Page 8 - Tiny Singapore News Today

See why millions of people have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. dont wait. call now. ♪ ♪ >> cab driver: singapore is a multinational society. we got chinese, malay, indian, and other races in singapore. >> anthony: it seems to work. >> cabby: yeah, it works. it works, yeah. ♪

Business climate, becoming an early pioneer of singapores now famous nightlife. back then, in the beginning, at the very beginning, was it a favorable business climate in the sense that, did they look upon your early efforts generously or kindly? or were they not so sure about this guy? how was it? >> mike: oh, no, singapore is fantastic. >> anthony: and what time did bars close? >> mike: 2:00. thats where the opportunity i saw. you know, you cannot run this economy hoping on one leg. like, you ...

>> anthony: that sounds kind of depressing. >> najip: i know, but thats the past. >> anthony: the muslim quarter --just following afternoon prayers. im here with najip ali, a singaporean malay entertainer and producer. >> najip: yeah, okay. >> anthony: that looks good. >> najip: this is it. >> anthony: so this is a -- >> najip: longton. >> anthony: and this? >> najip: mee siam. >> anthony: we are having longton. rice cake, coconut gravy, vegetables, and a hard-boiled egg. and mee siam, fried ric...

>> najip: yeah, exactly. >> anthony: that sounds kind of depressing. >> najip: i know, but thats the past. >> anthony: the muslim quarter --just following afternoon prayers. im here with najip ali, a singaporean malay entertainer and producer. >> najip: yeah, okay. >> anthony: that looks good. >> najip: this is it. >> anthony: so this is a -- >> najip: longton. >> anthony: and this? >> najip: mee siam. >> anthony: we are having longton. rice cake, coconut gravy, vegetables, and a hard-boiled egg...

>> anthony: ho kai min? >> cab driver: ho kai min. sometimes chicken rice. >> anthony: chicken rice of course. >> cab driver: yes. >> anthony: how about favorite indian dish? >> cab driver: definitely biryani. you know that? >> anthony: the biryani. >> cab driver: ya. biryani rice. >> anthony: oh, sungei road right? >> cab driver: yes, yes. >> anthony: oh thats the best -- on sungei road. its funny. i recognize every place here by food. >> goh: tony, how are you? >> anthony: pretty good. >> goh:...

Citizens are safe, housed, healthy and for the most part economically successful, the singaporean government has been effective at keeping the masses placated enough, willing to accept curbs on their freedom and civil liberties. do you think that the singaporean success story is a rebuke to american and western values in some respect? >> donald: no, no. >> anthony: i mean, is free speech overrated? >> donald: i dont think we succeeded because the absence of free speech. >> anthony: its a fact, t...

>> anthony: one-fifth of the worlds shipping containers move through the port of singapore. it is the busiest transshipment point on the planet. singapore has fully embraced globalization. and thats proved in their case very rewarding. >> donald: singapore is an outsized economic port primarily because its so attractive to foreign entrepreneurs primarily in the form of multinational corporations. so right from the start, the economic strategy was always to attract foreign capital. >> anthony: do...

Writing about singapores unique financial policies. >> donald: you know, this place is almost contrary to the founders original expectations. this place was this multiethnic meritocratic idea, this pragmatic understanding that free trade is good for everyone. this is place is, after 50 years, is deeply imprinted in singapore. its remarkable how open and welcoming of diversity singapore still is. >> anthony: we are now living in times where globalism and globalization are bad words. we are seeing...

Prosperity, its stability, one ounce. what will we lose if we had a free uprise? what would we lose if we had more democratic opposition representation? it would make for not only a livelier debate, it would make for a better debate. we may well arrive at the conclusion that the current dispensation of the current order represents the best possible society for singapore. but lets have that debate. >> anthony: i mean, its a horrifying thought, "what if?" >> donald: its possible that the human min...

Singapore will not thrive in such a world. ♪ >> anthony: a lot of social engineering has been superimposed to hold that together, and i think what a lot of westerners who come to singapore come here skeptical are often reluctantly holding to the inescapable conclusion that it seems to work. >> donald: it seems to work. but of course, the post independence singapore government has been often accused of being extremely keen and extremely competent at social engineering. of course, the most power...