Singapore's growth model must get over its childish passion for GDP growth and ideological pursuit of investments. Often, this is done at the expense of other social considerations.
Our government is too often preoccupied with bringing in the biggest names in both manufacturing and services.
By focusing on one KPI - GDP growth, our government finds an easy way of acquiring credibility without having to answer more complex questions posed by our environment. GDP growth clearly does not lead to higher quality of life or happiness. In fact, it has become harder to own assets in Singapore.
The truth is our government has introduced international competitive for assets and jobs within Singapore but insulated themselves and their servants' jobs from any competition.
There is a clear advantage to being a GDP supporter. The government can freely use up resources such as tax incentives, labor quota and land to pursue figures. Unfortunately, the government credits itself for the GDP growth, but refuse to take the blame for inadequate resources leftover for Singaporeans. E.g. Singaporeans face increasing rent because space and lane becomes more scarce.
Economic indicators cannot be divorced from other social indicators. A good investment that requires cheap labour and large amount of electricity must be turned down. If we are to progress to a developed nation, we need to find a good balance between quantitative growth and KPIs that are important to Singaporeans.
Anonymous TRS reader