The End Of An Era, The Birth Of A Brave New Future – Darren Mak
The birth of a new era. Picture Credits: Asia Financial
A new age dawns upon Singapore. Since independence, we have had only 3 Prime Ministers – Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Mr Goh Chock Tong, and Mr Lee Hsien Loong. A fourth was only a matter of time, and now it seems that it would be Mr Lawrence Wong, who most notably co-chaired the COVID-19 Multi-Ministry Taskforce, transitioning the pandemic into an endemic situation.
While some complained about hiccups along the way and wished that Singapore opened up sooner than it did, no one can deny the numbers – of the 6.2 million deaths worldwide, Singapore has contributed only 1300, a fraction of a fraction of the global devastation brought by the virus. With that trial out of the way, Mr Wong will have to steer the country to face the countless other challenges we will undoubtedly face in the years to come.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There are still the next elections to be held by 2025. While the PAP still has the wide majority of seats in Parliament, it did not fare as well as it had hoped in 2020. But that paved the way for the establishment of the office of the Leader of the Opposition, which a sign of the evolving political landscape we find ourselves in. Despite the major setbacks that the opposition faced in this milestone term, Singapore may yet find a stronger opposition presence in the years to come.
Partisan sympathies aside, it can only be a good thing that the political systems in Singapore are evolving to better represent the diverse opinions and inclinations across our society. But for the future PM, finding consensus and leading a government that can unite everyone, regardless of their votes, may be yet another challenge to overcome.
Polarisation is a problem we see all around us. Picture Credits:Futurity.org
Political divisions are not the only fault line in this country. Racism and religious intolerance have also been given the spotlight in recent years, opening the first step on the road to finding solutions. Coincidentally, Mr Wong himself emphasised the importance of the majority communities being ‘sensitive to and conscious of the needs of minorities’ in his IPS-RSIS speech in 2021, urging them to ‘take the extra step’ to make minorities feel more at ease. But it is perhaps the pink elephant in the room that will prove to be even more difficult to confront – after all, even those who are unwittingly insensitive to racial minorities might agree in principle that racism is bad.
But when it comes to the LGBT topic, there is precious little common ground for mutual compromise. One side wants social recognition for simply being who they are; the other to affirm norms and traditions that reject that. But there is no more burying our heads in the sand. It will be a difficult but crucial task for the leader of this country to bring people together and find common ground for coexistence, even if not to find ideological or moral compromise.
If cannot agree, at least live together in peace can? Picture Credits: TODAY, OutRight Action International
Of course, Singapore’s problems do not come only from within our shores. The rise in price for many items have and will continue to be impacted by situations around the world. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused food prices to reach its highest ever prices, in particular since both countries are major exporters of wheat and corn. These problems have hit Singapore as well, a rude reminder of how connected and susceptible we are to global forces. These issues need not be man-made disasters either, as the ever increasing effects of climate change are felt all around us.
As a highly urbanised island nation, we will bear a huge cost for rising sea levels and rising temperatures. Even if we could hide behind air-conditioning forever, the natural environment around us cannot. While such threats are beyond a single country’s leader to control, the country’s ability to work with others in the international community to navigate these tremendous tasks will rest on our top leadership.
Yes, we have a lot of problems. Picture Credits: TODAY
With Mr Wong now the heir apparent to take on the buffet of problems Singapore will face over the next decade, we as a society must develop the necessary resilience and strength to not only withstand the brave new future, but also to thrive in it under the leadership of a new generation of leaders in a new era of Singapore’s history.
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