My country feels that money spent on weapons of war and armies is money wasted... security must be secured through the collective and effective strength of the UN... We seek a welfare state and not a warfare state...
If independence and freedom are not to be empty slogans then we must continue to spend as much of our resources as we can on fighting the only war that matters to the people--the war against poverty, ignorance, disease, bad housing, unemployment, and against anything and everything which deny dignity and freedom to our fellow man.
-- S. Rajaratnam's September 21, 1965 speech to the United Nations after Singapore's recognition as an independent country
What happens when trade agreements and the ability to transport your country's products to another country are linked to security agreements and weapons purchases? Today, Singapore's largest budget item is defense spending, and men are required to serve in the military.
According to the pacifist Jehovah's Witnesses, an established religion, as of December 2018, Singapore has imprisoned nine of their members over their refusal to serve in Singapore's military.
In other news, Singapore's foremost living intellectual, Kishore Mahbubani has written, "Happy societies are also more resilient societies. We have had a happiness deficit for some time." (Opinion, The Straits Times, 12 July 2014, from Can Singapore Survive? (2015), pp. 108)
Singapore will certainly survive, but will Singaporeans be as proud as they were in 1965? Will they be as happy or as honorable as LKY's generation?
Bonus I: from Kishore Mahbubani's Can Singapore Survive? (2015)
Bonus II:
If independence and freedom are not to be empty slogans then we must continue to spend as much of our resources as we can on fighting the only war that matters to the people--the war against poverty, ignorance, disease, bad housing, unemployment, and against anything and everything which deny dignity and freedom to our fellow man.
-- S. Rajaratnam's September 21, 1965 speech to the United Nations after Singapore's recognition as an independent country
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| Chua Beng Huat on weakening of social welfare ideals since 1970s |
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| Chua Beng Huat |
In other news, Singapore's foremost living intellectual, Kishore Mahbubani has written, "Happy societies are also more resilient societies. We have had a happiness deficit for some time." (Opinion, The Straits Times, 12 July 2014, from Can Singapore Survive? (2015), pp. 108)
Singapore will certainly survive, but will Singaporeans be as proud as they were in 1965? Will they be as happy or as honorable as LKY's generation?
Bonus I: from Kishore Mahbubani's Can Singapore Survive? (2015)
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