I bumped into a friend the other day and after some general chit-chat, started catching up on what both of us have been up to the past few months. During our 15 minutes of conversation, one particular question lingered “You just spent about 15K on a patent and you have no idea whether you will suceed?, You should have saved that money?” He was of course refering to my little pet project. Anyway, it kind of set my mind spinning and the result is this article.
I recall a few years back the founding father of modern Singapore Mr Lee Kuan Yew saying there was a dearth of entrepreneurial talent in Singapore. This was like right after the Asian financial crisis. His analysis was that the root of the problem is that Singaporeans have a reverence for scholarship and the tried and tested way aka the safe route.
This is amazing since given that the first thing you think of Mr Lee Kuan Yew is how he micromanaged Singapore into one of the most successful nation in the world. His style of governing was all discipline and comformity. Ruling and planning every detail of growth, Singapore emerged as one of the asian tigers. His legacy exists today in that the biggest companies in Singapore are mostly either Singapore Government Linked Companies or closely tied to the government. So the question begins “Can Singapore still retain its competitive edge in the backdrop of China?”
After all, China is quickly becoming the economic powerhouse in the world. With an amazing growth rate and such accelerated development, nations in Asia are reeling from the shocks of competiting with China. Singapore has had to be flexible before, shifting from textiles to rudimentary electronics and then to sophisticated electronics, chiefly computer gear during its run.
However, can Singapore compete and change itself to an innovation led economy? Does Singapore’s authoritarian system of governance clashed with that ideal?
Going back to my friend’s question, not saying that I am defintely going to succeed in my venture. If anything, it’s probably going to be a long tough road. However, his question shows the mentality that some Singaporeans still carry over entrepreneurs. Failure is frowned upon and god forbid you do anything out of the norm and risk money.
I do fear for Singapore’s future if such thoughts persist. China is after all a vacuum cleaner for foreign direct investment and the dragon has awaken.
