Ensuring Economic security

As we all know, Singapore, though a developed country and an increasingly important trading hub, lacks resources. Hence, as young leaders of Singapore, we need to take into consideration our limited resources and the strategies that we will take to manage our resources efficiently to ensure Singapore's continued economic growth.

1.Increased Trade with other countries
 As you know, Singapore already has many trading partners, and we have investments in countries such as India, China, and even the United States of America. As young leaders, we feel that trade with foreign countries is much needed-and that our country could do with more. Due to our lack of resources, Singapore finds that she constantly needs to import materials from other countries. Where does our money come from then? A good example would be our water. Water is obtained from Malaysia. In return, however, Singapore treats the water of other countries in our desalination plant and sells the water back to them at a higher price-this is our source of income. Another example would be Tourism.  Singapore has partnered up with foreign companies and engineers in order to construct our Integrated Resorts(IR) as well as our casinos, which have been generating much revenue for us. Hence, trade with other countries is of key importance and increased trade would result in greater security for Singapore to gain revenue, as well as to trade and obtain raw materials that our country needs.


2.Maintaining good relations and diplomatic ties with other countries.
Singapore has 2 strategies in managing external conflict: Deterrence and Diplomacy. Desiring for peace, we feel that diplomacy and maintaining diplomatic relations with the leaders of other countries is key in allowing us to ensure our economic security. Good relations with other countries provide us a guarantee a source of economic support if we were to plunge into a period of economic instability. Additionally, diplomatic relations increases trade with other countries, which would help our economy to be boosted by leaps and bounds!

A typical Singaporean taxi

Sustaining Economic Growth

Sustaining Economic Growth is critically important for Singapore. Singapore needs to stay modern and up-to-date, because in today's rapidly developing and advancing world, a small country like Singapore needs to keep up with the global superpowers. For what it lacks in size, Singapore makes up for in development.

1. Keeping up with globalization

Today's world is rapidly changing and developing. Singapore's government needs to keep up with globalization. Singapore must surpass other countries in terms of technology and research. This is an area that Singapore can excel at, as this does not require the country to be very large, but needs qualified scientists and researchers. Singapore's education system is regarded as one of the best in the world, and produces many of these professionals. The government needs to emphasise on the importance of keeping up with globalisation. Therefore, Singapore needs to focus on advancing in technology and research.

However, we must keep in mind that Singapore's multi-racial society is a very unique one, and we need to preserve this culture, and ensure that it does not get lost in the process of Singapore's advancement. Singapore's identity must stay strong to be able to cope with all the changes and development of the world around.

2. Attracting foreign talent

Singapore is a small country, and, compared to other countries in the world, has a small population. To compensate for this, Singapore needs to attract foreign talent. This will increase the talent pool in the country, so there will be more qualified professionals working in Singapore. In addition, attracting foreign talent will increase the competition in the country. This will encourage people to work harder, resulting in a greater quality of work.

To attract foreign talent, Singapore needs to have incentives for foreigners in Singapore, so that the disparity between Singaporeans and foreigners will not be too great, and it will be easy for foreigners to fit into society. Singapore needs to keep up its education system, as this attracts many foreigners to Singapore, in hope of a better and more advanced education.

3. Incentives for her own people

Singapore doesn't just need to attract foreigners, but also needs to have incentives for her own people. Singapore's own citizens should be given the same opportunities as those from overseas, and need to be pushed to keep improving. The education system in Singapore is one of the best in the world, and this results in Singapore producing many professionals in various areas of work. This is what keeps Singapore going, and enables us to keep up with the competition of other countries. 

Singapore needs to also ensure that these qualified and educated citizens do not migrate and leave the country. The government should provide scholarships and grants that will increase opportunities for Singaporeans as well as ensuring that they stay loyal to Singapore. 

Ensuring Peace and Security

Peace and Security are key to a nation's development. In order for Singapore to continue to improve and stay relevant, we feel that there need to be a few changes and additional policies to be implemented., namely the few that we have listed below:

1.Setting up organisations to integrate foreigners to Singapore’s society better

With an ageing population and a declining birth rate, our country has become short of manpower. Hence, there have been a large number of foreigners landing on our shores, offering their expertise in various field, and attracting Multi-National Co operations(MNCs) into Singapore. Whilst our economy has benefited from this, in recent years there has been much social unrest amongst Singporeans, and a stigma has been formed towards foreigners. In a long run, Singapore will not benefit from this as we will lose our social cohesion. Hence, we suggest implementing organisations that will help integrate foreigners into our society.

Such organisations will aim to integrate foreigners through a three-pronged strategy;
-Adapting into a new environment
-Assimilating into society
-Allowing for greater friendship

"Adapting into a new environment" places emphasis on allowing foreigners to understand Singapore's physical landscape-the locations of shopping malls, hospitals, and other such amenities. A session on navigation in Singapore's public transport system of Mass Rapid transport(MRT) and buses will also be conducted. Foreigners will also be taken on a tour of Singpoare and will be assisted into settling into theiw new housing.

"Assimilating into society": This handles the more social aspect of adapting to life in a new country. Foreigners will attend a few sessions at these centres and learn about Singpore's history, unique culture, and the "do"s and "don't"s in a multi-racial country, for example respecting the various places of worship. Foreigners will also be taught how to interact with locals better and perhaps learn a little of our "native language", Singlish!

"Allowing for greater friendship" focuses on fostering strong bonds between locals and foreigners. Such organisations will provide for intercultural exchanges, as well as gatherings to allow locals and foreigners to understand each other better and form strong bonds, strengthening Singapore as a society.


2. Promote racial and religious harmony through the education system, teaching students about other cultures
As current students, we feel that Moral Education is not well-emphasized. The moral education unit should be given more emphasis and teachers should undergo training in order to teach such a module to students. Furthermore, the scope of coverage needs to be wider: students not only need to learn about the cultures and traditions of the four main races in Singapore, but also that of the foreigners that enter our gates. Furthermore, students should be taught not to discriminate between "Singapore Singaporeans" and "Foreign Singaporeans" but to see us all as simply, Singaporeans.

3.National Education
Students need to have the values of protecting their country and pride in her instilled in them. They should learn about the challenges that Singapore is facing as well as the relevance of them in today's society. Therefore, more emphasis should be placed on National Education as well and more creative methods should be employed to teach students, such as through educational movies and performances.

The Little Red Dot

Singapore is a small island country which has gone through major developments since it became independent in 1965. It is a first-world country with a fast paced modern society. The infrastructure is well-developed and there are many high-rise buildings to make up for the lack of space - Singapore only has a land area of 710 square kilometres! Singapore also makes use of land reclamation.

^{For defence, all able-bodied males at the age of 18 must enter into National Service, where they are made ready to defend the country in times of war. Additionally, this helps Singaporean men bond, which helps develop a sense of loyalty, patriotism and the idea of a shared destiny for Singapore. All of this ensures that Singapore, despite is small size, is ever ready to defend herself from external threats.}

Singapore has an ageing population, and there are many elderly in Singapore today. There are approximately 5 000 000 people in Singapore, and about 3 000 000 are Singaporean citizens. Singapore's government aims to attract foreign talent to keep up with globalization.

The government is a democracy, and the people vote for the government during the General Elections. Singapore’s education is regarded highly and emphasises meritocracy. The party ruling the government is the People’s Action Party (PAP) and executive power rests with the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister and the President. The government consists of the Legislature, which makes laws, Executive, which executes the laws, and Judiciary which ensures that the laws are justly carried out. The cooperation of these three branches of government in Singapore ensures the smooth running of the country.

Singapore is a multi-racial and religious society, with 4 main races, Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian. The government aims to promote racial and religious harmony, while treasuring one’s own culture. This is implemented using the bilingual policy, where all students must learn English as well as their own Mother Tongue.