MULTILATERALISM, LEADERSHIP AND POLARISATION
Channel: A Singaporean
Date: 2021-01-20

MULTILATERALISM, LEADERSHIP AND POLARISATION

Conclusions drawn from Expert Panellists

Expert panellists at the Singapore Perspectives Conference, organised by the Institute of Policy Studies, arrived at certain conclusions for some key issues facing Singapore, namely, multilateralism, leadership and polarisation.

The conclusions are detailed below:

Multilateralism

Multilateralism is the reason why Singapore still stands today, as Singapore has no hinterland of its own and must rely upon international trade and commerce to survive.

Furthermore, our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which provide 65% of total employment and half of GDP, will benefit from being plugged into the global economy, as they will be able to diversify by expanding into foreign markets.

Singapore is small and weak on its own, but multilateralism will give us strength on the world stage, as Singapore can join forces with other nations to form a united front to confront any challenge.

Examples of this include Singapore creation of the Forum of Small States, Singapore's establishment of the Global Governance Group within the Group of 20 (G20) to provide an inclusive voice for observer states, and through co-chairing the Friends of the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility, which promotes vaccine multilateralism.

Covid -19 has hurt multilateralism, as richer and more influential nations hog vaccines, leaving others vulnerable.

And, while plently of international cooperation is currently dedicated towards fighting Covid-19, the panellists also hoped that similar levels of international teamwork could be shown for equally pressing issues such as climate change, resource depletion and income inequality.

Leadership

The panellists recommended that Singapore's leadership could be chosen from more diverse backgrounds.

This is because the younger segments of Singaporean society are now increasingly subscribing to ideals of social justice and the rights of the marginalised. Leaders should, after all, be selected in a manner that reflects the diversity of the population, not just in terms of traditional categories like racial diversity, but also in terms of gender, youth and include members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community.

Leaders must additionally be competent in grassroots interaction, and have great administrative and logistical skills, as such abilities are crucial in times of crisis such as Covid-19. They must also be bold and willing to try new things so as to keep Singapore at the forefront of progress. As such, society should not label aspiring risk-takers who do not succeed as failures, and instead laud their efforts.

The panellists also urged Singapore to continue appointing morally upstanding leaders who value meritocracy, anti-corruption and racial equality.

Polarisation

The panellists stated that while Singapore suffers from fairly low political polarisation, our society is still plagued by cultural and class divisions.

Cultural divisions may be worsened by the import of some progressive ideals like cancel culture and cultural appropriation, which may heighten sensitivities between various communities. Class divisions may drive resentment between classes, and may be further fueled by populists who exploit such anger to gain power.

Hence, the panellists recommended that Singapore establish a unique communitarian model of democracy in response to such challenges. This model would protect the rights of the individual, preserve different cultural traditions, and provide a platform for disagreements to be voiced out in a civil manner. And yet, despite having some differences in opinion, all stakeholders will still work together at the end of the day for the good of Singapore.

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