Singaporean Matters: Venturing abroad

We are too naive to survive

The government is right. In a globalized world, Singaporeans need to steal other people’s lunch. Similar to thinking that because we won’t eat the lion, the lion won’t eat us, we will be naive to think that others are not out to steal our lunch.

Image by Freepik

Unfortunately, the #HardTruth is that Singaporeans are too naive to survive, much less thrive, in the global arena:

- our entrepreneurs expect government grants for everything
- our business owners expect the government to handhold them
- our residents expect the government to take care of their individual needs
- every budget, our citizens expect handouts
- our opposition not only expects the government to provide for Singaporeans but expects the government to provide above and beyond their basic needs

If you have lived overseas for any length of time, you will know that Singapore is unique. So, while I extol the need for Singaporeans to go international, I doubt that many will survive for the simple fact that we expect to be taken care of, and we have been living in a country that is largely rules-based. Singaporeans see things in black and white while the rest of the world sees things in shades of grey.

In short, I believe we have victims of our own success, and like the lion born and bred in captivity, we cannot live in the wild.