Article on first donation to the Rector’s Fund (Tembusu College) by Mr. Alan Chan, Chairman of Petroships Investment Pte Ltd (Singapore).
Blurb extracted from September 2012 issue of Knowledge Enterprise, pg. 8 (full magazine available here)
“JOURNEYING TOGETHER FOR KINDNESS”
A NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON KINDNESS
SATURDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2012
MARINA MANDARIN HOTEL
Keynote Speech: Are Singaporeans A Kind or Unkind People?
by
Prof Tommy Koh
Rector, Tembusu College, and
Special Adviser, Institute of Policy Studies
Salutation
1 Minister Lawrence Wong; Mr Koh Poh Tiong, Chairman of the Singapore Kindness Movement; Dr William Wan, General Secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement; Ms Braema Mathi, President of MARUAH; Madam Moliah Hashim, Chief Executive Officer of Yayasan Mendaki; High Commissioner Syed Hasan Javed of Pakistan, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Kind Singaporeans or Unkind Singaporeans?
2 I have decided to review the evidence in order to answer the question: Are Singaporeans a kind or unkind people? I begin by acknowledging that there is evidence to support both sides of the proposition. Let us examine some of the evidence supporting the view that Singaporeans are not a kind people.
Facts Supporting View that Singaporeans are Unkind
3 First, there are many instances in which foreign workers have been subjected to unkind treatment by their employers. Some foreign workers are housed in unsanitary and inhumane circumstances. Some employers do not pay their workers promptly or at all or make all kinds of unreasonable deductions from their wages. The worst case was probably the employer who left his injured foreign worker to die on the road side.
Treatment of Foreign Maids
4 Second, I have often read in our newspapers about the unkind treatment of our foreign domestic workers or maids. Some maids have been sexually abused by their male employers. Other maids have been physically or psychologically abused by both their male and female employers and members of their families. Some common complaints by maids include not being given enough time to rest, food to eat and a decent place to sleep in. I was disappointed that some employers opposed the government’s belated decision to grant all maids a weekly day of rest. I also think that more can be done to prevent maids from falling to their deaths by being required to clean the windows of their employers’ apartments in an unsafe manner.
Abandoning Elderly Parents
5 Third, I am distressed by one growing trend in Singapore, which is, the abandonment of elderly parents by their children. My wife works as a volunteer in a hospital run by a group of churches. She has come across elderly women, either living alone or in institutions, who have complained to her that their children never visited them. I wonder if our cherished virtue of filial piety is beginning to wither.
Treatment of Disabled
6 Fourth, I think we could be kinder in the treatment of our disabled. Let me start with the education of our disabled children. I see no good reason for exempting disabled children from the law on compulsory education. The quality of education available to disabled children varies a great deal depending upon the capacity of the voluntary welfare organisation providing the service. For example, the Pathlight School for children with autism is world class. In contrast, the School for the Blind is stuck in the third world. Employment opportunities for the disabled is another problem area. When I was the Ambassador to the US and based in Washington DC, I took a special interest in our hearing impaired students studying at the world famous Gallaudet University. I encouraged the Singapore students to return to Singapore upon graduation. Of the group that came back, only one got a job to teach at the School for the Deaf. The rest returned to America, where employers were willing to employ them in the occupations they had studied for. Mobility is another big problem. My blind friend, Cassandra Chiu, and her guide dog, Esme, have encountered no end of problems in seeking to gain access to office buildings, shopping malls, trains, buses, restaurants, in spite of the fact that such access had been approved by MCYS, MUIS, SMRT, SBS, etc. In Korea, it is a crime for anyone to deny a blind person, accompanied by a guide dog, access to any public place.
Cruelty Towards Animals
7 Fifth, I think one test of the kindness of a people is how they treat their animals. As an animal lover, I am appalled by the reports I have read of cruelty towards animals. I cannot understand why there are some sadists among us who apparently enjoy torturing and killing animals. I am glad that our society, the police and our courts have taken a strong position against such offenders. Cruelty of any kind, against any sentient being, should have no place in Singapore.
Facts Supporting View that Singaporeans are Kind
8 Let me now turn to examine the facts which support the view that Singaporeans are a kind people.
Treatment of Foreign Workers
9 First, for every unkind employer of foreign workers, there are probably several who treat their workers kindly. Some employers house their workers in very good dormitories, provide them with healthy food and social amenities. In addition, there are NGOs, such as TWC2 and HOME, which champion the rights of foreign workers. I have also come across doctors, lawyers and other professionals who volunteer their precious time to look after the welfare of these workers. There is a restaurant in Little India which provides foreign workers with free food.
Treatment of Maids
10 Second, the same is probably true for maids. For every unkind employer, there are probably several kind employers who treat their maids with kindness and respect. I have seen families who treat their maids as members of their families. I have also come across employers who have shown extraordinary kindness towards their maids, for example, by paying for their medical treatment or helping them with their children’s education or giving them time off to further their education.
Response to Humanitarian Disasters
11 Third, Singaporeans always respond, with generosity, to humanitarian disasters abroad, especially those in nearby Asia. I remember the massive response by Singaporeans to the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, to the Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, to the Szechuan earthquake and to the Tohoku tsunami in Japan. If Singaporeans do not have kind hearts, I do not think they would have responded so generously.
Philanthropy
12 Fourth, the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) has reported that, between 2004 and 2010, donations by individuals to all charities rose by 16 per cent a year. For the past 10 years, 2001 to 2011, donations to charities, which can provide tax deductions for donations, rose by 9 per cent each year. In 2010, Singaporeans contributed a total of $1,070 million to philanthropy. Contributions to the President’s Challenge, Community Chest and the Straits Times Pocket Money Fund have increased every year. Philanthropy has taken root in Singapore and, like America, is becoming part of the culture of Singaporeans. In 2010, 85 per cent of Singaporeans donated money to charity. In addition, Singapore is emerging as an important philanthropic hub of Asia. Under the leadership of NVPC, Singapore is also becoming a thought leader in philanthropy.
Volunteerism
13 Fifth, the good news is that Singapore is also becoming a nation of volunteers. The percentage of Singaporeans who volunteer has gone up from 15 per cent in 2004 to 23 per cent in 2010. The fact that some of our schools require their students to perform a certain number of hours of community service has helped to propel the trend. At my College, Tembusu College at NUS, we have some students who have adopted an orphanage in West Timor as well as many students who collect food to deliver them to needy families. I am very impressed by the spirit of our young people. Many of them are helping the poor, the disadvantaged, the marginalised, in different countries in Asia and elsewhere.
Kindness to Strangers
14 Sixth, I am frequently cheered by the letters in the forum page of The Straits Times. The letter writers are both Singaporeans and foreign visitors. All of them expressed their gratitude to Singaporeans, often unnamed, who have gone out of the way to show kindness to strangers. My foreign friends have told me that they are very impressed by the kindness of Singaporeans.
Conclusion
15 Let me conclude. I believe that, on the whole, Singaporeans are a kind people. In a poll conducted by SPH, in November 2011, on what virtues the Singaporeans considered important to them, kindness came in second, after honesty. There is a minority of unkind people here as there are everywhere. There are, however, areas in which we can do better. We can be kinder in the treatment of the elderly and the disabled. I appeal to our young train riders to be kinder to the elderly, disabled and pregnant commuters. We should also aspire to be kinder to all who share the spaces that we work, live and play in, regardless of age, gender and ethnicity. We should be kind to fellow workers, irrespective of rank and hierarchy. Bosses should be kinder to their staff in respect of work-life balance and profit̢sharing. Neighbours should be tolerant and kind to one another. Our drivers should try to be more kind and courteous to fellow drivers, motor-cyclists, cyclists and pedestrians. We could be kinder to our cyclists and consider following the good example of New York by designating special lanes for them. We should stand up against the minority of selfish people who oppose dormitories for foreign workers, hospices, facilities for the elderly, in their neighbourhood. Let the voices of the majority of Singaporeans, who are kind, rise above those of the unkind minority.
. . . . .
[as at 20 Oct 12]
SPEECH AT THE INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF JAPAN
ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
3 OCTOBER 2012, TOKYO, JAPAN
Japan’s Prospects and Challenges: A View from Southeast Asia
by
Prof Tommy Koh[*]
Ambassador-At-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore
Co-Chairman, Japan-Singapore Symposium
1 Most of my friends, both Asians and Westerners, have a pessimistic view about Japan’s future. They think that Japan is in terminal decline. They point to the facts that Japan has a shrinking population, a stagnant economy, an insular mindset, a huge public debt, an unstable political system and weak leaders. As a contrarian, I do not subscribe to this conventional wisdom. I believe that Japan can overcome its challenges. I believe that Japan has many strengths which are under‑estimated. I believe that Japan can still have a bright future. The following are the reasons for my optimism.
My Faith in the People of Japan
2 First, I believe in the people of Japan. I believe that they will overcome the many challenges which beset their country. The strengths and virtues of the Japanese people were on display when the Northeast of Japan (Tohoku) was struck by a devasting earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. There were no panic and lawlessness. There were no scenes of looting. Instead, the people reacted with calm, courage, discipline, unity and civic‑mindedness. The world had never seen a people behave in such an exemplary manner in the face of such a great tragedy. The recovery from the triple disasters has taken place smoothly and rapidly. This has given the Japanese people a new spirit of self-confidence which had been missing for a long time.
The Quality of the Japanese Workforce
3 Second, I believe in the high quality of the Japanese workforce. I was a member of Toyota’s International Advisory Board for five years (1996-2001). I was, therefore, able to observe the workers of Toyota. What I saw was a workforce which was one of the best educated, trained and diligent in the world. This is one of the core strengths of the Japanese economy. The competitiveness of an economy depends, in part, on the quality of its human resource. Japan should, however, raise its labour productivity. According to the 2011 report of the Japan Productivity Center, Japan’s labour productivity ranked no. 20 among the 34 OECD countries. The low labour productivity is due largely to the retail sector and over-staffed corporate headquarters.
Work Ethic and Culture of Excellence
4 Third, I admire the Japanese work ethic and the pervasive culture of excellence. The people of Japan are extremely hard‑working. It must be the only country in the world in which people actually die of over-work! The work ethic is a core value of the Japanese people. So is the culture of excellence. Every Japanese worker, no matter what his or her job or occupation, seeks to achieve excellence. We see this in the attitudes of the sushi chef at his counter, the potter at his kiln, the interpreter in her booth, the worker on the factory floor, etc. I suspect that this culture of excellence has contributed to the high reputation of the Japanese brand and products.
Science, Technology, Innovation
5 Fourth, the competition among the advanced economies is increasingly driven by technology and innovation. Japan has a strong track record of innovation and new technology. Japan used to dominate the world in consumer electronics and white goods. In recent years, Japan seemed to be falling behind the United States and Korea, in such areas as electronics and mobile phone technology. Japan remains, however, a world leader in automotives, robotics, game technology, anime, photographic technology and green technology. Japan spends 3.8 per cent of its GDP on Research and Development (R&D), out-spending the US (2.7 per cent) and Germany (2.6 per cent). 21 per cent of all patents granted by the US in 2009 were to Japanese inventors. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Japan’s share of patent applications globally has risen from 10 to 20 per cent in the past 10 years. Japan should do more to exploit its investments in R&D and its innovation by translating its new inventions into products and services for the world market.
Global Champions
6 Fifth, in the corporate world, Japan has produced some notable global champions. There are 68 Japanese companies in the Fortune Global 500. Many of these companies are world class. Other companies, such as, Rakuten and Uniqlo, are likely to join this club. These two companies are using English as one of their working languages. This will make them more competitive internationally. It is important for Japan to produce more global champions because such companies are profitable, attract talented employees, generate innovation and good jobs, as Heang Chhor, the former head of McKinsey in Japan, has argued in the book, Reimagining Japan (2011, at page 430).
Japan‘s Soft Power
7 Sixth, Japan has a very attractive soft power. The world admires Japan as a peaceful and beautiful country. It is immaculately clean and takes excellent care of its environment. It has a long and rich history and its heritage in the arts and crafts has been carefully preserved. Japanese design, fashion and architecture are much admired. Japan is viewed as both prosperous and egalitarian. There is a high level of social trust and harmony. The quality of life is high and various aspects of Japan’s popular culture, such as its cuisine, ikebana, judo, manga, anime, J-Pop, have been embraced by the world. The Japanese people are viewed as polite, cultured and considerate. They are also admired for their inner strength and never‑say-die attitude. This was best exemplified by the victorious Nadeshiko Japan, which, in spite of the relative small size of its players, defeated the bigger-sized US team in the final of the FIFA World Cup in 2011. The same team won the silver medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, losing to the US in the final. I wish also to praise the contributions which Japan has made, under UN auspices, to peace-keeping and nation-building, in Cambodia, Timor Leste, Aceh, and Mindanao. Japan has also played a positive role in the reconstruction of Sri Lanka, after the conclusion of the civil war. I would encourage Japan to do more in the pursuit of peace.
Japan’s Five Challenges
8 What are Japan’s biggest challenges? I will comment on the following challenges:
(a) Demography;
(b) Gender;
(c) Education;
(d) Business; and
(e) Leadership.
The Demographic Challenge
9 First, Japan’s demographic challenge. There are two aspects to this challenge: (i) Japan has the world’s fastest ageing population; and (ii) Japan’s population has been shrinking since 2005 because the Japanese are not reproducing themselves. Japan’s total fertility rate is 1.4. Singapore is afflicted with the same problems. In spite of many financial incentives and more generous maternity leave, the total fertility rate of Singapore hovers around 1.2. There is an ongoing national debate in Singapore on how to raise our fertility rate to the French and Nordic levels. We are re-examining our policies relating to maternity and paternity leaves, subsidised childcare for infants and young children, early or pre-kindergarten education, the role of the father in child-rearing, the work-life balance, etc. Without prejudging the outcome of this review, I must confess that I am not very optimistic about the prospect of raising our fertility to or near the replacement level of 2.1. I suspect the same is true of Japan.
Making up the Deficit
10 In order to make up the deficit, Singapore imports people through its immigration policy. As a result, our population has grown progressively from 2 million in 1970 to 4 million in 2000, to its current level of 5 million. The optimum size of the Singapore population has not been settled, but I suspect it will be around 6 million.
11 Singapore’s capacity to absorb immigrants is due, partly, to our history as an immigrant nation and, partly, to our diversity. Our population consists of citizens whose forefathers had migrated to Singapore from China, South Asia, Southeast Asia and West Asia. As a result, we have developed a culture of accepting diversity. Multiculturalism is in our DNA. There is very little zenophobia in Singapore. However, in recent years, especially during the boom years, Singapore had taken in too many foreigners. The influx was greater than our absorptive capacity, straining our infrastructure and amenities and causing great discomfort to Singaporeans. The Singapore Government has since recalibrated its policy. According to the opinion polls, 70 per cent of Singaporeans are in favour of immigration.
Can Japan accept Immigrants?
12 The question I wish to pose to my Japanese friends is whether Japan can liberalise its immigration policy in order to prevent its population from shrinking? Can the Japanese people, who are used to living in a homogenous society, accept foreigners? Is Japan willing to assimilate talented foreigners into the Japanese family? If the answers to these questions are no and if the fertility rate remains low, then we are faced with the scenario of a Japan with a shrinking population. This will have many implications for Japan and for the world. If the answers to my questions are yes, then we face an entirely different scenario, of a global Japan, energised by the infusion of new talent from the rest of Asia.
In Praise of Older Workers
13 The Japanese people enjoy the longest life span in the world of 83 years. By 2030, people over the age of 65 could account for one‑third of Japan’s population. This is going to be the trend in the developed world as people live longer, but it will happen in Japan first. Demographers and economists generally view this in a negative light as they assume that the older people will stop working and become dependants. Hence, they talk about the worsening dependency ratio of ageing societies.
14 I would like to urge Japan to become the world’s thought leader on ageing. Instead of viewing older people as a liability, we should view them as an asset. A few years ago, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore, caused a consternation in Singapore when he proposed that the concept of mandatory retirement be abolished. He has often said that retirement equals death. I agree with his philosophy. We should encourage older people, who are fit and who wish to work, to continue to do so. I am very proud of the fact that my dentist and tailor are both 80 years old and my optician is 82 years old. We need a radical re-think about ageing. Can Japan be our thought leader?
The Gender Challenge
15 Second, I want to refer to Japan’s gender challenge. The Japanese society is viewed by us in Southeast Asia as a male‑dominated society. We note that 30 per cent of women drop out of the work force after marriage. Another 20 per cent drop out after the birth of the first child. As a result, women’s participation in the work force, at 50 per cent, is relatively low. We have also noticed the under-representation of women in policy-making and senior positions, both in the public and private sectors. Japan was ranked no. 94 out of 134 countries in the 2010 Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum. In the UN Human Development Index, Japan is ranked 8 in the world. However, in the Gender Empowerment Measurement, Japan is ranked 59. As a generalisation, I would say that there is greater gender equity in Southeast Asia than in Japan. Japan should seriously consider how to empower its women so that this talented and well‑educated human resource can make a bigger contribution to the country. I suspect that the solution lies both in improving the childcare infrastructure and in changing the mindset of the Japanese men towards women. The fact that women are treated as second class citizens was brought home to me by the way Japan treated its male and female football teams on their way to the Olympic Games. The medal-winning women’s team was flown to London in economy class whereas the men’s team, which has not won a medal of any colour, was in business class.
The Education Challenge
16 Third, I want to comment briefly on Japan’s education challenge. Japan has good schools and universities. Tokyo University is regularly ranked among the top 10 or top 20 in the world. What then is the problem? One problem which Japan shares with others in East Asia is that, because of their Confucian heritage, their education systems tend to emphasize rote-learning and respect for authority. Without undermining our strengths, we need to produce more independent and critical thinkers. Another problem is that Japan’s education system is not producing global citizens. Unlike the trend in Southeast Asia, the trend in Japan is that fewer students are going abroad to study. Is it too radical to suggest that Japanese universities should consider requiring their students to study one year abroad? There are very few universities in Japan which offer degrees, either at the under-graduate or post-graduate levels, in English. I am an academic adviser to the Ritsumeikan Asia-Pacific Univeristy, located in Beppu, Oita Prefecture. The university teaches in both Japanese and English and 50 per cent of the students are non-Japanese. Japan needs more such universities. Japan’s elite universities have the potential to re-make themselves into Asia’s leading centres of learning, in areas in which Japan has excelled. The question is whether Japan’s leaders have such a vision. Do the leaders of Japan envision a future in which Japan’s elite universities will compete with those of the United States for the best and brightest students of Asia?
The Business Challenge
17 Fourth, the challenges faced by Japanese business. Japanese business face challenges at home and abroad. Let me begin with the challenges they face at home. According to Dr Klaus Schwab, the Executive Director of the World Economic Forum, the three biggest obstacles encountered by business in Japan are: (i) policy and government instability; (ii) tax rates and regulations; and (iii) inefficient government bureaucracy. Dr Schwab wrote that, “The macroeconomic environment is challenging enough; the larger problem, though, is that Japanese politics is in disarray. There have been six Prime Ministers since 2006. This kind of churning makes such reforms difficult to implement.” (Reimagining Japan, pages 125‑126).
18 Japanese business also face many challenges abroad. According to Gordon Orr, Brian Salsberg and Naoyuki Iwatani of McKinsey, “Japan’s biggest companies have been losing relative market share over the past ten years: their proportion of the Fortune 500’s total revenues decreased to 13 per cent, from 35 per cent, between 1995 and 2005 …. [Japan’s] share of the world’s export value of electronic goods has fallen from 30 per cent in 1990 to less than 15 per cent today …. Many Japanese companies have no alternative to globalization if they hope to continue growing.” (Reimagining Japan, page 151).
19 It will be culturally very challenging for great Japanese companies to transform themselves into great multinational companies. The boards of most Japanese companies do not have any foreigners. The same is true of their senior management and their talent pools. Most Japanese executives are not proficient in English, the business language of the world. Although difficult, such a transition can be made. Companies such as Nissan, Komatsu, Takeda, Shiseido, Uniqlo and Rakuten, have successfully embarked on such a journey.
20 My question to the leaders of business in Japan is whether they are convinced that their companies have no alternative but to globalize. If they are convinced, do they have the will to bring about this transformation. As Shinzo Maeda, the Chairman of Shiseido, has written, “There is a Japanese saying that change starts at the top and cascade to lower levels. That is true for us. Once we made the commitment to embrace diversity at the top, everything else began to cascade in the right direction. Now we are pushing for diversity at every level”. (Reimagining Japan, page 162).
The Leadership Challenge
21 Fifth, perhaps the most difficult challenge facing Japan is the leadership challenge. For over three decades, the leadership of Japan was provided by a golden triangle, consisting of the political leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the leaders of the bureaucracy and the leaders of the business community. This governance structure has been broken. As a result of scandals and growing incompetence, the LDP has lost the confidence of the Japanese people. For the same reasons, the public has also lost its trust in the bureaucracy. The leaders of the bureaucracy used to provide the country with both ideas and stability. They can no longer play that role. There is no other institution which has filled the policy vacuum. Japan does not have great think-tanks like those in the United States which are constantly throwing up new ideas and policy proposals. There are also few public intellectuals in Japan of national stature who can provide the country with intellectual leadership.
22 Politically, things seem to be in a state of a flux. After the LDP lost power, Hosokawa, Hata and Murayama, from the left, provided Japan with an alternative leadership. They were, however, not successful and have since faded away. In the meantime, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has emerged as the new alternative to the LDP. The DPJ is suspicious of the bureaucracy and has unwisely chosen to govern without its support. In the short time that it has been in power, the DPJ has changed the leadership of the government from Hatoyama, to Kan, and to Noda, in quick succession. At a time when Japan needs strong and visionary leaders, neither party seems able to fulfil this need.
23 Professor Gerald Curtis at Columbia University, an expert of Japan, has written that: “The public’s disappointment with the DPJ is matched by a lack of enthusiasm for the LDP, or for any of the several small parties that have recently been created by defectors from the LDP. Japanese politics, like the economy itself, has fallen into a deep funk with no clear way out.” (Reimagining Japan, page 129).
24 A new generation of younger Japanese has entered politics. Many have been elected to the Diet in the 2009 elections. The question is whether these new leaders will rise to the challenge. Will they be able to envision a new future for Japan that will capture the people’s imagination and support? Will they have the wisdom to forge a new partnership with the bureaucracy, business and civil society? Will they re-energise existing political institutions or build new political institutions? Will all these happen soon so that Japan will stop drifting?
Conclusion
25 Let me conclude. Japan has played a very important role in the rise of Asia. Japanese investment, technology and Official Development Assistance (ODA) have enabled the countries and peoples of ASEAN/Southeast Asia, to make rapid progress in their social and economic development. The Fukuda Doctrine of 1977 continues to be a beacon guiding Japan and ASEAN in their engagement. The ASEAN-Japan partnership is strong, substantive and trouble-free. It is a partnership founded on shared interests, common objectives and a high level of mutual trust. ASEAN has a vested interest in a vibrant, prosperous and self-confident Japan. We wish Japan success in meeting its historic challenge of re-making an inward-looking Japan into a global Japan. History has shown us that Japan has the capacity to make such historic transformations. The Meiji Restoration and Japan’s post-war reconstruction are two such examples. A global Japan will be a boon to Japan, to Asia and the world.
[26 Sep 12, 3.00pm]
[*]Speaking in his personal capacity.
www.straitstimes.com
A REPLY TO HUGH WHITE
Who will lead Asia
Unlike the big powers, Asean is acceptable to all the stakeholders
By TOMMY KOH FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
Published on Sep 29, 2012
AUSTRALIAN academic Hugh White penned a thought-provoking essay in The Straits Times' By Invitation column last week: "Time for a small meeting of big powers" (ST, Sept 19, 2012).
His central thesis is that great changes are taking place in the Asia-Pacific region which will lead to a new order. He thinks this cannot be achieved through the various Asean-led institutions such as the East Asia Summit (EAS). He argues that what we need is a "concert of Asia" consisting of the United States, China, Japan and India.
Concert of Asia
TO WHITE, who is professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University and a visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute, we face a choice. He wrote: "Would we rather be in the room when the great powers fail to agree on how best to manage their relations, or out of the room when they succeed in agreeing?"
Concert of powers
WHITE is not the first Australian to propose that Asean's centrality in regional institutions be replaced by a small group of powerful countries. A few years ago, there was another Australian proposal to replace Asean with a "concert of powers" consisting of eight countries: the US, China, Japan, Russia, India, Indonesia, Australia and South Korea. The proposal was opposed by Asean and failed to gather support.
I am against White's proposal for the following reasons.
An antiquated idea
FIRST, the idea that the destiny of our region is to be decided by a directorate of one superpower and three major powers is an antiquated one which belongs to another time and another century.
In the bad old days, before the United Nations was founded, the big countries would meet to decide on the fate of other states. National boundaries were arbitrarily redrawn, territories were exchanged and some small countries simply disappeared from the map of the world.
We now live in a world where countries, big and small, demand a seat at the table and a say on their collective future. It is a world in which power has to be exercised in consonance with laws, conventions and principles. We live in an imperfect world, but it is not a lawless world.
Gang of Four and Perm Five
SECOND, White argues that when the four big powers meet exclusively among themselves, they will succeed in solving the problems of the region. He adduces no evidence to support his argument. We can, however, draw an analogy between White's gang of four and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. The Council consists of the five victorious powers of 1945 – the US, China, Russia, France and Britain, which have permanent seats and the power of veto, and 10 non-permanent
http://www.straitstimes.com/st/print/506198 01/10/2012
members.
Do the Perm Five have a good track record of being able to deal with threats to international peace and security? The record is a mixed one. Very often, the five permanent members of the Security Council are unable to agree – for example, on Syria. I suspect that White's gang of four will be no more successful than the five permanent members of the Security Council.
Inclusiveness is a strength
THIRD, White argued that the inclusiveness of forums such as the EAS is a "fatal weakness". He wrote: "The inclusiveness of the EAS or other large-scale forums means there are too many people at the table for serious great-power negotiations to take place."
I would point out that great- power negotiations usually take place bilaterally. I would also point out that in our region, there is a deficit of trust between and among the major powers. The US and China, China and Japan, and China and India do not trust each other. Left to themselves, they are very unlikely to be able to agree on a shared vision and a road map for the region. The inclusion of Asean and other small and middle powers changes the atmospherics of the group. As a trusted facilitator, Asean is often able to forge a consensus and reconcile the competing interests of the various parties. This is a role which the major powers cannot play, individually or collectively.
Asean+3
FOURTH, there is a heightened state of tension between Japan and South Korea and between China and Japan. Fortunately, they belong to a group called Asean+3. Asean takes no sides in the disputes between those three countries. Asean is, however, a stakeholder. It is, therefore, able to urge them to exercise restraint and to remind them of the substantial interests which they share in common and the inseparable link between North-east Asia and South-east Asia.
Tension and conflict in North- east Asia will adversely affect South-east Asia and the rest of the region. Asean is, therefore, able to play a helpful role in regional affairs by building confidence, reducing misunderstanding and mutual suspicion, and nurturing a culture of cooperation. Asean is a force for peace in the region.
Weakness as strength
FIFTH, the central role which Asean plays in regional affairs attracts both envy and puzzlement. According to the textbooks and the Realist theory of international relations, the strong should lead the weak and not the other way around. By this logic, the region should be led by the gang of four and not Asean. What these critics do not understand is the special characteristics of our region.
Let us use the analogy of choosing someone to drive the regional bus. Japan may agree to let the US drive the bus, but China will never agree. Nor will China agree to let India drive the bus, and vice versa. The only driver which the US, China, Japan and India will agree upon is Asean.
George Yeo, Singapore's former foreign minister, was right when he said that Asean's weakness is paradoxically its strength. Asean is acceptable to all the stakeholders. Asean has a good track record of prudence, pragmatism and good judgment in driving the regional bus. However, for Asean to continue to be accepted by all the stakeholders, it must remain united and neutral. This is the most important challenge facing Asean's leaders when they meet at the EAS in Phnom Penh in November.
The writer is chairman, Centre for International Law, NUS, and Special Adviser, Institute of Policy Studies.
By Invitation features leading writers and thinkers from Singapore and the region.
Copyright © 2012 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
03 November 2012
1130am – 1230pm
Featuring: John van Wyhe, Paul Sochaczewski
Venue: ilovebooks.com Pavilion, Campus Green, Singapore Management University (Capacity: 120)
Moderator: Stephen McCarty
Often over-shadowed by Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace played a crucial part in the theory of evolution. Follow his adventures across Southeast Asia and Singapore with historian-scientist John van Wyhe and journalist-writer Paul Sochaczewski as they tell us more about the intrepid explorer and naturalist.
Art and DIY Science
Saturday, September 29th, 3pm
Free Admission (event only)
Museum Rendezvous is a public forum at ArtScience Museum designed to provide audiences with an opportunity to engage in dialog with practitioners working at the intersection of art and science. The series continues this month with “Art and DIY Science”.
Venue
ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands
Expression Gallery (Level 4)
Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd
10 Bayfront Ave, Singapore 018956
An Experiment In The Extraordinary
By Vinod Ashvin Ravi, Writer – TStudios
A year after Tembusu College opened its doors, its Master – Associate Professor Gregory Clancey – recounts the past and contemplates the future.
In a 2010 interview with the Chronicle of Higher Education, Associate Professor Gregory Clancey described establishing and developing Tembusu College as an “interesting challenge”[1]. Two years later, the MIT-trained historian described the College’s first year of operations as a “fairly successful” experiment.
In fact, Prof Clancey used the term ‘experiment’ frequently when he recounted his experiences as College Master thus far to participants of an interviewing Masterclass in August. From the character of student life and the academic programme to his selection of faculty, he reiterated that the novelty of the ‘residential college’ concept in the Asian context meant that he had no preset model or formula to subscribe to in developing a first-of-its-kind College here in Singapore. Each formative step in developing NUS’ pioneer residential college – from hiring staff to admitting students – posed its own unique set of challenges.
With no physical building or student population as yet in early 2011, Prof Clancey recalled that assembling faculty proved to be a tricky task. After interviewing and interacting with numerous applicants, he went by “gut instinct” on many occasions, in judging whether applicants could go beyond merely teaching to serving as active contributors to the College environment as well. While he once he had to oversee all operations related to the College, he now has a trusted cadre of directors and faculty to whom he delegates many of the day-to-day operations.
As Master, his focus has now expanded to include engaging external partners and agencies, raising awareness and funds for the College, as well as cultivating goodwill amongst the Singaporean community. In spite of extensive and demanding administrative responsibilities however, he admitted that he was “eager to get back to teaching” as soon as the College is in a more steady state.
Student admissions into the College posed their own share of challenges as well, especially vis-à-vis freshman applications. Believing that students should learn from each other as much as they do from the faculty, Prof Clancey focused his efforts on ensuring diversity among the population of student-residents in Tembusu. Students should come from a spread of faculties, and have a variety of interests and talents outside the classroom. Diversity and potential can’t be fully captured through the NUS application form, so incoming students are also asked to write an essay and be interviewed. This was further complicated by the application process to NUS as all applicants could pick from three preferred courses and not just one. Deciding who to admit in the interest of maintaining diversity based on then-inconclusive applications was therefore a challenge for Prof Clancey and his faculty.
Prof Clancey acknowledged that he was apprehensive at having to deal with “600 strangers suddenly brought together in the same building” when Tembusu first opened. But his worry that he might have to micromanage student activities proved unfounded, as the student-residents, without prompting, started forming a multitude of interest groups and collaborated to organise calendar events. He singled out the “explosion of talent’’ he witnessed at the inaugural Cultural Night held in Semester One last year, declaring himself impressed at the level of performance. The “excess energy” and activism of Tembusu College residents has been an extraordinary revelation to Prof Clancey, who credits the interest groups and student leaders for having “helped as much as the faculty in making the college a community”.
Just as the college experimented with student activism, it did the same with the academic programme offered at Tembusu. Because the first batch college residents had to include existing seniors, not all took the college modules in the first year of trial-and-error. But the number of residents taking modules this academic year – especially those taking the full slate of five modules ranging from Junior Seminars to Ideas and Exposition modules to Senior Seminars – has increased significantly.
The flagship Senior Seminar modules – “Climate Change” in Semester 1 and “Biomedicine & Singapore Society” in Semester 2 – are central highlights of Tembusu College’s ongoing experimentation this academic year, involving more than 200 senior students each. The Senior Seminar is a manifestation of the college’s vision of having multi-disciplinary learning around global and Asian themes. Nine PhDs split the class into 15-student seminar groups focusing on various aspects of climate change, and culminating in all the student participants coming together to share what they have learnt.
Prof Clancey has also experimented with integrating the various learning platforms offered in Tembusu College. The Climate Change Senior Seminar for example, was launched at this year’s first Tembusu Forum, which featured panelists who are experts on the issue. He believes that such integration can foster greater common learning experiences among Tembusu students, and encourage common conversations across wider, broader groups of people, thereby helping to create a tighter, more close-knit “learning community”.
He revealed that he was toying with offering an Urban Studies Seminar in the future, noting that various faculty members had an interest in topics such as sustainable development. As an academic topic, he also noted that it “aligned itself well” with Tembusu College’s commitment to multidisciplinary teaching and learning.
As the first College to offer the University Town Residential Programme (UTRP), Tembusu College has already established a proud heritage in NUS within a relatively short span on 12 months. Beyond that however, Prof Clancey took pride in the fact that the intimacy of the College education model has allowed him to “know quite a few faces in the room quite well”.
Its status as a pioneer Singaporean college aside, Prof Clancey remarked that Tembusu remains a work-in-progress that will continue to develop and evolve organically with each subsequent cohort of student-residents and new approaches to collegiate living and learning. To the Master of Tembusu College – with a year of remarkable achievements and growth behind him and exciting potential developments ahead – the journey forward continues to be an experiment into the extraordinary.
[1] Purnell, N. (2010, December 14). A Singapore University Plans Its First Residential Colleges. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/A-Singapore-University-Plans/125718/
Calling all passionate and aspiring social entrepreneurs – the inaugural ‘Ideas for Life” Challenge is for students who are motivated to solve the world’s pressing social problems. If you are a social entrepreneur, here is your chance to submit and win prizes for innovative solutions to change society for the better. Your solutions or ideas should offer extreme ‘value for money’, sustainable, engaging and implementable on a wide scale. They solve a compelling problem in communities in or outside Singapore. They are likely to involve engineering / design innovations which are simple and novel. They have great commercial value.
Successful ideas and proposals should address :
Scenario to which the proposal applies
Social impact : compelling problems which are observed, needs identified, opportunities seized,
communities served
Technical Design : creativity, simplicity, innovative, robust, detailed illustrations
Enterprise : value-for-money proposition, marketing and business strategies, distribution and reach
Sustainability : Business and environmental
Participants should submit a detailed proposal using a template which can be downloaded at ‘Ideas for Life’ Challenge. Eight teams which are shortlisted by the judging panel will present their proposal. See the deadlines below.
Eligibility
Teams of 4 undergraduates from any department / faculty of NUS are eligible. Multi-disciplinary teams are most encouraged and welcomed.
Important Dates
Registration: 30 Sept 2012
Proposal submission: 22 Oct 2012
Announcement of shortlist / finalists : 26 Oct 2012
Presentations by finalists : 31 Oct 2012
Prizes
1st Prize : SGD2000 + trip to India*
2nd Prize : SGD1000 + trip to India*
3rd Prize : SGD600
Consolation prizes : SGD400 x 3 teams
*The trip to India will take place over 2 to 3 weeks in December 2012. Dates are currently being finalized. The airfare and accommodation in India will be fully paid. The cash prize goes to your pocket money for the trip.
The trip to India is a great opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to gain first-hand experience in a society with pressing needs. The ideas created in this Challenge need not be directly targeted at the community which the winners will be visiting in India. It will be a great bonus if your ideas apply to the scenario in India. Otherwise, your trip to India is a new opportunity for you to apply your passion as a social entrepreneur.
Visit www.i4lchallenge.org for more details.
The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Sep 01, 2012
BY INVITATION
Asean up to tackling sixth challenge
Asean has withstood trials in the past, but it has to recover from the setback in Phnom Penh and remain united on the SouthChina Sea issue
By TOMMY KOH FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
FOUNDED in August 1967, Asean is 45 years old. At its 45th annual Foreign Ministers' Meeting, held in Phnom Penh in July, Asean suffered a serious setback. For the first time in its history, the ministerial meeting ended without adopting a joint communique.
The ostensible reason for the failure was the inability of the chair, Cambodia, to find a consensus on how to depict the recent intensification of disputes in the South China Sea between the Philippines and Vietnam, on the one hand, and China, on the other hand, in the joint communique.
Below the surface, however, there were two other factors at work. The first is the growing influence of China in the region. The second is the competition between the incumbent superpower, the United States, and China, the rising power. Asean is, therefore, faced with a challenge. Can it recover from the setback in Phnom Penh and remain united? I will call this the sixth challenge. I am confident that Asean will overcome this challenge as it has overcome its five previous challenges. Let us briefly review the record.
Challenge No. 1
Will Asean allow Vietnam to use its superior military power to invade and occupy its weaker but troublesome neighbour, Cambodia?
In 1978, Cambodia was ruled by the odious Khmer Rouge regime. Its rise to power had been supported by Vietnam. They had subsequently parted company and became "brother enemies", to use a phrase from Nayan Chanda.
In December 1978, Vietnam responded to the provocations of the Khmer Rouge regime by invading Cambodia. Vietnam overthrew the Khmer Rouge regime and replaced it with a new one consisting of the pro-Vietnam faction of the Khmer Rouge, headed by Heng Samrin.
Asean was faced with its first major challenge: whether to acquiesce to Vietnam's invasion and occupation of Cambodia or to oppose it.
Although the Khmer Rouge regime was universally hated, Asean decided that Vietnam's invasion and occupation of its weaker neighbour would set an unacceptable precedent.
Asean's objectives were: to persuade Vietnam to withdraw its forces from Cambodia; to prevent the Khmer Rouge from regaining power and to give the people of Cambodia the right to choose their own government in an election organised by the United Nations. From December 1978 until the 1991 Paris Peace Conference, Asean led a successful diplomatic campaign to bring the Cambodian conflict to a peaceful resolution.
Challenge No. 2
Will Asean survive the end of the Cold War?
Asean faced its second major challenge when the Cold War ended. Some scholars had mistakenly perceived the grouping as an American-inspired creature of the Cold War. They predicted that, with the end of the Cold War, Asean would become redundant and fade away. Asean confounded its critics. It welcomed Vietnam into the family. It decided to support the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
Sensing that the Asia-Pacific was in need of an inclusive forum to discuss issues of peace and security, Asean founded the Asean Regional Forum. Therefore, instead of fading away with the end of the Cold War, Asean responded creatively to the challenge and thereby gained a new salience.
Challenge No. 3
Will Asean close its doors or welcome the world to South-east Asia?
With the exception of Thailand, all the other members of Asean had once been colonised by the West. It is natural for newly independent countries to be wary of their former colonial masters. One would, therefore, have expected Asean to close its doors and to attempt to keep the major powers from interfering in the region. Contrary to such expectation, the leaders of Asean decided that it was better to give the external powers a stake in the stability and prosperity of the region rather than to keep them out.
Beginning in 1973, Asean established dialogue partnerships with external powers which have an interest in the region. Today, Asean has 10 dialogue partners, namely, Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the US. Annually, the Asean foreign ministers would invite the ministers of the dialogue partners to meet with them, in an Asean+dialogue partner format.
This has become an annual fixture in the international diplomatic calendar. Asean has also concluded free trade agreements with six dialogue partners, namely, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. Such arrangements have enhanced economic growth and trade between Asean and its partners.
Challenge No. 4
Will Asean stagnate or re-invent itself?
The leaders of Asean are aware of the danger of complacency. They realise that the grouping must constantly raise its game in order to match the competition. In order to compete more effectively with a rising China and India, Asean decided to broaden and deepen its integration. It has set the ambitious goal of transiting from an association to a community in 2015. The community will comprise three pillars: economic, socio-cultural and political-security.
By 2015, Asean will become a single market and production base of 600 million consumers with a combined gross domestic product of US$1.8 trillion (S$2.3 trillion). Asean has also adopted a charter, established two commissions on human rights and embarked on a journey to be a more rules-based organisation.
Challenge No. 5
Will Asean continue to play the role of convenor and chair of regional forums and institutions?
Asean acts as the convenor and chair of the annual Asean Post-Ministerial Conference, the Asean Regional Forum, Asean+3, and the East Asia Summit.
Asean's centrality is, however, constantly under challenge. For example, a few years ago, there was an Australian proposal to replace Asean with a "concert of powers". It is not normal for such leadership to be exercised by a group of 10 not very powerful countries. It is normal for the strong to lead the weak and not for the weak to lead the strong.
In this region, the four major powers – the US, China, Japan and India – do not trust one another. They are quite happy to let Asean take the lead as long as Asean is united, neutral, pragmatic and prudent. Singapore's Foreign Minister, Mr K. Shanmugam, has however warned that: "Only a united Asean can credibly play a central role in engaging major powers towards the common goal of promoting regional peace, stability and prosperity."
Challenge No. 6
Will Asean recover from the setback in Phnom Penh and remain united on the South China Sea issue and in the new strategic landscape?
I am confident that when our leaders meet in Phnom Penh in November, they will restore Asean's credibility by forging a consensus on the South China Sea. The statement of six principles, brokered by Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and issued in Phnom Penh on July 20, forms the basis for a common Asean position on the South China Sea.
I am also confident that our leaders will reaffirm Asean's neutrality and independence in the face of growing competition for influence by the US and China. Individual Asean countries can be pro-China, pro-US, pro-Japan or pro-India. However, Asean as a group must be non-aligned. If Asean becomes divided or partisan, its central role in the region's forums and organisations will be in jeopardy. The future of Asean is, therefore, at stake.
The writer, who served as president of the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea in 1981 and 1982, is the chairman of the Centre for International Law of the National University of Singapore.
By Invitation features leading thinkers and writers from Singapore and the region.
Copyright © 2012 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
Tembusu College is seeking dedicated and enthusiastic students to serve as Tembusu Ambassadors!
*Please note that this is a separate recruitment from the UTown Ambassadors. If you have applied to be a UTown Ambassador and are also interested in becoming a Tembusu Ambassador, please do put in a separate application to Tembusu College.
Your Ticket to the World!
Tembusu Ambassadors will have the opportunity to assist in welcoming and hosting high profile visitors such as local and foreign Ambassadors and diplomats when they visit Tembusu College and/or University Town (UTown). As an Ambassador, you will also be able to promote and showcase Tembusu College & UTown to prospective students during Outreach events, such as the NUS Open House.
What do Tembusu Ambassadors do?
Who is an ideal candidate?
As Tembusu Ambassadors, you will be presented with opportunities to:
* It is obligatory of all newly recruited Tembusu Ambassadors to attend a half-day workshop on “Communication and Networking Skills” during the mid-term break
Application Process
We are no longer accepting applications. Thank you for your interest!
Tembusu Ambassadors Period of Appointment: One Academic Year (to be reviewed after one semester of service), renewable upon discretion of Tembusu College Administration Office
For inquiries pertaining to this application process, please feel free to contact: Ms. Sara Kuek (Program Manager for Tembusu Ambassadors) at sara_kuek@nus.edu.sg.
Tembusu College Office University Town, NUS 28 College Avenue East, #B1-01 Singapore 138598
tembusu@nus.edu.sg
