Blog: The Singapore Recipe

Our fascination and admiration for the success story that Singapore is and our desire to replicate it comes to surface from time to time. The recent one being after the visit of the Prime Minister to the city state.

Navin Ramgoolam is publicly selling his vision of making Mauritius a city state on the model of Singapore. Both Mauritius and Singapore are small island states. Both have successful economies, but Singapore has a population of more than five million on an area less than half of Mauritius. It is only 712.4 square km. Its per capita income is 44,000 dollars. Compared to Mauritius 7,500 - 12,400 dollar - 2009 estimate of purchasing power parity. Its economy is 22 times larger than Mauritius (2010 normal prices) that is 222.7 billion dollars compared to Mauritius 9.5 billion.

The profile of our population is similar with 74% Chinese ethnic origin for Singapore and 72% of Indian origin for Mauritius. In 1810, Mauritius became a British colony. In 1824, Britain bought the island of Singapore. Singapore became independent in 1965 after breaking away from Malaysia and Mauritius attained independence in 1968. Both countries were lucky to have visionary leaders like Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam and Li Kuan Yew.

Both leaders happened to develop a personal friendship. They used to meet regularly at Commonwealth and Non-Aligned meetings, and they laid the foundation of friendly ties between our two countries.

But history, culture, geography and circumstances dictated the different models of development. Singapore strategic location on major sea lanes and its industrious population has given an economic importance in Sub East Asia disproportionate to its small size.

Very early after independence, Singapore adopted a pro-business, pro-investment, export-oriented economic framework. This strategy proved a success producing a real growth that averaged 8% between 1965 and 2010. Of course, it has also suffered recession and negative growth during a few years with the world wide electronic slump and the recent financial crisis. But it always bounced back with a record of 14.5% growth in 2010.

In spite of being an island, it is linked by road to Malaysia and Thailand. The giant Indonesia is in its neighborhood. Honk Kong, China, India and the US are major trading partners.

Singapore government is known to be corruption free. Doing business and investing is easy. It attracts investment on a large scale. Major multinationals have setup manufacturing units in Singapore.

It is also a major investor abroad with a total direct investment reaching 224 billion dollars in 2009. China accounts for 16% of its total overseas investments, followed by UK (12.3%), Malaysia 8.3%, Honk Kong 6%, Thailand 5.6%, Indonesia 6.8%, Australia 6.6% and US 3.6%.

It is little known that Singapore is the capital of Chinese diaspora. A significant percentage of the population of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand are of Chinese origin. They are prosperous businessmen. This has facilitated economic and trade relations among these countries. Something Mauritius has failed to exploit in spite having been declared the capital of Indian diaspora. A diaspora which is 30 million strong having among its member’s finest engineers, doctors, Nobel Prize winners and richest businessmen in the world.

Li Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister and at present senior minister is reported to have said that its model cannot be replicated. It was based on circumstances and the culture of its people. Every country has to find its own way.

Still we have a lot to learn from its hand-on experience of dealing with issues of traffic management, water management, health education and governance.

In Singapore, laws are made to be applied in spirit and letter. There is death penalty for drug dealers. Some categories of offenders are caned. Heavy fines are imposed for littering, spitting in public and for not flushing public toilets.

At one time, I remember cars entering the city center without passengers had to pay a tax. Even and odd number plate vehicles were allowed on alternate days. But people used to beat the system by hiring passengers at checkpoints and keeping even and odd number vehicles.

With such a densely populated area, with 35.8% foreign workers out of a labour force of 3.1 million, there is only one trade union confederation comprising 99% of total organised labour. No savage strikes are tolerated. The press is totally government-friendly.

I can understand the need for Singapore for such measures for discipline and keeping it clean. So much wealth and development need also to be defended. Singapore has a standing army of 65,000 with a capacity to mobilise an additional 300,000 at short notice. They have all received military training. It serves at a deterrent to its neighbors who have not always been friendly.

Singapore is also a prized tourist destination. Only recently government has allowed an investment of 5.5 billion dollars in two casinos. It has an open sky policy and some 80 airlines serve its airport. Shiv Khera, the management guru always tells a story of his first visit to Singapore. His taxi driver charged him less than what was on the meter, explaining that he had taken a longer route to reach his destination. In Mauritius we all know the story of the taxi driver who has taken a Mauritian on an island tour before taking him to his destination mistaking him for a foreign visitor.

Navin Ramgoolam tells us that during his visit to the University of Singapore, the director apologised for not able to attend the lunch in his honor on account of his previous appointment to attend a meeting to defend the grant to his budget. Who in Mauritius will dare miss a lunch with a visiting PM?

Now that we have decided to make Mauritius a duty-free island, we can learn a thing or two from Singapore. I remember in the eighties, plane loads of Mauritians used to travel to Singapore for duty-free purchases. Government had to raise duty free allowance for arriving passengers, a popular measure. Until Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo, then minister of Finance, decided to remove duty on electronic items,thus putting an end to the trade. This measure also allowed tourists to spend more.

I think three areas in which our cooperation can be developed for mutual benefits. water management - Singapore imports major quantity of its water requirements from Malaysia. But at the same time harvest each drop of rain water. I was delighted to hear the Minister of Environment calling on Mauritians as a patriotic measure to collect rain water for gardening and car washing. Is it too much to say that charity begins at home and example should be set from above?

Government has opted for light railway between Curepipe and Port Louis to be extended to other areas later. At the same time the Prime Minister had expressed his frustrations at procedures and bureaucracy with delay implementation of projects.

We cannot dream of becoming Singapore without an independent and impartial competent civil service. This cannot happen as long as the line of promotion comes only from the administrative class. Line of promotion to the top should be opened to engineers, scientists, academicians, managers. Decision making process is too complicated and officials are afraid to take them. At least this is the perception.

Singapore can also help us to develop our medical and education hub. I just say that the superhero Rajneekant of Indian cinema is under treatment in Singapore and the national university of Singapore ranks 19th among world class universities. Its endowment comes just after Cambridge and Oxford. It is able to attract international professors and researchers. India and France are not found among the top 20 among the universities.

Singapore functions under a benign dictatorship. Although multi-party system is allowed, since independence, there is only one-party rule with absolute majority. Mauritius has chosen the democratic path with human rights and freedom of expression guaranteed. It is considered the most successful and competitive economy of Africa. It has already put in place all the sectors for future development like ICT, seafood, hospitality, property development, renewal energy, education and health care besides its traditional sectors like sugar, tourism, textiles and financial services.

According to the 2010 index of economic freedom, developed by the US-based Heritage foundation and the Wall Street Journal, Mauritius leads sub Sahara in economic freedom and is ranked 12th worldwide.

Lord Desai during his last visit has rightly said that Singapore can serve us as a model, that is, we have to work hard but the success and development will rest on our shoulders. The Singapore recipe cannot be replicated.