WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.740 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today, our mission 00:00:02.740 --> 00:00:05.719 is to really get under the skin of one of the 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:08.599 most, well, fascinating geopolitical stories 00:00:08.599 --> 00:00:10.339 out there. We're talking about Singapore, often 00:00:10.339 --> 00:00:12.880 called the Little Red Dot. Exactly. Yeah. How 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:15.619 does this tiny island with basically no natural 00:00:15.619 --> 00:00:19.800 resources become this absolute global economic 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:23.079 giant? And, you know, such a unique political 00:00:23.079 --> 00:00:26.699 entity as well. It's a fantastic question. Because 00:00:26.699 --> 00:00:28.600 it's not just about getting rich quick. It's 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:31.940 this incredible case study and intense strategic 00:00:31.940 --> 00:00:34.859 planning. They really turn their constraints, 00:00:35.100 --> 00:00:38.640 geography, politics, history into advantages. 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:40.399 Yeah. And just to give you a sense of what we're 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:42.340 dealing with here, let's kick off with some facts 00:00:42.340 --> 00:00:44.600 that really highlight how unusual Singapore is. 00:00:44.700 --> 00:00:47.240 Okay. Geographically, think about this. It's 00:00:47.240 --> 00:00:50.140 just one degree north of the equator. Tiny, tropical, 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:52.119 kind of vulnerable, you'd think. Right. But then 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:53.939 you look at the economics, the wealth is just, 00:00:54.020 --> 00:00:55.979 well, staggering. Yeah, the purchasing power 00:00:55.979 --> 00:00:58.920 parity adjusted GDP per capita. It's estimated 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:02.420 over $156 ,000 for 2025. Which puts it right 00:01:02.420 --> 00:01:04.819 near the very top globally, way ahead of many 00:01:04.819 --> 00:01:06.680 bigger countries that are packed with resources. 00:01:07.319 --> 00:01:10.620 And in terms of stability, it's kind of rock 00:01:10.620 --> 00:01:13.299 solid in its region. Singapore is the only Asian 00:01:13.299 --> 00:01:16.120 country with that top AAA sovereign credit rating 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:19.000 from all the big agencies. That's a huge signal 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:22.180 to global finance, reliability. Exactly. But 00:01:22.180 --> 00:01:24.040 what's really interesting, I think, is the system 00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:27.379 behind that AAA rating. You usually associate 00:01:27.379 --> 00:01:30.439 that rating with, you know, totally free market, 00:01:30.540 --> 00:01:34.019 hands -off economies. But Singapore, it's this 00:01:34.019 --> 00:01:37.239 hyper -capitalist engine, sure, but built on 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:40.219 a foundation of really significant state intervention. 00:01:40.780 --> 00:01:43.319 Which brings us to maybe the most striking contrast, 00:01:43.579 --> 00:01:45.859 the one that really sums up the summer poor model. 00:01:45.980 --> 00:01:48.040 Good on. It's always ranked as one of the world's 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:49.959 most expensive cities to live in, right? Often 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:52.040 number one. Yeah, notoriously expensive. Yet 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:54.500 the homeownership rate is something like 88%. 00:01:54.500 --> 00:01:57.370 It's incredible. How does that even work? Well, 00:01:57.430 --> 00:01:59.390 and this is the key part. Almost 80 percent, 00:01:59.510 --> 00:02:02.969 78 .7 percent to be exact, live in public housing. 00:02:03.549 --> 00:02:05.930 Subsidized housing run by the H -E -B, the Housing 00:02:05.930 --> 00:02:08.569 and Development Board. Ah, OK. So the state provides 00:02:08.569 --> 00:02:11.969 that core stability. Precisely. Which then kind 00:02:11.969 --> 00:02:14.509 of frees people up to compete in this really 00:02:14.509 --> 00:02:18.330 intense, expensive, globalized economy. It's 00:02:18.330 --> 00:02:22.419 a tradeoff. A very deliberate compromise that's 00:02:22.419 --> 00:02:24.919 central to understanding it all. Okay. So to 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:27.620 really grasp this modern super pragmatic state, 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:29.879 we need to rewind a bit. Look at its history. 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:32.560 Even the name itself, Singapore, the English 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:34.919 name. Yeah. It's just an anglicized version of 00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:37.360 the Malay name, Singapura. Right. And Singapura 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:40.120 takes us back into ancient history, the Buddhist 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:43.060 culture, actually. It comes from Sanskrit, Sihapura. 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:47.180 Lion City. Or a lion fortress. The lion, I know, 00:02:47.219 --> 00:02:49.560 was a big symbol of power, protection, royalty 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:51.819 across Southeast Asia back then. And there's 00:02:51.819 --> 00:02:54.400 that legend, isn't there, about the naming? Yeah, 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:56.860 the story goes that Sang Nala Utama, a Sumatran 00:02:56.860 --> 00:02:59.560 prince or Raja from the 13th century, landed 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:02.199 there after a storm. Okay. And he supposedly 00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:04.860 saw this strange, impressive animal he thought 00:03:04.860 --> 00:03:07.300 was a lion. Now, historians are pretty clear 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:09.060 there weren't actually lions native to Singapore. 00:03:09.400 --> 00:03:13.280 Okay. Minor detail. Right. But whether it was 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:16.879 zoologically accurate or not, the name Singapura, 00:03:17.020 --> 00:03:20.879 Lion City stuck. And it really set a tone, didn't 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:23.400 it, for how the island saw itself. But it had 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:25.319 names before that too, right? It wasn't unknown? 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:28.379 Oh, definitely. There are Javanese records from 00:03:28.379 --> 00:03:31.800 1365 that call it Temasek. That might mean something 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:34.300 like sea town. Which makes sense, given its location. 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:36.979 Exactly. Reinforces that it was always about 00:03:36.979 --> 00:03:39.620 maritime trade. And the Chinese knew it, too, 00:03:39.699 --> 00:03:42.780 as Pu Luo Zhong, which was basically their way 00:03:42.780 --> 00:03:45.159 of writing Pulao Zhong. Pulao Zhong. Yeah, it 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:47.000 means island at the end of a peninsula. Pretty 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:48.979 straightforward description. So these names all 00:03:48.979 --> 00:03:51.699 point to the same thing. It's geography. Right 00:03:51.699 --> 00:03:53.879 there at that critical choke point for trade 00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:55.879 routes between the Indian Ocean and the South 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:58.680 China Sea. Always important. Always understood, 00:03:58.979 --> 00:04:01.509 yeah. But it really... exploded onto the world 00:04:01.509 --> 00:04:03.969 scene in 1819. That's when Sir Stanford Raffles 00:04:03.969 --> 00:04:06.129 showed up. Representing the British Empire. Correct. 00:04:06.330 --> 00:04:09.189 And Raffles immediately saw the potential for 00:04:09.189 --> 00:04:12.069 an entrepot, you know, a freeport, a place where 00:04:12.069 --> 00:04:13.849 goods could be traded back and forth without 00:04:13.849 --> 00:04:16.889 heavy taxes. And he set one up. He did. And the 00:04:16.889 --> 00:04:19.970 change was incredibly fast, driven purely by 00:04:19.970 --> 00:04:22.329 commerce. The population figures from that time 00:04:22.329 --> 00:04:24.990 are just wild. Before Raffles, maybe a thousand 00:04:24.990 --> 00:04:27.629 people, mostly local Malays. Yeah, very small. 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:31.360 But the Freeport was like a magnet. Huge numbers 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:34.480 of migrants poured in looking for work, mostly 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:37.600 from southern China. So by 1860, what, something 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:39.860 like 80 ,000 people? Before 80 ,000, yeah. It 00:04:39.860 --> 00:04:42.319 completely changed the island's makeup almost 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:44.540 overnight. Suddenly it's cosmopolitan, multicultural, 00:04:44.779 --> 00:04:47.600 but also, you know, setting the stage for future 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:49.839 social complexities. And the British cemented 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:52.279 its strategic value militarily, too, didn't they, 00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:54.439 with the naval base? Oh, absolutely. The Singapore 00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:57.759 naval base. Finished in 1938. It was massive. 00:04:57.959 --> 00:04:59.980 Churchill called it the Gibraltar of the East. 00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:02.480 Meant to be this symbol of untouchable British 00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:04.939 power in Asia. Which makes what happened next 00:05:04.939 --> 00:05:08.360 even more shocking. The fall in 1942 to the Japanese. 00:05:08.740 --> 00:05:11.339 A huge national trauma you can imagine. The speed 00:05:11.339 --> 00:05:14.100 and scale of the defeat. It was stunning. Around 00:05:14.100 --> 00:05:17.120 60 ,000 British, Australian, and Indian troops 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:19.899 surrendered to a smaller Japanese force. Churchill 00:05:19.899 --> 00:05:23.329 himself called it. What was it? The worst disaster 00:05:23.329 --> 00:05:25.670 and largest capitulation in British history. 00:05:25.829 --> 00:05:28.990 Wow. So it wasn't just a military loss. No, it 00:05:28.990 --> 00:05:31.310 shattered the myth of British imperial power. 00:05:31.730 --> 00:05:34.449 For the local population, seeing the Union Jack 00:05:34.449 --> 00:05:37.269 lowered, that was profound. And the Japanese 00:05:37.269 --> 00:05:40.449 occupation itself. Brutal. They renamed it Saonan 00:05:40.449 --> 00:05:43.490 II, Light of the South. But it was a dark period, 00:05:43.689 --> 00:05:46.310 especially the Suk Ching Massacre. What was that? 00:05:46.470 --> 00:05:49.389 A systematic purge targeting ethnic Chinese perceived 00:05:49.389 --> 00:05:52.709 as hostile to Japan. The estimates vary widely, 00:05:52.730 --> 00:05:55.089 but thousands, possibly tens of thousands, were 00:05:55.089 --> 00:05:57.589 killed. This experience, this vulnerability, 00:05:57.810 --> 00:05:59.529 it burned itself into the collective memory. 00:05:59.670 --> 00:06:03.370 The need for self -reliance, self -defense, that 00:06:03.370 --> 00:06:05.629 came directly from this period. So after the 00:06:05.629 --> 00:06:07.949 war, things didn't just snap back to normal. 00:06:08.149 --> 00:06:11.199 Far from it. The recovery was tough. Infrastructure 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.800 destroyed, crime up, lots of labor strikes, food 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:17.779 shortages. And Britain, having failed to defend 00:06:17.779 --> 00:06:20.319 Singapore, didn't look like the reliable protector 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:23.360 anymore. This really fueled the drive for more 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:25.360 autonomy for self -government. Which eventually 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:27.180 led to the rise of the People's Action Party, 00:06:27.339 --> 00:06:30.819 the PAP. Right. And the PAP, led by Lee Kuan 00:06:30.819 --> 00:06:34.040 Yew, initially saw the solution to Singapore's 00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:36.439 economic problems, especially high unemployment, 00:06:36.779 --> 00:06:39.420 in merging with its neighbors. Joining the Federation 00:06:39.420 --> 00:06:42.079 of Malaya. which became Malaysia. That was in 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:45.199 1963. Yeah, the thinking was they needed access 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:47.959 to a larger common market to survive economically. 00:06:48.339 --> 00:06:50.180 But that didn't last long, did it? Less than 00:06:50.180 --> 00:06:52.680 two years. It was a really volatile mix. Deep 00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:55.259 ideological clashes between the PAP, which was 00:06:55.259 --> 00:06:57.620 quite socialist and highly organized, and the 00:06:57.620 --> 00:06:59.779 Malay nationalist leadership in Kuala Lumpur. 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:02.279 Plus economic issues. Big time. Singapore faced 00:07:02.279 --> 00:07:04.720 trade restrictions. And critically, there was 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:07.579 serious communal tension. The race riots in 1964 00:07:07.579 --> 00:07:10.199 were particularly bad. Very bloody. So the whole 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:12.980 thing just fell apart. It became completely unworkable. 00:07:13.100 --> 00:07:15.500 The Malaysian prime minister at the time, Tunku 00:07:15.500 --> 00:07:18.100 Abdul Rahman, essentially decided Singapore had 00:07:18.100 --> 00:07:21.100 to go. He pushed for expulsion through the Malaysian 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:23.279 parliament. So Singapore didn't choose independence 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:25.480 exactly? No, it was kicked out. The vote in the 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:28.300 Malaysian parliament was 126 to 0 for separation, 00:07:28.660 --> 00:07:31.939 August 9th, 1965. That must have been terrifying. 00:07:32.139 --> 00:07:34.439 Absolutely. There's famous footage of Lee Kuan 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:37.040 Yew crying on television when announcing it. 00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:39.790 Suddenly, Singapore is on its own. Independent, 00:07:39.870 --> 00:07:43.149 yes, but tiny. No resources, no real military, 00:07:43.329 --> 00:07:46.240 no common identity yet. Survival wasn't guaranteed. 00:07:46.360 --> 00:07:49.480 It required something extraordinary. OK, so 1965 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:52.959 independence, but forced independence. No resources, 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:55.800 no natural hinterland surrounded by potentially 00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:58.500 difficult neighbors. How on earth did they go 00:07:58.500 --> 00:08:01.060 from that point to becoming an Asian tiger? Well, 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:03.779 the strategy was incredibly focused and frankly, 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:06.339 quite ruthless. It was all about export oriented 00:08:06.339 --> 00:08:08.839 industrialization. Go out and aggressively court 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:11.240 foreign investment. Build factories, create jobs. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:15.069 Exactly. And it worked spectacularly. well in 00:08:15.069 --> 00:08:17.050 that first phase. They averaged something like 00:08:17.050 --> 00:08:22.350 8 % real GDP growth per year right up until the 00:08:22.350 --> 00:08:24.750 late 90s. Just phenomenal. But they didn't just 00:08:24.750 --> 00:08:26.750 stick with that, did they? They evolved. That's 00:08:26.750 --> 00:08:28.850 the key thing about Singapore's strategic agility. 00:08:29.189 --> 00:08:31.990 By the 1980s, the leadership realized, OK, we 00:08:31.990 --> 00:08:33.970 can't keep competing on cheap labor forever. 00:08:34.169 --> 00:08:35.929 Other countries are catching up. So they needed 00:08:35.929 --> 00:08:38.519 to move up the value chain. Precisely. A very 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:41.960 deliberate pivot towards high technology, high 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:44.919 value added industries. Like what specifically? 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:47.740 Things like petrochemicals, advanced electronics, 00:08:47.860 --> 00:08:50.700 and crucially, semiconductor manufacturing, wafer 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:53.019 fabrication. This wasn't accidental. It involved 00:08:53.019 --> 00:08:55.960 huge state investment in education and infrastructure 00:08:55.960 --> 00:08:58.240 to support these sectors. And did that pay off? 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:00.860 Massively. Today, just the semiconductor industry 00:09:00.860 --> 00:09:03.620 alone makes up about 7 % of Singapore's entire 00:09:03.620 --> 00:09:06.559 GDP. It's a cornerstone of their modern economy. 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:09.190 Wow. seven percent from just semis. So beyond 00:09:09.190 --> 00:09:11.250 high tech manufacturing, what are the other pillars? 00:09:11.470 --> 00:09:14.149 You've got three main engines, really. Financial 00:09:14.149 --> 00:09:16.370 services. It's the sixth largest financial center 00:09:16.370 --> 00:09:18.789 in the world now. Then there's logistics, which 00:09:18.789 --> 00:09:21.769 we'll definitely get into. And oil refining and 00:09:21.769 --> 00:09:23.529 trading. Oil refining. I didn't realize that 00:09:23.529 --> 00:09:26.029 was so big. Oh, yeah. It's the third largest 00:09:26.029 --> 00:09:29.240 oil refining and trading hub globally. Plus, 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:31.360 they're huge in building oil rigs and ship repair. 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:34.399 It's all about sophisticated, high -value industrial 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:37.080 services. That's how they command premium prices. 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:40.240 And all this economic activity is totally intertwined 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:42.879 with being this massive global hub, right? For 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:46.440 traffic, for trade. Absolutely inseparable. Let's 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:48.830 start with air. Changing airport. It's not just 00:09:48.830 --> 00:09:50.610 an airport. It's like a whole city dedicated 00:09:50.610 --> 00:09:53.370 to aviation. Connecting Singapore to, what, over 00:09:53.370 --> 00:09:56.409 300 cities? Yeah. The network is vast. And it's 00:09:56.409 --> 00:09:58.470 consistently ranked the world's best airport. 00:09:58.629 --> 00:10:01.730 It got the top spot again in 2023. And the airline, 00:10:01.970 --> 00:10:05.149 Singapore Airlines. Also top tier. Skytrax, world's 00:10:05.149 --> 00:10:07.730 best airline winner. It's like 12 times. It's 00:10:07.730 --> 00:10:10.629 all part of this national obsession with quality, 00:10:10.850 --> 00:10:13.730 efficiency, and connectivity. Okay, so air travel 00:10:13.730 --> 00:10:16.730 was top notch. What about by sea? The port must 00:10:16.730 --> 00:10:19.720 be critical. Critical is an understatement. The 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:23.080 port of Singapore is, well, the scale is hard 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:26.440 to comprehend. It's the world's second busiest 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:29.120 port overall in terms of shipping tonnage handled. 00:10:29.620 --> 00:10:34.220 Think about that volume, 626 million tons of 00:10:34.220 --> 00:10:37.440 cargo a year. Huge numbers. But here's the really 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:40.919 crucial part. It's the world's busiest port for 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:42.940 transshipment traffic. Transshipment. What does 00:10:42.940 --> 00:10:44.879 that mean exactly? It means most of the containers 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:47.059 moving through Singapore aren't actually for 00:10:47.059 --> 00:10:49.820 Singapore itself. They arrive on one giant ship, 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:52.039 get efficiently unloaded and then loaded onto 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:53.919 other ships heading to different ports in the 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:56.460 region or around the world. So Singapore acts 00:10:56.460 --> 00:10:59.539 as this massive sorting center for global trade. 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:03.460 Exactly. The ultimate global middleman facilitated 00:11:03.460 --> 00:11:06.139 by incredible efficiency. And on top of that, 00:11:06.220 --> 00:11:08.500 it's also the world's largest center for. bunkering 00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:10.700 ship refueling. So basically, if you're a major 00:11:10.700 --> 00:11:12.879 ship involved in global trade, chances are you're 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:15.059 passing through or stinking in Singapore. Very 00:11:15.059 --> 00:11:17.419 high probability. Yes. OK, let's talk finance 00:11:17.419 --> 00:11:19.690 then. How does that fit in? Well, it's the third 00:11:19.690 --> 00:11:22.450 largest foreign exchange center globally. Huge 00:11:22.450 --> 00:11:25.110 amounts of currency trading happen there. And 00:11:25.110 --> 00:11:27.990 to cement its place, Singapore has been really 00:11:27.990 --> 00:11:30.789 proactive about economic integration, signed 00:11:30.789 --> 00:11:33.309 over 10 free trade agreements. We're its biggest 00:11:33.309 --> 00:11:35.549 partners. China has been the largest trading 00:11:35.549 --> 00:11:38.750 partner since 2013, which really shows its ability 00:11:38.750 --> 00:11:41.710 to balance East and West. Now, this financial 00:11:41.710 --> 00:11:45.429 success, it leads to the tax haven label that 00:11:45.429 --> 00:11:47.809 often gets thrown around. Is that fair? Well... 00:11:48.009 --> 00:11:50.669 It's complicated. The personal income tax rates 00:11:50.669 --> 00:11:53.570 are relatively low, yes. But the big draw for 00:11:53.570 --> 00:11:55.990 the super rich is often the exemption on foreign 00:11:55.990 --> 00:11:58.669 sourced capital gains. If you make money outside 00:11:58.669 --> 00:12:01.350 Singapore, you generally don't pay Singaporean 00:12:01.350 --> 00:12:03.710 tax on it. Which attracts wealthy individuals. 00:12:04.049 --> 00:12:06.629 Definitely. Like Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook 00:12:06.629 --> 00:12:09.070 co -founder, famously moved there and renounced 00:12:09.070 --> 00:12:11.769 his U .S. citizenship. The Tax Justice Network 00:12:11.769 --> 00:12:13.990 did rank it fourth on their financial secrecy 00:12:13.990 --> 00:12:16.789 index back in 2015, highlighting that role in 00:12:16.789 --> 00:12:19.169 holding offshore wealth. But they're not on official 00:12:19.169 --> 00:12:21.830 blacklists anymore. No, they were taken off the 00:12:21.830 --> 00:12:26.990 OECD's gray list back in 2009. But, you know, 00:12:27.070 --> 00:12:29.710 the reputation as a safe, discreet place for 00:12:29.710 --> 00:12:32.730 global capital, that persists. OK, one really 00:12:32.730 --> 00:12:34.970 unique thing you mentioned is how they manage 00:12:34.970 --> 00:12:37.570 their economy. The Monetary Authority of Singapore, 00:12:37.789 --> 00:12:40.590 the MAS, they don't really use interest rates 00:12:40.590 --> 00:12:42.450 like the Fed or the Bank of England. That's right. 00:12:42.570 --> 00:12:45.549 It's quite unusual for a major economy. Instead 00:12:45.549 --> 00:12:47.850 of adjusting interest rates up or down to control 00:12:47.850 --> 00:12:50.850 inflation or stimulate growth, the MAS focuses 00:12:50.850 --> 00:12:53.470 almost entirely on managing the exchange rate 00:12:53.470 --> 00:12:56.360 of the Singapore dollar, the SGD. How do they 00:12:56.360 --> 00:12:59.279 do that? They basically allow the SUD to trade 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:02.539 within a secret undisclosed band against a basket 00:13:02.539 --> 00:13:04.799 of currencies, the currencies of their main trading 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:07.639 partners. They intervene in the market to keep 00:13:07.639 --> 00:13:09.580 it within that band. Why that approach? Why not 00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:11.899 interest rates? Because Singapore is a small, 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:15.039 incredibly open economy. It imports almost everything 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:18.019 it needs, food, energy, raw materials, and it 00:13:18.019 --> 00:13:20.259 exports high value goods and services. Right. 00:13:20.379 --> 00:13:22.899 So managing the exchange rate is the most direct 00:13:22.899 --> 00:13:25.200 lever they have to control inflation coming. 00:13:25.289 --> 00:13:27.909 from imports while also keeping their exports 00:13:27.909 --> 00:13:31.509 competitive. If the SGD gets too strong, imports 00:13:31.509 --> 00:13:34.809 are cheap, but exports suffer. Too weak, exports 00:13:34.809 --> 00:13:37.690 boom, but import costs and therefore inflation 00:13:37.690 --> 00:13:40.870 soar. So it's about finding that sweet spot within 00:13:40.870 --> 00:13:43.970 the band. Exactly. It's a highly tailored monetary 00:13:43.970 --> 00:13:46.789 policy for a very specific kind of economy, very 00:13:46.789 --> 00:13:49.870 pragmatic. That kind of precise, almost surgical 00:13:49.870 --> 00:13:53.139 control we see in the economy. It definitely 00:13:53.139 --> 00:13:55.100 seems mirrored in the political system, doesn't 00:13:55.100 --> 00:13:58.179 it? Oh, absolutely. On paper, Singapore is a 00:13:58.179 --> 00:14:00.840 unitary parliamentary republic. It's based on 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:02.919 the British Westminster system, parliament, prime 00:14:02.919 --> 00:14:05.200 minister, cabinet. But the reality on the ground 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:08.639 is different. It's dominated by one party, the 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:11.179 People's Action Party, the PAP. And they've been 00:14:11.179 --> 00:14:14.240 in power continuously since 1959, even before 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:16.889 full independence. Long time. It's an incredibly 00:14:16.889 --> 00:14:19.330 long time, which is why you often hear political 00:14:19.330 --> 00:14:22.330 scientists describe Singapore as an illiberal 00:14:22.330 --> 00:14:25.590 democracy or maybe a soft authoritarian state. 00:14:25.990 --> 00:14:28.629 The structures of democracy are there, but the 00:14:28.629 --> 00:14:31.049 system is heavily managed to ensure stability 00:14:31.049 --> 00:14:34.350 and paid dominance. What's the justification 00:14:34.350 --> 00:14:37.360 for that from the PP's perspective? Often it's 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:40.019 framed around Asian values, the idea that community 00:14:40.019 --> 00:14:42.740 harmony, social order and collective well -being 00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:44.899 should take precedence over the kind of radical 00:14:44.899 --> 00:14:48.000 individualism sometimes seen in the West. They 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.559 argue that strong, stable governance was essential 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:53.720 for Singapore's survival and progress, especially 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:55.659 in the early days. It's like they took the old 00:14:55.659 --> 00:14:57.799 British colonial structures, which were pretty 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:00.360 authoritarian, and just... Repurpose them. In 00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:02.299 a way, yes, they adapted them for nation building, 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:05.059 focusing on efficiency, anti -corruption and 00:15:05.059 --> 00:15:07.720 long term planning. But control is definitely 00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:09.940 woven into the system. Look at the electoral 00:15:09.940 --> 00:15:14.059 setup. The GRC's. Group representation constituencies. 00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:17.000 Exactly. These are large electoral districts 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:19.519 where political parties have to field a team 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:22.779 of candidates, usually four or five. And crucially, 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:25.480 at least one member of that team must be from 00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:28.860 a designated minority community, Malay, Indian 00:15:28.860 --> 00:15:32.200 or other. The stated aim is to ensure minorities 00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:34.750 are always represented in parliament. That's 00:15:34.750 --> 00:15:36.970 the official rationale, and it does achieve that. 00:15:37.129 --> 00:15:40.429 But critics argue the GRC system makes it much 00:15:40.429 --> 00:15:43.470 harder for opposition parties. Why? Because instead 00:15:43.470 --> 00:15:45.870 of needing just one strong candidate for a single 00:15:45.870 --> 00:15:48.970 seat, an opposition party needs to find and fund 00:15:48.970 --> 00:15:51.730 a whole team of credible candidates to contest 00:15:51.730 --> 00:15:55.570 a GRC. Plus, the way the boundaries are drawn 00:15:55.570 --> 00:15:58.190 can sometimes lump opposition strongholds together 00:15:58.190 --> 00:16:01.149 with PAP strongholds diluting their vote. It 00:16:01.149 --> 00:16:03.590 raises the bar for challenging the PAP significantly. 00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:06.960 So elections happen, they're clean, but the structure 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:09.409 favors the incumbent. That's a fair summary. 00:16:09.549 --> 00:16:12.529 Even in 2011, when the PIP got only 60 percent 00:16:12.529 --> 00:16:14.509 of the vote, which was seen as a big swing against 00:16:14.509 --> 00:16:16.690 them, they still won almost all the seats because 00:16:16.690 --> 00:16:18.490 of how the system works. OK, then there's the 00:16:18.490 --> 00:16:20.529 elected presidency. That's another unusual feature, 00:16:20.710 --> 00:16:23.549 isn't it? Very much so. It's not just a ceremonial 00:16:23.549 --> 00:16:26.509 head of state. The president has real power, 00:16:26.649 --> 00:16:29.750 specifically custodial powers over the country's 00:16:29.750 --> 00:16:32.090 past financial reserves and key public service 00:16:32.090 --> 00:16:34.710 appointments. They can veto government spending 00:16:34.710 --> 00:16:38.620 plans if they draw on past reserves. on the government's 00:16:38.620 --> 00:16:42.580 power then? In theory. But the eligibility criteria 00:16:42.580 --> 00:16:46.200 to even run for president are incredibly strict. 00:16:46.419 --> 00:16:49.179 Like what? You need to be at least 45. You need 00:16:49.179 --> 00:16:51.799 to have held a very senior public office, like 00:16:51.799 --> 00:16:54.740 a cabinet minister, speaker of parliament, chief 00:16:54.740 --> 00:16:57.899 justice O .R. And this is the key one for private 00:16:57.899 --> 00:17:00.639 sector candidates. You must have been the chief 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:03.399 executive of a company with at least $500 million 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:05.920 in shareholders' equity, and it must have been 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:08.519 profitable during your tenure. $500 million. 00:17:08.619 --> 00:17:11.440 That rules out pretty much everyone, surely. 00:17:11.660 --> 00:17:14.019 It rules out almost anyone not already part of 00:17:14.019 --> 00:17:16.420 the established state or corporate elite. It 00:17:16.420 --> 00:17:18.359 ensures the president comes from a very specific, 00:17:18.619 --> 00:17:21.119 experienced, and arguably like -minded pool of 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:23.140 people. And there's another layer to the reserved 00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:25.150 election. Right. This is quite controversial. 00:17:25.369 --> 00:17:28.329 The Constitution says that if no one from a particular 00:17:28.329 --> 00:17:31.450 racial community, Malay, Chinese, Indian, other, 00:17:31.509 --> 00:17:34.170 has held the presidency in the last five terms, 00:17:34.269 --> 00:17:36.410 the next election must be reserved exclusively 00:17:36.410 --> 00:17:38.910 for candidates from that community. And that 00:17:38.910 --> 00:17:41.910 actually happened recently. Yes. In 2017, the 00:17:41.910 --> 00:17:44.430 election was reserved for Malay candidates. Only 00:17:44.430 --> 00:17:47.089 one person, Halima Yacob, who had been Speaker 00:17:47.089 --> 00:17:49.450 of Parliament, met the stringent eligibility 00:17:49.450 --> 00:17:52.700 criteria. So she was declared president without 00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:54.859 an election taking place. Which, again, highlights 00:17:54.859 --> 00:17:57.660 how managed the political process can be. Exactly. 00:17:57.700 --> 00:18:00.160 It ensures representation, but critics argue 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:02.880 it limits democratic choice. So this focus on 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:06.009 ordering control. How does it play out in international 00:18:06.009 --> 00:18:08.809 rankings? It's a real paradox. The World Justice 00:18:08.809 --> 00:18:11.549 Project's rule of law index ranks Singapore incredibly 00:18:11.549 --> 00:18:13.930 high on things like order and security number 00:18:13.930 --> 00:18:16.849 three globally and absence of corruption, also 00:18:16.849 --> 00:18:19.509 number three, world class in those aspects. But 00:18:19.509 --> 00:18:23.170 on fundamental rights, it ranks much lower, 38th 00:18:23.170 --> 00:18:25.349 in that same index. There's a clear tradeoff 00:18:25.349 --> 00:18:28.700 being made. prioritizing stability and economic 00:18:28.700 --> 00:18:31.140 well -being over certain individual liberties. 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:33.799 That seems to be the operating philosophy, yes. 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:36.420 And you see it very clearly in the legal system. 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:38.400 Which is known for being strict. Very strict 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:40.700 and quite conservative on many social issues. 00:18:40.940 --> 00:18:43.799 They retain corporal punishment caning for certain 00:18:43.799 --> 00:18:46.940 offenses, and they retain and actively use capital 00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:49.299 punishment, usually hanging. Particularly for 00:18:49.299 --> 00:18:51.319 drug trafficking, right? That gets a lot of international 00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:54.079 attention. It does. Groups like Amnesty International 00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:57.190 strongly condemn it. But the Singapore government's 00:18:57.190 --> 00:19:00.529 position is unwavering. They argue it's a necessary 00:19:00.529 --> 00:19:03.190 deterrent, citing what they call clear evidence. 00:19:03.329 --> 00:19:06.509 It saves lives by preventing widespread drug 00:19:06.509 --> 00:19:09.390 abuse. They seem to have absolutely no doubts, 00:19:09.529 --> 00:19:11.549 as they've said, about its effectiveness for 00:19:11.549 --> 00:19:13.650 their society. What about freedoms like speech 00:19:13.650 --> 00:19:16.599 and assembly? Also tightly regulated. Reporters 00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:19.559 without borders ranked Singapore 129th out of 00:19:19.559 --> 00:19:23.359 180 in their 2023 Press Freedom Index. Public 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:25.759 gatherings generally need police permits, and 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:27.700 protests are usually restricted to a designated 00:19:27.700 --> 00:19:30.160 area called Speaker's Corner. But the system 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:32.779 isn't totally rigid, is it? There has been some 00:19:32.779 --> 00:19:35.960 social change. That's true. A major example was 00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:38.460 in 2023 when the government repealed Section 00:19:38.460 --> 00:19:42.549 377A of the Penal Code. That was the law criminalizing 00:19:42.549 --> 00:19:45.430 sex between men, wasn't it? A colonial era law. 00:19:45.690 --> 00:19:48.569 Correct. Prime Minister Lee Sai and Leung presented 00:19:48.569 --> 00:19:50.809 the repeal as a kind of pragmatic compromise. 00:19:51.109 --> 00:19:53.869 Society was changing. Attitudes were shifting, 00:19:53.970 --> 00:19:56.910 especially among younger Singaporeans. Keeping 00:19:56.910 --> 00:19:59.490 the law was becoming increasingly divisive. They 00:19:59.490 --> 00:20:01.589 didn't legalize same -sex marriage at the same 00:20:01.589 --> 00:20:04.470 time. No. Crucially, they simultaneously moved 00:20:04.470 --> 00:20:06.930 to amend the Constitution to protect the existing 00:20:06.930 --> 00:20:09.329 definition of marriage between a man and a woman 00:20:09.329 --> 00:20:11.730 from legal challenges. So decriminalization, 00:20:11.869 --> 00:20:14.410 yes, but maintaining the traditional definition 00:20:14.410 --> 00:20:16.650 of marriage, it shows that balancing act again. 00:20:16.789 --> 00:20:19.410 OK, let's shift to defense. Given its size and 00:20:19.410 --> 00:20:22.269 location, national security must be paramount. 00:20:22.529 --> 00:20:24.609 Absolutely. It's taken incredibly seriously. 00:20:24.869 --> 00:20:28.529 They spend about 2 .7 percent of GDP on the military, 00:20:28.670 --> 00:20:32.109 which is quite high. And Singapore Armed Forces, 00:20:32.210 --> 00:20:35.170 the SAF, is widely seen as the most technologically 00:20:35.170 --> 00:20:38.309 advanced military in Southeast Asia. It's viewed 00:20:38.309 --> 00:20:40.750 as the ultimate guarantor of their independence. 00:20:41.130 --> 00:20:42.730 And there's an interesting historical connection 00:20:42.730 --> 00:20:45.670 here, isn't there, with Israel. Yes, a really 00:20:45.670 --> 00:20:47.750 fascinating and crucial piece of their early 00:20:47.750 --> 00:20:50.230 history. When Singapore was suddenly independent 00:20:50.230 --> 00:20:53.609 in 65, it had no army to speak of. It needed 00:20:53.609 --> 00:20:56.190 to build one fast, surrounded by larger neighbors. 00:20:56.410 --> 00:20:59.150 So they turned to Israel. They did. Israel, facing 00:20:59.150 --> 00:21:01.950 its own existential threats, understood Singapore's 00:21:01.950 --> 00:21:05.049 situation. They provided military advisors, helped 00:21:05.049 --> 00:21:07.210 set up the structure, including the system of 00:21:07.210 --> 00:21:09.630 mandatory national service, conscription and 00:21:09.630 --> 00:21:12.130 reserve duty, which is still the backbone of 00:21:12.130 --> 00:21:14.960 the SAF today. Maintain that relationship, even 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:17.200 though Singapore's neighbors, Malaysia and Indonesia, 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:20.779 didn't recognize Israel. Yes, it was pure pragmatism. 00:21:21.160 --> 00:21:24.079 Survival came first. National interests trumped 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:25.940 regional political sensitivities. And then that 00:21:25.940 --> 00:21:28.740 pragmatic, somewhat neutral stance plays out 00:21:28.740 --> 00:21:31.500 in their diplomacy, too. Definitely. Singapore 00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:34.099 positions itself carefully. It's a regular participant 00:21:34.099 --> 00:21:36.900 in G20 meetings, even though it's not formally 00:21:36.900 --> 00:21:39.220 a member, and it leverages its reputation for 00:21:39.220 --> 00:21:41.900 neutrality and efficiency to host major international 00:21:41.900 --> 00:21:45.420 events. Like the Trump -Kim summit in 2018. Exactly. 00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:48.000 Or the historic meeting between the leaders of 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:51.240 China and Taiwan back in 2015. Being seen as 00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:54.180 a trusted, neutral venue is a key part of their 00:21:54.180 --> 00:21:56.480 foreign policy. They make themselves indispensable. 00:21:57.609 --> 00:21:59.809 OK, so if you really want to see the Singapore 00:21:59.809 --> 00:22:02.230 model in action, look at how they deal with their 00:22:02.230 --> 00:22:05.549 fundamental geographic limits. Being a tiny island 00:22:05.549 --> 00:22:08.190 city state means every single square kilometer 00:22:08.190 --> 00:22:10.190 matters. And one way they've dealt with that 00:22:10.190 --> 00:22:13.049 is just making more land, right, land reclamation. 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:15.039 It's incredible when you think about it. Through 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:17.259 decades of reclamation projects, they've actually 00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:19.920 increased Singapore's total land area by about 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:24.059 22%. 22 %? Wow. Yeah, it grew from about 580 00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:27.500 square kilometers at Independence to over 710 00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:30.980 square kilometers by 2015. They've even merged 00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:33.359 separate smaller islands together, like creating 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:35.779 Jurong Island for industry. But that must have 00:22:35.779 --> 00:22:37.859 consequences. Where does all the sand come from? 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:41.559 Exactly. That became a huge issue. Their massive 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:44.660 demand for sand led to neighbors like Indonesia, 00:22:45.019 --> 00:22:47.339 Malaysia and Vietnam getting worried about the 00:22:47.339 --> 00:22:50.099 environmental impact and restricting or banning 00:22:50.099 --> 00:22:52.519 sand exports to Singapore. There were even reports 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:55.000 about sand wars. So what did Singapore do? They 00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:57.380 couldn't just stop needing land. They had to 00:22:57.380 --> 00:22:59.660 pivot their engineering strategy. They started 00:22:59.660 --> 00:23:02.339 moving towards using polders, which is the Dutch 00:23:02.339 --> 00:23:05.240 method. Polders. How does that work? You build 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:07.819 a dike around a section of the seabed, pump all 00:23:07.819 --> 00:23:10.460 the water out, and then you let the exposed land 00:23:10.460 --> 00:23:13.740 consolidate and settle over time. It's much more 00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:15.759 complex and expensive than just dumping sand, 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:18.880 but it dramatically reduces the need for imported 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:22.299 fill material. Ingenious, but necessary. Absolutely. 00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:25.079 But here's the other side of that coin. Even 00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:27.460 with this intense pressure for space, for housing, 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:29.420 for industry, they've deliberately maintained 00:23:29.420 --> 00:23:32.240 a focus on green space. The Garden City idea. 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:35.539 That's right. Started way back in 1967 by Lee 00:23:35.539 --> 00:23:38.740 Kuan Yew. The policy mandates setting aside significant 00:23:38.740 --> 00:23:41.519 land, about 10 % currently, for parks, nature 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:43.740 reserves, and greenery. To counterbalance the 00:23:43.740 --> 00:23:46.559 density. Precisely. It's about quality of life. 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:50.180 The Singapore Botanic Gardens, which is a UNESCO 00:23:50.180 --> 00:23:52.700 World Heritage Site, is probably the most famous 00:23:52.700 --> 00:23:55.720 example. It's this very conscious effort to avoid 00:23:55.720 --> 00:23:58.920 becoming just a concrete jungle. Okay, so land 00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:02.440 is scarce, but maybe even more critical is water. 00:24:02.970 --> 00:24:05.869 Water is treated as a fundamental national security 00:24:05.869 --> 00:24:08.869 issue in Singapore. Historically, they were very 00:24:08.869 --> 00:24:12.009 dependent on agreements to buy water from Malaysia. 00:24:12.309 --> 00:24:14.309 That's a vulnerability they've worked incredibly 00:24:14.309 --> 00:24:16.930 hard to overcome. Through the four national taps 00:24:16.930 --> 00:24:19.890 strategy. That's the framework, yes. Tap one 00:24:19.890 --> 00:24:22.230 is imported water, mainly from Johor in Malaysia, 00:24:22.329 --> 00:24:24.609 under agreements that are decades old. Tap two 00:24:24.609 --> 00:24:26.809 is using local catchments, basically collecting 00:24:26.809 --> 00:24:28.950 rainwater from about two -thirds of the island's 00:24:28.950 --> 00:24:31.109 surface area and storing it in reservoirs. Okay, 00:24:31.170 --> 00:24:33.309 two taps down. Tap three is reclaimed water, 00:24:33.509 --> 00:24:36.269 which they brand as in -water. This is highly 00:24:36.269 --> 00:24:38.910 purified wastewater treated using advanced membrane 00:24:38.910 --> 00:24:41.940 technologies. Is that... Safe to drink. It meets 00:24:41.940 --> 00:24:44.640 WHO drinking water standards, absolutely. It's 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:47.759 rigorously tested. A lot of it is used for industrial 00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:50.720 purposes, requiring high purity water. But some 00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:52.960 is also blended into the reservoir supply for 00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:55.059 drinking. It's a huge part of their water story. 00:24:55.299 --> 00:24:58.819 And the fourth tap. Desalination. Turning seawater 00:24:58.819 --> 00:25:01.579 into freshwater. They have several desalination 00:25:01.579 --> 00:25:04.539 plants now. It's energy intensive, but essential 00:25:04.539 --> 00:25:07.859 for security. So the goal is complete water independence 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:10.529 eventually. The target is self -sufficiency by 00:25:10.529 --> 00:25:13.390 2061. That's when the main water agreement with 00:25:13.390 --> 00:25:15.750 Malaysia expires. The projections are that by 00:25:15.750 --> 00:25:19.170 2060, new water will meet 50 % of demand and 00:25:19.170 --> 00:25:21.950 desalination will meet 30%. That's a massive 00:25:21.950 --> 00:25:24.970 shift. Must have cost a fortune. Billions. Around 00:25:24.970 --> 00:25:27.670 is $10 billion just for recent upgrades to the 00:25:27.670 --> 00:25:30.329 water treatment infrastructure. But like defense, 00:25:30.690 --> 00:25:33.470 securing water is seen as non -negotiable. Okay, 00:25:33.509 --> 00:25:35.190 let's talk about moving people around this small, 00:25:35.309 --> 00:25:38.200 dense island. Transportation must be a nightmare 00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:40.599 to manage. They realized very early on, back 00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:43.339 in the 70s, that if everyone owned a car, the 00:25:43.339 --> 00:25:46.059 island would just grind to a halt. Total gridlock. 00:25:46.200 --> 00:25:48.339 So they tackled it head -on with the ERP system. 00:25:48.680 --> 00:25:51.720 Yeah, electronic road pricing. It actually evolved 00:25:51.720 --> 00:25:54.220 from the world's first urban congestion pricing 00:25:54.220 --> 00:25:57.619 scheme, which they started way back in 1975 with 00:25:57.619 --> 00:26:00.859 paper licenses. The ERP gantries that automatically 00:26:00.859 --> 00:26:03.019 charge you when you drive into congested areas 00:26:03.019 --> 00:26:05.880 during peak hours came later. To discourage driving 00:26:05.880 --> 00:26:09.259 at busy times. Exactly. Make people think about 00:26:09.259 --> 00:26:12.099 the cost of using that road space. They're actually 00:26:12.099 --> 00:26:15.039 upgrading it now to a satellite -based system. 00:26:15.119 --> 00:26:16.700 It's supposed to be more precise. Is that running 00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:19.420 smoothly? Well, it was meant to launch in 2020, 00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:22.140 but it's been delayed, apparently until 2026. 00:26:22.539 --> 00:26:25.420 And interestingly, one of the main reasons cited 00:26:25.420 --> 00:26:29.039 is the global semiconductor shortage. Ah, even 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:31.900 Singapore, a semiconductor hub, gets hit by the 00:26:31.900 --> 00:26:34.259 chip shortage for its own infrastructure. Shows 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:36.740 how interconnected everything is. But the ERP 00:26:36.740 --> 00:26:38.920 is only part of the story for managing traffic. 00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:41.599 The really big lever is making cars incredibly 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:45.130 expensive to own. Right, the COE. Certificate 00:26:45.130 --> 00:26:47.349 of entitlement. Yes. Before you can even buy 00:26:47.349 --> 00:26:49.809 a car, you have to bid for a COE and a quarter 00:26:49.809 --> 00:26:52.410 system. These certificates are limited in number 00:26:52.410 --> 00:26:54.789 and only last for 10 years. And they're expensive. 00:26:55.890 --> 00:26:58.170 Extremely expensive. The price fluctuates with 00:26:58.170 --> 00:27:00.710 demand, but it can easily add tens of thousands 00:27:00.710 --> 00:27:03.269 of dollars to the cost of a car. And that's on 00:27:03.269 --> 00:27:06.410 top of very high registration fees, the ARF, 00:27:06.430 --> 00:27:08.970 additional registration fee, and excise duties. 00:27:09.309 --> 00:27:11.869 So what's the end result? Owning a car is just... 00:27:12.579 --> 00:27:14.700 prohibitively expensive for most people? For 00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:17.559 the vast majority, yes. It makes Singapore arguably 00:27:17.559 --> 00:27:19.920 the most expensive place on the planet to own 00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:22.559 a car. A basic family car can cost two or three 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:24.940 times what it would in Europe or the U .S. Which 00:27:24.940 --> 00:27:26.900 forces people onto public transport. Which is 00:27:26.900 --> 00:27:29.299 exactly the point. It pushes demand towards their 00:27:29.299 --> 00:27:32.460 very efficient mass rapid transit, MRT, subway 00:27:32.460 --> 00:27:35.460 system, and bus network. It's all about managing 00:27:35.460 --> 00:27:38.119 that scarce road space. So we've talked about 00:27:38.119 --> 00:27:41.049 the economy. The politics, the resource management. 00:27:41.150 --> 00:27:44.430 But Singapore's success also hinges on managing 00:27:44.430 --> 00:27:46.990 its people, right? Yeah. Keeping social harmony 00:27:46.990 --> 00:27:49.990 in such a dense, diverse place. Absolutely crucial. 00:27:50.170 --> 00:27:52.210 And they approach this with that same kind of 00:27:52.210 --> 00:27:54.430 deliberate structure. Look at language, for instance. 00:27:54.750 --> 00:27:58.230 Four official languages. Right. English, Malay, 00:27:58.329 --> 00:28:01.779 Mandarin Chinese, and Tamil. recognizing the 00:28:01.779 --> 00:28:04.660 main ethnic groups. But English is specifically 00:28:04.660 --> 00:28:07.359 designated as the common language, the lingua 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:09.480 franca. For practical reasons. Yeah. Government, 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:12.180 business, schools. Exactly. Ensures everyone 00:28:12.180 --> 00:28:14.400 can communicate. And it plugs Singapore directly 00:28:14.400 --> 00:28:17.279 into the global economy. But this creates a bit 00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:20.079 of tension. With Singlish. Yeah. The government 00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:23.240 actively discourages Singlish, that unique, very 00:28:23.240 --> 00:28:26.720 vibrant local creole, mixing English with words 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:29.380 and grammar from the other languages. The official 00:28:29.380 --> 00:28:31.779 line is that it hinders... proficiency in standard 00:28:31.779 --> 00:28:34.700 global English. But people still speak it. Oh, 00:28:34.700 --> 00:28:37.640 absolutely. For many Singaporeans, Singlish is 00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:39.920 a core part of their identity, is how they talk 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:42.059 to each other informally. It's a real cultural 00:28:42.059 --> 00:28:44.980 marker. So you have this ongoing push -pull between 00:28:44.980 --> 00:28:47.519 the state wanting standardization and the people 00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:49.259 having their own distinctive way of speaking. 00:28:49.500 --> 00:28:51.660 And that multiculturalism extends deeply into 00:28:51.660 --> 00:28:54.180 religion too, doesn't it? Massively. Singapore 00:28:54.180 --> 00:28:56.539 is often cited as the world's most religiously 00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:59.660 diverse nation. A Pew Research study from 2014 00:28:59.660 --> 00:29:02.200 highlighted this. There's no single majority 00:29:02.200 --> 00:29:04.460 religion. What are the main groups? Buddhism 00:29:04.460 --> 00:29:07.680 has the largest share, around 31%. But then you 00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:10.500 have a large group, 20%, identifying with no 00:29:10.500 --> 00:29:13.599 religion. Christianity is next at about 19%. 00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:16.559 And significant populations of Muslims and Hindus 00:29:16.559 --> 00:29:19.380 as well. So tolerance isn't just a nice idea. 00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:22.079 It's essential for peace. It's a non -negotiable 00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:24.799 necessity. The government actively promotes racial 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:27.240 and religious harmony and comes down hard on 00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:30.000 anything seen as inciting hatred. They can't 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:32.220 afford not to. Where does this cultural fusion 00:29:32.220 --> 00:29:35.339 really come alive? Maybe the food? Oh, definitely 00:29:35.339 --> 00:29:38.130 the food. Singaporean cuisine is famous for its 00:29:38.130 --> 00:29:41.869 hybridity. Peranakan or Nyonya cuisine is a classic 00:29:41.869 --> 00:29:44.309 example, blending Chinese ingredients and cooking 00:29:44.309 --> 00:29:46.730 styles with Malay spices and flavors. Delicious. 00:29:47.069 --> 00:29:49.029 And the hawker centers. You can't talk about 00:29:49.029 --> 00:29:50.890 Singapore food without mentioning them. Absolutely 00:29:50.890 --> 00:29:53.150 iconic. These are basically large, open -air 00:29:53.150 --> 00:29:55.170 food courts. The government set them up originally 00:29:55.170 --> 00:29:57.710 to get street food vendors off the streets and 00:29:57.710 --> 00:30:00.089 into more hygienic, organized spaces. And they're 00:30:00.089 --> 00:30:02.410 still central to daily life. Totally. People 00:30:02.410 --> 00:30:05.599 from all walks of life eat there. And they are 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:08.059 meticulously graded for hygiene by the National 00:30:08.059 --> 00:30:12.680 Environment Agency ABCD ratings displayed prominently. 00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:15.920 Food safety is serious business. It's like the 00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:18.779 ultimate blend of grassroots, food culture, and 00:30:18.779 --> 00:30:21.500 state oversight. Perfectly put. And the quality 00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:24.329 can be amazing. Some hawker stalls have even 00:30:24.329 --> 00:30:27.410 earned Michelin stars or big gourmands. There's 00:30:27.410 --> 00:30:29.809 that famous stall selling soya sauce, chicken 00:30:29.809 --> 00:30:32.029 rice, or noodles. Or like two Singapore dollars. 00:30:32.230 --> 00:30:34.609 Yeah. The world's cheapest Michelin meal. That's 00:30:34.609 --> 00:30:37.250 the one. Though the universally agreed upon national 00:30:37.250 --> 00:30:40.170 dish is probably Hennany's chicken rice. Simple, 00:30:40.190 --> 00:30:42.829 but perfect when done well. Okay, one last area 00:30:42.829 --> 00:30:46.849 before we wrap up. Sports. For such a small country, 00:30:46.930 --> 00:30:48.490 they seem to punch above their weight sometimes. 00:30:48.710 --> 00:30:50.990 They do. It reflects that same national drive 00:30:50.990 --> 00:30:53.569 for excellence you see elsewhere. Regionally 00:30:53.569 --> 00:30:55.710 in the Southeast Asian Games, they often dominate 00:30:55.710 --> 00:30:57.529 in swimming, for example. But they've had global 00:30:57.529 --> 00:30:59.829 successes, too. Yeah, some really standout moments. 00:30:59.950 --> 00:31:01.869 Joseph Schooling winning Olympic gold in swimming 00:31:01.869 --> 00:31:04.589 in 2016, beating Michael Phelps in the 100 -meter 00:31:04.589 --> 00:31:07.109 butterfly. That was a huge deal nationally. A 00:31:07.109 --> 00:31:09.190 massive moment of pride. Definitely. And just 00:31:09.190 --> 00:31:13.109 recently, in 2024, Max Mader won bronze in sailing, 00:31:13.230 --> 00:31:15.069 becoming the country's youngest ever Olympic 00:31:15.069 --> 00:31:19.089 medalist at 17. These wins matter. They build 00:31:19.089 --> 00:31:21.769 national identity. Any other notable ones? Well, 00:31:21.930 --> 00:31:24.210 maybe not as universally known, but in table 00:31:24.210 --> 00:31:26.109 tennis, the women's team did something incredible 00:31:26.109 --> 00:31:29.329 in 2010. They beat China to win the world team 00:31:29.329 --> 00:31:31.809 table tennis championships. Beating China in 00:31:31.809 --> 00:31:33.970 table tennis. That's like the ultimate challenge. 00:31:34.250 --> 00:31:35.750 Exactly. China had won it for something like 00:31:35.750 --> 00:31:38.269 19 years straight. So, yeah, these sporting achievements, 00:31:38.529 --> 00:31:41.369 while maybe unexpected for a small nation, fit 00:31:41.369 --> 00:31:43.670 that pattern of strategic investment and aiming 00:31:43.670 --> 00:31:47.630 high. Hashtag, hashtag, outro. So we've taken 00:31:47.630 --> 00:31:50.289 our deep dive into this little red dot. And what 00:31:50.289 --> 00:31:52.269 really emerges, I think, is this core identity 00:31:52.269 --> 00:31:55.730 built on just relentlessly managing constraints. 00:31:56.049 --> 00:31:58.069 Yeah, turning limitations into strengths almost. 00:31:58.329 --> 00:32:01.089 Right. Land scarcity, engineer new land, water 00:32:01.089 --> 00:32:04.670 scarcity, master water technology, economic vulnerability, 00:32:05.029 --> 00:32:07.849 become hyper -connected globally, potential social 00:32:07.849 --> 00:32:10.289 friction, manage diversity tightly to ensure 00:32:10.289 --> 00:32:12.680 stability. It's a fascinating mix, isn't it? 00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:16.119 Almost contradictory in places. You've got state 00:32:16.119 --> 00:32:18.400 intervention that feels almost socialist, like 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:20.579 the public housing. Alongside this incredibly 00:32:20.579 --> 00:32:23.380 competitive free market capitalism. Governed 00:32:23.380 --> 00:32:26.319 by a system that looks democratic on the surface, 00:32:26.359 --> 00:32:28.839 but has these strong authoritarian characteristics. 00:32:29.299 --> 00:32:32.359 It's pragmatic above all else, highly successful, 00:32:32.700 --> 00:32:35.660 undeniably unique. So as we finish up, here's 00:32:35.660 --> 00:32:37.319 something to think about, a final provocative 00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:40.079 thought for you. The Singapore model, for all 00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:43.039 its success, faces real challenges now. The birth 00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:45.160 rate, the total fertility rate, is incredibly 00:32:45.160 --> 00:32:48.460 low around 1 .1. Which means they rely heavily 00:32:48.460 --> 00:32:51.299 on immigration, on foreign talent, to keep the 00:32:51.299 --> 00:32:53.680 economy growing. Exactly. And that creates a 00:32:53.680 --> 00:32:56.599 tension. How does this system, which has always 00:32:56.599 --> 00:32:58.720 prioritized stability through strong central 00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:01.519 control, balance that with the need for perhaps 00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:04.039 more openness, more freedom, more dynamic innovation 00:33:04.039 --> 00:33:06.859 to attract and keep the global talent it needs? 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:09.700 Can it maintain that tight social and political 00:33:09.700 --> 00:33:12.299 order while fostering the kind of environment 00:33:12.299 --> 00:33:15.880 top global talent increasingly expects? And looking 00:33:15.880 --> 00:33:19.170 outwards. How much of Singapore's success story, 00:33:19.269 --> 00:33:21.230 the planning, the pragmatism, maybe even the 00:33:21.230 --> 00:33:24.029 control, can other small resource poor nations 00:33:24.029 --> 00:33:26.990 realistically copy? What parts are truly replicable? 00:33:27.170 --> 00:33:29.529 Lots to ponder there. Indeed. Well, thank you 00:33:29.529 --> 00:33:30.930 for joining us for The Deep Dot. We hope you 00:33:30.930 --> 00:33:32.690 found that journey into the Singapore model insightful. 00:33:32.910 --> 00:33:33.690 We'll see you next time.