Recently, there's been a lot of talk in the official media regarding Singapore's status as a "hub", a "renaissance city", or a landmark city. They point to events such as F1, the launching of the IRs, the revamp of the Singapore River, the Youth Olympic games, the transformation of the local arts scene, as examples of the overall trend towards this new status.
I find this hard to swallow.
How much of this is political posturing, and how much of it is real revamping? Even if the intent is sincere, we must not forget that we still need other people of the world to agree that we are a hub before we become one. Lest we forget, there are plenty of other cities out there who are also competing for such a status.
Besides, Singapore is hot. The climate sucks. It's either raining or too hot. If I were a rich foreigner, would I really want to live here?
Safety and Security? When the JI guy has just managed to escape so easily, do you think it doesn't affect other's perception of our country?
Our country is being divided into two - a small rich elite group, and the larger poor masses. All the plans rolled out only help the small group, yet it is the status of the middle class, the wealth they own, that will truly determine how much of a renaissance city we are.
Until the day when people can quit their jobs to start an art gallery and take such a risk, Singapore will never be a renaissance city.
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