Wednesday, October 20, 2010 @ 11:51 PM Author: clarinda
An email from one of the organizers of SingSem 2010 (note that I have chosen the topic ‘Tomorrow’s Singaporeans’:Dear Scholars and Friends,
Hope your week has been going well. Prof Kong would like ask all of you to think about the following questions before your panel this Saturday:
First, economically, do you think Singapore is going to enjoy high and stable growth in the future, or to decline and have negative growth, or at best, face great volatility? Or do you think that the likely scenario is one of maintenance of a low, though stable state of growth?
Second, do you think there will be greater or lesser disparities between the haves and have-nots in tomorrow’s Singapore?
Third, do you think that the elderly in Singapore have enough to live on their savings? Do you think the government’s strong preference on self-reliance and family support are well-placed, or will the model have to change?
Fourth, do you think the inter-racial, inter-religious and secular-religious relations in Singapore will remain stable?
Fifth, do you think that the local-foreigner divide is going to widen or shrink?
Sixth, do you think more able Singaporeans will want to emigrate?
She would like to have an initial dialogue on these topics, so it will be great if you could think about it.
Hope to see you soon!
Cheers,
David Chan
This email just highlights how out-of-touch I am about what’s happening in Singapore. I feel so guilty about it..