Singapore turns 48.

 It's a good time to reflect on our strengths and weaknesses - and to count our blessings  By Kishore Mahbubani For The Straits Times

SWOT analysis

SO, THIS is my final suggestion. Let us make creative use of our 48th year. Let us make it a year of deep reflection as we prepare for our 50th birthday in 2015. Let us do a collective SWOT analysis of Singapore: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. And if we can arrive at a collective consensus on the SWOT of Singapore, we would have made a major leap forward in understanding and dealing with the unhappy psyche of the Singapore population.

To kick off this SWOT analysis, let me suggest a few bullet points to consider under each limb of the SWOT structure:

Strengths:

·        Political stability;

·        Ethnic harmony;

·        Military and financial muscle;

·        Cosmopolitan culture;

·        Clean water;

·        Public safety;

·        World-class universities and think-tanks; and

·        Regional harmony.

Weaknesses:

·        Small size;

·        Demographic decline;

·        Emigration;

·        Volatile neighbourhood; and

·        Weak national identity.

Threats:

·        Rising political disgruntlement;

·        Weaknesses in public transport;

·        Rising housing prices;

·        Diminishing hope in future advancement;

·        Rising resentment towards foreign talent;

·        Rising competition from other Asian cities;

·        Melting Arctic ice; and

·        Geopolitical uncertainty.

Opportunities:

·        To become the New York or London of Asia;

·        Surfing the Asian cultural renaissance;

·        To become the epicentre of Asian wealth management; and

·        To become the intellectual and think-tank capital of Asia.

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