Singapore & ASEAN: Some thoughts

We had a very interesting and knowledgeable speaker today for International Organisations class: Mr Joergen Oerstroem Moeller, a former Danish Ambassador to Singapore who is now working as an adjunct professor at SMU.

A strong advocate of the European Union integration project, Mr Moeller has obviously spent years selling the idea of a more integrated EU as a stronger entity that is better for Europeans and the world. It shows in his persuasive arguments and suave choice of words - regardless of his audience, be they Euro-sceptics, protectionistic Americans, or unpolished university undergraduates like myself.

His polished and restrained manner contrasts with another memorable character that I met at a dinner at MFA: Mr Tony Siddique, our current Non-Resident Ambassador to Denmark. A funny man with an overgrown dose of slapstick humour who spent 2 hours entertaining our group of bemused interns, Mr Siddique spent years travelling Europe and making Singapore relevant to countries within the EU at a time when the EU was inward-looking and overly-focused on the integration agenda.

Despite the different personalities of both men, they are similar in one aspect: both are in the high-end, high-stakes business of persuasion in diplomacy. What kind of person does it take to "sell" a country to an international audience? Amidst the chorus of voice fighting to be heard on the international stage, how can a single country stand out from the rest to attract much-needed investments and attention from the rest of the world?

And now let's look at Singapore. I have never ceased to be amazed at how a little country like ours can stand up on its own two feet, stare down our huge neighbours to the north and south, and play a pioneering position in the creation of organisations like ASEAN and APEC. The list of our achievements goes on of course.

Our politicians, both past and present, have the insight to understand the importance of power projection on the international arena: Given our size and geographical positions, we could easily be swallowed up and become irrelevant as the world passes by us. The only way today where Singapore can make its voice heard in this globalised world is to project that voice together with other like-minded countries in Southeast Asia via organisations like ASEAN.

As one united entity, we are formidable. Like the EU project that has virtually enhanced Europe's status as a important player in international relations, ASEAN has attracted the attention of the world given our ability to speak as one voice, and negotiate with third parties as a bloc.

But the constant challenge for us of course is to continue to plug into the region and the world. By constantly reinventing ourselves and making our country relevant to the world and the region, Singapore will continue to become prosperous and strong.

Of course, what does it mean for the average person on the street like us? Our national psyche of perseverance and hard work filters down to the grassroots, causing people like you and me to work from 9 am to 9 pm (or beyond) or study through the night just to ace that certain module. Because we know in our heart that if we do not work hard, we may become irrelevant to the market place.

We all live in competitive times today. It is not in our destiny to ask for a much lenient and slower life. Just like Singapore, let's not rest on our laurels just because we have made a name for ourselves as a backwater-state-turned-developed nation.

I just feel like blogging again

It's 2.41 am on a Monday morning. Amidst my notes and half-hearted preparations for a powerpoint presentation due on Wednesday, here I am typing some random thoughts after browsing through the blogs of some of my friends.

It's Term 1 of my 3rd year in university. Graduation, which is more than 19 months away, seems like an eternity away and a concern that is too distant despite the rough labour market we have been observing in recent times.

I haven't given much thought to my future except to become "either an economist, diplomat or journalist" in the immediate years after graduation, then moving on to work for either an MNC or an IGO as a consultant, then maybe start a business after that.

The vagueness and the complex uncertainties in life really irritates me because I am someone who irks the thought of helplessness. I shudder at losing control of my life and not knowing what lies ahead, especially when the road ahead is marked by potholes and the odds seem stacked against me.

What to do? Sometimes, not doing anything is an option but it is a suicidal choice because winners are those who sense change before it happens, and reacts before change overwhelms them, or passes them by, making them irrelevant and marginalised.

Do you want to be irrelevant and marginalised? No! Everyone wants to be a winner in his heart. And winners don't just sit around. They want to stand up and do something. They want to be prepared and take advantage of this change when it comes.

And back to my notes. Yes, studying is important and I am obliged as a son and a student, to study hard and get good grades to live up to the expectation of society. We all need a theoratical understanding of the world to survive, and "toughen" our minds so that we can "think on a higher plane" than the unschooled.

Unfortunately, I'm also laden with the feeling that solely focusing on studying makes you blind to the real changes out there. Where books and paper are concerned, the knowledge is static, independent of the events happening around us, and the opportunities slipping through our fingers. But real change is always on the move, seeking greener pastures and the rightful heirs to make use of them, and recognise the potential that they bring.

Can studying help us recognise such changes and make ample use of opportunities around us? I wonder.

And while I put away such thoughts, I know that I will revisit them again on another uneventful and quiet morning like this moment. Perhaps, just perhaps, studying will help me get the answers that I seek.

If not, I can just relish in the moment of ignorance, and be drowned in the books and notes.