Advertisement

COMMENT: Brexit, Trump, Duterte... the signals and lessons for Singapore

image

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will step down by October and leave the Brexit negotiations to his successor. (AFP)

The morning after is the best time to reflect. After being bombarded by the TV coverage of Brexit on Friday, the weekend became a refuge to escape to and ask: why did 52 per cent of voters in Britain decide to get out of the European Union at the risk of pushing their country into a tricky future?

For one, it was anger and frustration against a palpable income, wealth, generational and demographic divide.

It was also a statement against the elites, who made lots of money out of Britain’s generous embrace of diversity, ruling politicians who didn’t understand the depth of feeling that many Britons were showing about their daily struggle, and economists who kept punching statistics and reports to show why globalisation stimulates growth and prosperity.

From the oasis called Singapore, it was sobering to look at the mess that the British politicians, both from the Remain and Leave camps, have left the country in. And the most sobering assessment came from Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

“As politics gets fragmented, the political extremes will gain appeal. We do not know where this will lead to, but it cannot mean anything good.

“But to tackle it, the politics of the centre must stay connected to the challenge that ordinary people face – and access their need for jobs and security and a balance in immigration that preserves a sense of identity.”

Immigration is that one hot political potato Singapore needs to come to grips with. I have yet to meet a Singaporean who is anti-immigration per se. He or she is only against bringing in people, whom in the eyes of the Singaporean, are not fit to do the jobs they are brought in to do.

It is all very anecdotal. But put together, they make a powerful narrative of an establishment that didn’t pay enough attention to those born and bred here.

A friend related a conversation two Indian expatriates were having as they were walking towards the Yishun MRT station.

They were boasting about how they were a godsend to the country and that without them Singapore will be finished.

Now, how did they come to this conclusion? The government’s red carpet welcome for foreigners — once referred to as foreign talent — and an apparent lack of concern for the reaction of the locals are the ingredients in a heady brew that nearly blew up in 2011.

Integration with the foreigners is still a far-away dream though efforts have been made, and are still being made, to get the two groups to meet and mix.

The office is one perfect place to make this happen. But anecdotal evidence is pointing the other way. Go to the Raffles Place area during lunch and see how little enclaves are forming as the lunchtime buzz takes shape.

The expat Indians cling together, so do the expatriate whites and the Chinese.

Let’s be open about it. The integration exercise has not worked.

All power point presentations about how to get foreigners and locals to mix fly in the face of an ingrained human trait — that people find affinity with their own skin colour.

One way round this problem is to reach them when they are young. See how children interact with no inhibitions and no pre-set ideas in playgrounds, schools and entertainment spots when parents are not around.

Once, former Foreign Minister S Rajaratnam spoke of his vision of Singapore as a melting pot of cultures. The ruling elite, led by Lee Kuan Yew himself, went the other way. Communities helping their own kind became a reality.

Such an attitude has taken root. The other day, a young lady told a training session that her father told her not to marry somebody from another race. And she said it with such a straight face that forced the trainer to ask her: will you follow your dad’s advice?

Yes, came the forthright and quick answer.

If we can’t even get our racial prejudices in order, how are we going to do it with the foreigners?

It is no point producing endless statistics showing how immigration helps economic growth. It is even worse telling your citizens that the foreigner will eat your lunch and expect the Singaporean to guard it at all cost.

Luckily for the ruling party, the 2011 election result came with a warning: there is a limit to our patience. That was Wake-Up Call No 1. On Friday, Wake-Up call No 2 came from Britain.

The Donald Trump time bomb is already ticking. Rodrigo Duterte has already exploded his way into the Philippines. A common thread runs through these events. All you need is a politician to throw a lighted match and it will catch fire as the population can’t understand, at the emotional level, the logic of globalisation or experience fully its fruits.

The words of a commentator in the FT are worth repeating. “If a nation as innately cautious as Britain can tear up in the course of a single day foreign and economic policies that have been crafted over half a century, who can dare rule out an electoral earthquake propelling Mr Trump into the White House or Ms Le Pen into the Elysee?”

The time has come for Singapore to pick up the smoke signals and learn the lessons from these scary moments from around the world.

P N Balji is a veteran Singaporean journalist who is the former chief editor of TODAY newspaper, and a media consultant. The views expressed are his own.

Stay updated. Follow us on Facebook.