The port of Singapore is very busy and maritime traffic there is only increasing. The number of oil, gas, and chemical tankers alone has risen by 5.8% in just the past month. Ron Wheeler snapped this picture of a near collision between two oil tankers in the crowded port. You can view three more in the sequence at the link.

Link -via Jalopnik | Photo: Ron Wheeler

One of the most memorable books I've ever read was From Third World to First : The Singapore Story, written by Lee Kuan Yew. In it, (then) Prime Minister Lee described how he transformed the tiny backwater island of Singapore, which has virtually no natural assets into an economic powerhouse and a modern society in just one generation.

While anyone who has ever visited Singapore can clearly see that the achievements are real, there are those who disagreed with the means Lee used to get the country there:

Achieving all this has required a delicate balancing act, an often paradoxical interplay between what some Singaporeans refer to as "the big stick and the big carrot." What strikes you first is the carrot: giddy financial growth fueling never ending construction and consumerism. Against this is the stick, most often symbolized by the infamous ban on chewing gum and the caning of people for spray-painting cars. Disruptive things like racial and religious disharmony? They're simply not allowed, and no one steals anyone else's wallet.

Singapore, maybe more than anywhere else, crystallizes an elemental question: What price prosperity and security? Are they worth living in a place that many contend is a socially engineered, nose-to-the-grindstone, workaholic rat race, where the self-perpetuating ruling party enforces draconian laws (your airport entry card informs you, in red letters, that the penalty for drug trafficking is "DEATH"), squashes press freedom, and offers a debatable level of financial transparency? Some people joke that the government micromanages the details of life right down to how well Singapore Airlines flight attendants fill out their batik-patterned dresses.

So, it was quite interesting for me to read this interview with Lee (now a "Minister Mentor" - a strangely apt title befitting the man still behind the curtain in Singapore even though he's ostensibly retired) by National Geographic Magazine's Mark Jacobson. In particular:

Perhaps the most troubling problem facing the nation is a result of its overly successful population control program, which ran in the 1970s with the slogan "Two Is Enough." Today Singaporeans are simply not reproducing, so the country must depend on immigrants to keep the population growing. The government offers baby bonuses and long maternity leaves, but nothing will help unless Singaporeans start having more sex. According to a poll by the Durex condom company, Singaporeans have less intercourse than almost any other country on Earth. "We are shrinking in our population," the MM says. "Our fertility rate is 1.29. It is a worrying factor." This could be the fatal error in the Singapore Model: The eventual extinction of Singaporeans.

Link (Photo: David McLain)

The creator put a ton of effort into filming as much of his trip as possible, and included some highlights like the automatic beer machine at the Tokyo lounge (at 3 minutes 50 seconds).

Gadling has the video clip: Link [embedded Vimeo clip]

Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore has come up with a clever new marketing campaign in a search for new recruits for the Singapore Navy. They sent over 6,000 letters containing a fold out uniform to help the students better imagine themselves as Navy officers.

The mock uniforms are to help the students better imagine themselves dressed for success. 6,000 direct mailers were mailed to graduating ‘A’ level students in December 2008. 4.7% of them responded, considered a higher than average response rate compared to previous direct mailers sent out.

“We sent out direct mailer packs, which opened out to be the ultimate uniform – a crisp, white Naval Officer’s jacket, complete with medals and decorations. A business reply card was placed in the breast pocket.”

Link – via campaignbrief

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by coconutnut.

[Creative Commons licensed picture courtesy of Flickr user ChanC]

It is a small island stuck in-between Malaysia and Indonesia. Within many of our lifetimes it was the location of some of the worst ethnic violence seen anywhere in the post-war era. Conversely, within ALL of our lifetimes it has been a shining example of strength through ethnic diversity and a model of progressiveness and modernism.

I’ve been to Singapore twice – both visits almost 20 years ago (am I really getting that old?!)

When I was there I saw the slow, relentless urban renewal effort in action. Old-fashioned Chinese “shop house” neighborhoods were being systematically torn down and replaced with more modern facilities for living and for commerce. There was some sadness around this march of progress – but perhaps more palpable, a sense of excitement for the future.

Fast-forwarding 20 years from my last extended stay in Singapore and the International Herald Tribune is reporting today that only one old-fashioned rural village remains in Singapore and it, too, is slated for “renewal” itself before long.

The IHT has a nice [short] video about Singapore’s last village and the relentless march of time. Are there any “old Asian hands” among our readers who can remember the old Singapore?

[International Herald Tribune]