The World Economic Forum convenes in Myanmar this week, it will bring more than just another 1,000 visitors to the once closed and near pariah country. First visits by then US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Barack Obama brought headline attention. Early...
The tangled web of international organizations that constitutes global governance has become so remote and ineffective that few count on it to deliver results anymore. Now, after decades of turf wars and self-marginalization, international organizations must rally around an increasingly pressing global priority: sustainable urbanization. The...
Clues about the emerging character of the new Chinese leadership are emerging from its interaction with the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN). Following the grouping’s summit last month, China’s new Foreign Minister, Mr Wang Yi, visited the region for the first time. While ties are...
Judging by their giddy rally today, markets in Malaysia are beyond relieved that the country’s general elections are over. A win for the incumbent Barisan Nasional coalition, whose main party has led Malaysia since independence, appeared to promise continuity and stability. Prime Minister Najib Razak...
Urbanization has already declared itself the mega-trend of the 21st century, with half the world’s population now living in cities for the first time in human history. While the implications for economic growth have been widely discussed, urbanization’s impact on diplomacy and sovereignty will be...
The Indonesian economy continues to do well, attracting Singapore investors to look southwards. Yet there was a cloud over the otherwise convivial bilateral retreat held last week between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The haze resulting from fires in the...
Signs are that questions of culture are returning to Singapore, albeit differently. The Government is continuing and growing programmes for the arts, sports and heritage, and each of their intrinsic worth must be recognised. But these are also important components of a larger picture about what...
Japanese interest in South and Southeast Asia is surging for both economic and political reasons. Yet, while welcome by many in the region, the reasons for this renewed focus must be considered. There are also new factors that the Japanese must look at and adapt...
Debate has returned, for both the Government and citizens, about what it means to be Singaporean. The issues do not relate only to culture and the arts, but have broader implications for the political and economic paradigms in Singapore as well. What spurs this resurgence of a...
In the midst of our Singapore Conversation, the debates on the Population White Paper and now the Committee of Supply debates, I would like to raise a few points that I feel have not been sufficiently discussed. This is especially critical at a time when...