ADDRESSES, 1960-2014 .........................................................................38 CHAPTER 3: CONTESTING THE CORPORATE METAPHOR: AUTHENTICITY IN IMMIGRATION DEBATES .............................................................................................66 CHAPTER 4: WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? STRATEGIC AMBIGUITY IN PUBLIC POLICY ...........................................................................................................................103 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................138 APPENDIX A: MARKING CHANGE AND TURNING POINTS IN SINGAPORE'S NATIONAL DAY RALLY ADDRESSES, 1960-2014 ..............................................................160 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................161 iv 1 CHAPTER 1: THE NEOLIBERAL ISLAND Regimes around the world are under pressure to deliver more and cost less…To make government work in the 21st century requires the same basic "business plan" as in any other failing, but potentially still viable, enterprise. - The Atlantic, May 16, 20131 We market Singapore as a "product." To stay ahead of the competition we have to constantly innovate and enhance the Singapore product. - Economic Development Board, Singapore, 19942 The hysteria was palpable in the website Techcrunch's 2011 proclamation that "America is gripped by a new red menace and this time, it's not the commies – it's a sea of red ink." 3 Frustrated by reports of "abysmal fiscal neglect" in the United States government, or as the site termed it, the "pseudo-company in which we all essentially own shares," the writers declared that "if politicians reported to voters the way management reports to shareholders, no one would finish out their terms." The contention that business principles should shape government behavior persists not only in the U.S., where Bill Gates admonishes the government for following a "non-optimal path" that a normal business would avoid,4 but on the other side of the globe, where Singapore's Prime Minister tells the nation that Microsoft is "the kind of business 1. Eric Schnurer, "Government Should Run Like a Business—but Not in the Way You Think," The Atlantic, May 16, 2013, http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/government-should-run-like-a- business-but-not-in-the-way-you-think/275693/?single_page=true. 2. Economic Development Board, Economic Development Board Yearbook, Singapore, 1994. 3. Sarah Lacy, "Can America Function More Like a Fiscally Responsible Company? It’s up to us, the shareholders." Techcrunch, February 24, 2011, http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/24/can-america-function-more-like-a- fiscally-responsible-company-its-up-to-us-the shareholders/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrun ch%29. 4. Jessica Meyers, “Bill Gates on D.C.: 'You don’t run a business like this'" Politico, March 13, 2013, http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/bill-gates-on-dc-you-dont-run-a-business-like-this-88830.html. 2 which we want to be as Singapore."5 What remains a point of debate in the U.S. has long been a creed among Singapore's incumbent party: that the government should model itself after the private sector. As the Prime Minister's exhortation for Singapore to be Microsoft suggests, Singapore takes this reasoning so far that a private company has become not merely an operational heuristic for government but the basis of the nation's identity. This dissertation explores the implications of a corporate constitution of the nation for citizenship and public deliberation. Situating my study in Singapore between the years 1960 and 2014, I ask what citizenship -its practice in terms of political engagement and its meaning as a concept and status- becomes when a country is run like a company. In studying what happens when government is organized according to business principles,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Legal System of the Singapore's and Legal Information
    Final Report Legal system of Singapore and Legal Information related to Trade and Investment in Singapore Presented to Office of the Council of State By Thailand Development Research Institute July 2016 Research Team Dr. Boonwara Sumano Chenphuengpawn Project leader Dr. Deunden Nikomborirak Advisor Napanang Ek-Akara Legal specialist Weerawan Paibunjitt-aree Researcher Nisakorn Lertpatcharanun Researcher Siraporn Tooptian Secretary and Coordinator Table of Content Page Table of Content ................................................................................................................... i List of Tables and Figures ................................................................................................. iii Chapter 1 Singapore’s Legal System: An Overview ....................................................... 1-1 1.1 Brief history of Singapore’s law ............................................................................ 1-2 1.2 Legal system ......................................................................................................... 1-9 1.3 Source of Law .....................................................................................................1-13 1.4 Hierarchy of law ..................................................................................................1-15 1.5 Court system and law interpretation ...................................................................1-19 1.6 State of legal enforcement and its complication ................................................1-28 Conclusion.................................................................................................................1-31
    [Show full text]
  • World Service Listings for 4 – 10 July 2020 Page 1 of 15 SATURDAY 04 JULY 2020 Along the Rural Byways
    World Service Listings for 4 – 10 July 2020 Page 1 of 15 SATURDAY 04 JULY 2020 along the rural byways. It was a bone shaking experience. When India implemented a strict lockdown three months ago, thousands of migrant workers walked hundreds of miles on foot SAT 01:00 BBC News (w172x5nr3gjyqkr) Photo: Actor and television presenter Ada Afoluwake to reach home, as the cities where they worked shut shop. The latest five minute news bulletin from BBC World Service. Ogunkeye AKA Folu Storms Nearly seven million workers are estimated to have now Credit: Damilola Oduolowu-BBC returned to their native villages. SAT 01:06 Business Matters (w172x18t1d438kf) But this has led to a fresh crisis, as most are without any means Washington Redskins agree to review name SAT 03:50 Witness History (w3cszmv2) of livelihood. How South Africa banned skin-lightening creams The American football team has agreed to review its name While the government has announced schemes offering at least under pressure from sponsors. The name has long been seen by In 1990, South Africa became the first country in the world to 100 days of employment, and is trying to map workers’ skills to many as offensive, so why the change now? We speak to Mary ban skin-lightening creams containing the chemical compound rural-specific jobs, most labourers say they are yet to receive Emily O'Hara from Adweek. hydroquinone. For years the creams had caused an irreversible any tangible benefits. Meanwhile, businesses are reopening in form of skin damage called ochronosis for the black and Asian the cities, and facing the challenge of a missing labour pool.
    [Show full text]
  • The Development of Singapore Law: a Bicentennial Retrospective1
    (2020) 32 SAcLJ 804 (Published on e-First 8 May 2020) THE DEVELOPMENT OF SINGAPORE LAW: A BICENTENNIAL RETROSPECTIVE1 The present article reviews (in broad brushstrokes) the status of Singapore law during its bicentennial year. It is not only about origins but also about growth – in particular, the autochthonous or indigenous growth of the Singapore legal system (particularly since the independence of Singapore as a nation state on 9 August 1965). The analysis of this growth is divided into quantitative as well as qualitative parts. In particular, the former constitutes an empirical analysis which attempts – for the very first time − to tell the development of Singapore law through numbers, building on emerging techniques in data visualisation and empirical legal studies. Andrew PHANG Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Singapore. GOH Yihan Professor of Law, School of Law, Singapore Management University. Jerrold SOH Assistant Professor of Law, School of Law, Singapore Management University; Co-Founder, Lex Quanta. I. Introduction 1 The present article, which reviews (in broad brushstrokes) the status of Singapore law during its bicentennial year since the founding of Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819, is of particular significance as English law constitutes the foundation of Singapore law. The role of Raffles and his successors, therefore, could not have been more directly 1 All views expressed in the present article are personal views only and do not reflect in any way the views of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the Singapore Management University or Lex Quanta. Although this article ought, ideally, to have been published last year, the immense amount of case law that had to be analysed has led to a slight delay.
    [Show full text]
  • Singapore Media and Psychology
    Singapore Media and Psychology Dr Koong Hean Foo 18 Feb 2014 History of Singapore • 49 years since independence in 1965 • PAP (People’s AcEon Party) government • Few opposiEon (alternave) parEes • Strong-arm rule to consultave style • Many lessons learnt from history Media Development in Singapore • The media of Singapore play an important role in Singapore, one of the key strategic media centres in the Asia-Pacific region. • This is in line with the government's aggressive push to establish Singapore as a media hub in the world under the Media 21 plan launched in 2002. • Comprising the publishing, print, broadcasEng, film, music, digital, and IT media sectors • CollecEvely employed about 38,000 people and contributed 1.56% to Singapore's gross domesEc product (GDP) in 2001 with an annual turnover of S$10 billion. The industry grew at an average rate of 7.7% annually from 1990 to 2000, and the government seeks to increase its GDP contribuEon to 3% by 2012. Media Development in Singapore • The Ministry of Informaon, Communicaons and the Arts is the government's regulatory body that imposes and enforces regulaon over locally produced media content. It also decides on the availability of published media from abroad. • In 2012/13, Reporters Without Borders ranked Singapore 149 out of 179 countries in the Press Freedom Index, making it the worst country among other developed economies based on the Human Development Index, moving down 14 places from the 2011/2012 ranking. • Most of the local media are directly or indirectly controlled by the government through shareholdings of these media enEEes by the state's investment arm Temasek Holdings, and are o^en perceived as pro-government.
    [Show full text]
  • Jurong Fishery Port (P
    Jurong Fishery Port (p. 55) Jurong Railway (p. 56) Masjid Hasanah (p. 67) SAFTI (p. 51) Fishery Port Road A remaining track can be found at Ulu Pandan Park Connector, 492 Teban Gardens Road 500 Upper Jurong Road Established in 1969 at the former Tanjong Balai, this fishery between Clementi Ave 4 and 6 port handles most of the fish imported into Singapore and is also a marketing distribution centre for seafood. The Jurong Fishery Port and Market are open to public visits. Jurong Hill (p. 61) 1 Jurong Hill Following Singapore’s independence in 1965, the Singapore Opened in 1966, Jurong Railway was another means to Armed Forces Training Institute (SAFTI) was established to transport raw materials and export finished products from the provide formal training for officers to lead its armed forces. industrial estate. Operations ceased in the mid-1990s. Formerly located at Pasir Laba Camp, the institute moved to its current premises in 1995. Jurong’s brickworks industry and dragon kilns (p. 24) Following the resettlement of villagers from Jurong’s 85 Lorong Tawas (Thow Kwang Industry) and 97L Lorong Tawas surrounding islands in the 1960s, Masjid Hasanah was built Science Centre Singapore (p. 65) (Jalan Bahar Clay Studios), both off Jalan Bahar to replace the old suraus (small prayer houses) of the islands. 15 Science Centre Road With community support, the mosque was rebuilt and reopened in 1996. Nanyang University (p. 28) Currently the highest ground in Jurong, this hill provides a 12 Nanyang Drive (Library and Administration Building); vista of Jurong Industrial Estate. In the late 1960s, the hill was Yunnan Garden (Memorial); Jurong West Street 93 (Arch) transformed into a recreational space.
    [Show full text]
  • 4 Comparative Law and Constitutional Interpretation in Singapore: Insights from Constitutional Theory 114 ARUN K THIRUVENGADAM
    Evolution of a Revolution Between 1965 and 2005, changes to Singapore’s Constitution were so tremendous as to amount to a revolution. These developments are comprehensively discussed and critically examined for the first time in this edited volume. With its momentous secession from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965, Singapore had the perfect opportunity to craft a popularly-endorsed constitution. Instead, it retained the 1958 State Constitution and augmented it with provisions from the Malaysian Federal Constitution. The decision in favour of stability and gradual change belied the revolutionary changes to Singapore’s Constitution over the next 40 years, transforming its erstwhile Westminster-style constitution into something quite unique. The Government’s overriding concern with ensuring stability, public order, Asian values and communitarian politics, are not without their setbacks or critics. This collection strives to enrich our understanding of the historical antecedents of the current Constitution and offers a timely retrospective assessment of how history, politics and economics have shaped the Constitution. It is the first collaborative effort by a group of Singapore constitutional law scholars and will be of interest to students and academics from a range of disciplines, including comparative constitutional law, political science, government and Asian studies. Dr Li-ann Thio is Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore where she teaches public international law, constitutional law and human rights law. She is a Nominated Member of Parliament (11th Session). Dr Kevin YL Tan is Director of Equilibrium Consulting Pte Ltd and Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore where he teaches public law and media law.
    [Show full text]
  • Opening of the Australian Bar Association Biennial International Conference
    Opening of the Australian Bar Association Biennial International Conference 11 July 2019, Singapore "Convergence - the Courts of Singapore and Australia" The Hon Susan Kiefel AC Chief Justice of Australia The President of the Australian Bar Association Ms Jennifer Batrouney, His Excellency The High Commissioner to Singapore Bruce Gosper, Chief Justice Menon, other judicial colleagues past and present, members of the Australian Bar Association, ladies and gentlemen. My husband and I are pleased to be able to be here with you for this important Conference. I congratulate the ABA for holding its biennial conference in the Asia Pacific region of which Australia is most definitely a part. In recent times Australia has sensibly taken a more active role in the region. Its relationships with its neighbours have clearly strengthened. So too have the relationships between Australian courts and courts in the region. For some years now Australian Federal and State Supreme Courts have been involved in judicial education and training programmes in the region. In recent years members of the High Court have visited China, at the invitation of the President of the Supreme Court. They have attended the opening of the new premises of the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong. Its Chief Justices regularly attend the Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific which is held at the same time as the Law Asia Conference. It was last held in Japan and this November I will be attending the conference in Hong Kong. In September I will be returning to Singapore to speak to the Singapore Academy of Law.
    [Show full text]
  • Zerohack Zer0pwn Youranonnews Yevgeniy Anikin Yes Men
    Zerohack Zer0Pwn YourAnonNews Yevgeniy Anikin Yes Men YamaTough Xtreme x-Leader xenu xen0nymous www.oem.com.mx www.nytimes.com/pages/world/asia/index.html www.informador.com.mx www.futuregov.asia www.cronica.com.mx www.asiapacificsecuritymagazine.com Worm Wolfy Withdrawal* WillyFoReal Wikileaks IRC 88.80.16.13/9999 IRC Channel WikiLeaks WiiSpellWhy whitekidney Wells Fargo weed WallRoad w0rmware Vulnerability Vladislav Khorokhorin Visa Inc. Virus Virgin Islands "Viewpointe Archive Services, LLC" Versability Verizon Venezuela Vegas Vatican City USB US Trust US Bankcorp Uruguay Uran0n unusedcrayon United Kingdom UnicormCr3w unfittoprint unelected.org UndisclosedAnon Ukraine UGNazi ua_musti_1905 U.S. Bankcorp TYLER Turkey trosec113 Trojan Horse Trojan Trivette TriCk Tribalzer0 Transnistria transaction Traitor traffic court Tradecraft Trade Secrets "Total System Services, Inc." Topiary Top Secret Tom Stracener TibitXimer Thumb Drive Thomson Reuters TheWikiBoat thepeoplescause the_infecti0n The Unknowns The UnderTaker The Syrian electronic army The Jokerhack Thailand ThaCosmo th3j35t3r testeux1 TEST Telecomix TehWongZ Teddy Bigglesworth TeaMp0isoN TeamHav0k Team Ghost Shell Team Digi7al tdl4 taxes TARP tango down Tampa Tammy Shapiro Taiwan Tabu T0x1c t0wN T.A.R.P. Syrian Electronic Army syndiv Symantec Corporation Switzerland Swingers Club SWIFT Sweden Swan SwaggSec Swagg Security "SunGard Data Systems, Inc." Stuxnet Stringer Streamroller Stole* Sterlok SteelAnne st0rm SQLi Spyware Spying Spydevilz Spy Camera Sposed Spook Spoofing Splendide
    [Show full text]
  • Acquisitions, Mergers, Joint-Ventures, Alliances, Partnerships and Other Business Combinations, a Study of TATA Sons, Their Jour
    IARJSET ISSN (O) 2393-8021, ISSN (P) 2394-1588 International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology Vol. 8, Issue 8, August 2021 DOI: 10.17148/IARJSET.2021.8867 Acquisitions, Mergers, Joint-Ventures, Alliances, Partnerships and other Business Combinations, a study of TATA Sons, their journey, impacts and strategies for the Airline Industry Shaheed Khan1, Freeda Maria Swarna M2, R. Kannan3, S. Praveen Kumar3 Research Scholar, Centre for Tourism and Hotel Management, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India1 Research Scholar, Centre for Tourism and Hotel Management, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India2 Professor and Director, Centre for Tourism and Hotel Management, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India 3 Assistant Professor, Centre for Tourism and Hotel Management, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India4 Abstract: Aviation Industry has held its stead and ensured corporate business across the world. India saw the growth of airlines from the beginning of the twentieth century albeit, in the private sector, India also witnessed Nationalization followed by privatization. With a multitude of domestic and global players, aviation in India grew leaps and bounds. Many private airlines wound up on various accounts, many were born as well. The Government of India ensured that Air India and its subsidiaries which were successful till the 1970s and were losing steam on account of bureaucratic and political apathy was funding the behemoth, which turned out to be a loss-making enterprise. The world of aviation has seen plenty of Acquisitions, Mergers, Joint-ventures, Alliances, Partnerships and other business combinations as researched and studied by Prof. Benjamin Gomes-Casseres in his Remix Strategy. The Research paper is a work in progress which is focusing on the dynamics of what the TATA Sons are doing to ensure a revert back to the business that they originally founded in 1932.
    [Show full text]
  • 1,L ,, Jxs |.Fix 5!Ii-______=Ie.R
    Mil:tlllwxCIf 'IE_'1,l ,, jXS |.fiX 5!ii-__________=ie.r ... .... ... ............... % RMi iJE; _ _____ 1 SE.DI rl n= D~~~~~~~~9 111 Public Disclosure Authorized EaiMi .>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I'~ ~ GJlN~ l f ______1..MFg EIIn~~~~~g-km. ...... w DI[, t_i _ :... _ _ _,, 3,i,, _i ii_i4i_. Ji T T. Public Disclosure Authorized iS~' ~ ~ I I' ' I A' 4,,,,1,,',I |n~~1 A _ _~ -- =V Public Disclosure Authorized strsjsi li l1le > flill julj 11' ; 1Ci1:llil 3E 81 gt¢W4t jtlu l--:-:------------ .. ~ ~ . = ~1 _ .. _ .. ._ ........................UU....N...IIEIHI. _=__ft!JII!tl lEIIIUh_.,,,_B=I,iJJIIhUEIlJU ,__=IIII3EUIUIIIflII!1I.................................z==_ Public Disclosure Authorized ,~ _.=~ ~ _ _ _== = ,, THE LESSONS OF EAST ASIA Singapore Public Policyand Economic Development Teck-Wong Soon C. Suan Tan The World Bank Washington, D.C. Copyright © 1993 The International Bankfor Reconstruction and Development/THEWORLD BANK 1818H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C 20433,U.S.A. All rights reserved Manufachtred in the United States of America First printing October 1993 The-findings,interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank,to its affiliatedorganizations, or ;,o members of its Board of ExecutiveDirectors or the countries they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the acCuracyof the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibilitywhatsoever for any consequenceof their use. Ary maps that accompany the text have been prepared solely for the convenienceof readers; the designations and presentation of material in them do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Bank,its affiliates,or its Board or member countries concerng the legal status of any country, tenitory, city, or area or of the authonrtes thereof or concerningthe delimitati of its boundaries or its national affiliation.
    [Show full text]
  • Planning for Tourism: Creating a Vibrant Singapore
    Planning for Tourism: Creating a Vibrant Singapore A common misconception is that tourism policy primarily focuses on promotion and marketing campaigns. While these activities are essential, another important but STUDIES URBAN SYSTEMS sometimes overlooked aspect is how creative city planning can support tourism promotion, and consequently, how the needs and goals of tourism policy can influence development and planning decisions. In Singapore, tourism has shaped the built environment, influenced conservation and heritage policies, and enhanced quality of life for Singapore’s residents. The industry has also helped to anchor Singapore’s global reputation and attractiveness as a place to conduct business, study and live. a Vibrant Singapore Planning for Tourism: Creating This book will examine how Singapore’s tourism strategies Planning and city planning support each other. It should be noted that even though the Singapore Tourism Board does for Tourism: not typically own the tourism assets in Singapore, it nonetheless plays an integral part in aligning government agencies, private firms and civil society to Singapore’s Creating long-term tourism plans. a Vibrant “ No one ever dreamed tiny Singapore could accommodate millions of tourists. Yet, we made it happen. Singapore We did not build castles in the sky. Based on calibrated decisions, made hand in hand with the urban planners with inputs from private sector developers, we built what we needed. The pages of this book share how it all happened.” Pamelia Lee, Former Senior Consultant to
    [Show full text]
  • UNDP and the Making of Singapore's Public Service
    UNDP and the making of Singapore’s Public Service Lessons from Albert Winsemius © 2015 UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence # 08-01, Block A, 29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, 119620 Singapore UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sus- tain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in more than 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. The Global Centre for Public Service Excellence is UNDP’s cata- lyst for new thinking, strategy and action in the area of public service, promoting innovation, evidence, and collaboration. Disclaimer The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations, including UNDP, or the UN Member States. Cover images Vanessa Leong Yi Tian Printed using 55% recycled, 45% FSC-certified paper. Photo: UNDP GCPSE Contents Foreword i Introduction 1 1. The Singapore that was 2 2. Earlier international assessment and reports 3 3. Why Winsemius? 5 4. The EPTA / UNDP Mission – Getting the team right 8 5. The Mission’s work in Singapore 10 6. Impact of the EPTA / UNDP Mission’s report 14 7. The Common Market and the union with Malaysia 17 8. Becoming the “global city” 20 9. In Winsemius’ view – Five phases of Singapore’s growth 24 10. The ‘UN-orthodox’ economist 30 11. UNDP and the making of Singapore’s public service 35 12.
    [Show full text]