Innovation in Singapore Inc – Oxymoronic?

Why are Singaporeans so uncreative? This article tosses a strong critique towards the government and sets out to explain the very recent emphasis on creativity and entreprise in Singapore.

Introduction

Some Singapore History

In the initial period after Singapore gained independence in 1965, there was a need for the government to provide its citizens with the bare necessities such as supplies and infrastructure. As a trading port and later as industrialization began to accelerate, there was no room for creativity in the workplace.

Why Creativity was Frown Upon in Singapore

The government took a heavy-handed approach towards building Singapore, and with this methodical approach came an implied reluctance to venture into new industries, let alone to invest in research and development. Being a fledgling nation at that point of time, Singapore chose to grow their economic power by emulating developed industrial economies such as the United Kingdom[1]. Consequently, as Singapore developed its manufacturing sector, its citizens came to accept that efforts would be rewarded linearly, and that these rewards would be sufficient to sustain an acceptable lifestyle.

Rise of the Current Innovation System in Singapore

The Raise of the High-Tech Manufacturing Industry

While Singapore’s rapid growth in the period following its independence had propelled it to the forefront amongst other Southeast Asian countries, land and population constraints eventually limited the manufacturing costs that Singapore could offer to its foreign investors. Then PM Lee Kuan Yew was quick to identify a new direction for the country, and opted to develop the workforce towards competing in the high-tech manufacturing industry.

For a brief moment, this strategy worked – her wafer plants and Hard Disk Drive factories epitomizing this success. However, it was not long before countries such as Taiwan and Korea caught up and eventually surpassed Singapore in this industry[2].

Furthermore, with the Asian Financial Crisis and conformity to global trends hitting hard, the Singapore Government made bold policy changes to bolster innovation following the Asian Financial Crisis of 1998 due to two factors.

Impact of the 1998 Finacial Crisis to Singapore’s Manufacturing Sector

Firstly, the Crisis exposed the Singapore’s dependency on its regional neighbours’ economies for growth. To minimise this dependence, the Singapore Government set its sights on becoming a more significant player in global markets. By becoming involved in a greater number of overseas economies, Singapore’s economy might become more stable. To attain such a goal, Singapore would have to develop home-grown, innovative organizations that would be able to compete on that scale.

Even More Competition

Secondly, the devaluation of currencies of Singapore’s regional neighbours meant that post-Crisis recovery would see more cost-competition for Singapore. It became increasingly important that Singapore held a strong innovative edge to indirectly counter the increased competition in the region.