Globalised Cities: Prevalent Issues Exacerbated

Globalised Cities: Prevalent Issues Exacerbated

Nanyang Technological University

School of Humanities & Social Sciences

Assoc. Prof Sulfikar Amir

Izzah Binte Mohd Mokhti

Tutorial Group 4

Name: Cheung Zi Qing Glenda

Word Count: 1551

Globalised Cities: Prevalent Issues Exacerbated 2

Globalised cities- as much as they have brought about greater work opportunities, leading

to better income therefore increasing the standards of living- these supposed benefits come with

underlying costs and arguably perpetuating more problems. Indeed, Urbanisation has allowed the

numbers of city dwellers to increase overtime and at a hyperspeed, data (United Nations 2018)

collated by the UN suggests that by 2000 there were 371 cities with 1 million inhabitants, it is

also projected that by 2030, figures will rise to 706. The alarming surge of population inhibiting

cities and megacities is a double-edged sword. On one hand, analysts (Peterson 2017) suggested

that a growing population would seek to boost and elevate economic growth substantially and

that the two factors are closely intertwined. Whilst on the contrary, some argue that the growing

population would only seek to deplete the finite resources available on earth and can be

detrimental in the long run as it would in turn drive up competition for the already limited

resources. As such, we examine this within our homeland Singapore, where we have witnessed

major transitions and steps she took to be crowned (Wu 2020) the “The best planned city in the

world”, today. We seek to uncover if Singapore’s transition to become a globalised city has

brought more negative impacts than its positives - and to what extent has the growth further

entrench its inhabitants?

First, we need to dissect the concept of globalised cities, defined (Renn 2012) by Saskia

Sassen, “City is a significant production point of specialized financial and producer services that

make the globalized economy run”. Breaking away from Malaya in 1965, Singapore had to deal

with major issues like housing, sanitation, security and more. To solve the inherent problems, she

first had to establish a stronger economy in order to fund and improve living conditions

gradually. Back in the 1960s, Singapore’s GDP per capita was merely under US$320 (Zhou
Globalised Cities: Prevalent Issues Exacerbated 3

2019), she also faced a high unemployment rate, as well as two thirds of her population residing

in slums and poor environments. Under the assimilative government of Lee Kuan Yew,

Singapore was quickly thrusted into the direction of globalisation and rapid industrialisation. The

government knew they had to make proper and adequate use of the abundant labour market

locally. Thus, to gain the trust of foreign investors and countries, the government implemented a

series of stringent laws and regulation - creating systems to safeguard investors by ensuring the

eradication of corruption or potential rebellion from the workers. For instance , former finance

minister Goh Keng Swee suggested a Charter of Industrial Progress and a Productivity Code of

Practice ((National Trades Union Congress 2015). The policies greatly diminished the chances of

worker revolts and strikes as they sought to appease the workers, by ensuring wage increase

according to “a flexible formula” and providing incentives through promotions. Having to garner

the necessary trust by establishing necessary ground rules, she further encouraged Foreign Direct

Investments (FDIs) by reducing governmental intervention in trade, attractive tax incentives and

the constant improvement of workers’ capabilities and skills (Nordea Trade 2020). By the 1970s,

she was already serving several multinational corporations, establishing strong foundations and

showcasing an ever evolving labour market base. This signifies success in Singapore's effort to

attract relevant investors purely utilising her existing resources, as well as using globalisation to

her advantage. Moving past the 1980s, she was able to meet consumer demands and alter her

labour market by producing “higher value-added electronics, petrochemicals, component and

precision engineering” (Menon 2015). These policies and adaptability continued to serve the

nation effectively, with data (Ceic Data 2020) illustrating the lowest unemployment rate dated

back in 1997s, at 1.40%. As such, we can evidently see the impact brought forth by foreign

investments and influx of foreign fundings that has allowed Singapore to experience a surge in
Globalised Cities: Prevalent Issues Exacerbated 4

demand for her labour market. These would not be made possible without incorporating features

of globalisation within the city under the assimilative and clear-visioned govenrment. External

sources of income and investments are heavily needed to construct a stronger foundation of

economy, especially like Singapore who has extremely limited resources. Her effortless pursuit

to become one of the four asian tigers in the 1980s shows relentless motivation and drive towards

growth and independence. She was also able to channel her resources effectively, and invest in

areas that were profitable and beneficial for the future economy. Singapore’s economy has had to

be highly adaptable and fluid to conquer potential threats and fluxes. As witnessed during the

1997 Asian Financial Crisis- though it was expected that open trade markets will be deeply

affected by the impacts, but Singapore’s adaptability managed to keep her impacts to the minimal

and cushion the impact and detriments (Chew 2016). This shows the capacity of the local

market, which is able to withstand circumstances which we have no control over.

Benefitting from the nation’s growth, citizens are able to enjoy living in a city ranked

“3rd richest country based on GDP” (Iso 2018), with great improvement and standards of living.

This is inferred by the surge and increase in middle and upper class groups in Singapore -

meaning more people are ascending social mobility charts. However, it is worth noting that with

the rise in middle and affluent classes, there must be the presence of the opposite - the lower

strata. Sure, we have covered the fact that Singapore has built on a stronger foundation in

economic terms as well as being supplemented with external resources and talent, but how

exactly does the distribution work? Adding onto the inquiry, how effective is the distribution of

resources?
Globalised Cities: Prevalent Issues Exacerbated 5

It is no surprise that with greater progress in social mobility, it comes at the expense of

people who were not even given the equal or equitable resources from the start. As reported

(Low 2020), Singapore fared poorly in providing fair wage as well as protection to her labour

market.

With globalisation, it has opened the floodgates of foreign talents entering Singapore for

her stability and growth. Data (Curphey 2019) suggests a rise and ever growing number of

international schools locally, compared to local schools, these international schools’ tuition (

Edarabia 2020) range $13000-$31000 per year. Given that there is a growing demand for

international school locally, it shows that international expatriates are able to afford the tuition,

thus allowing their future generation to receive better resources in school compared to locals.

This further perpetuates inequality in education locally, as the expatriate’s children would go

about to attain a higher educational level compared to a local child who receives the national

education. Apart from educational disparities between expatriates and locals, living conditions

and standards between the two identities could be vastly different.

Indeed, Housing Development Board (HDB) flats are reserved for the locals which aims

to safeguard the locals’ interests and benefits. However, precisely because private estates and

condominiums are the only residences foreign expatriates can stay in Singapore, it greatly

narrows the expatriates’ capabilities and filters in only foreign talent with substantial economic

capacities and income - to be able to afford living in Singapore. Based on data (Ministry of

Manpower 2019) and criteria set by the local Ministry of Manpower, long term visit passes for

family can only be applied if an individual is able to earn a fixed monthly salary of $6000. As

observed, this criteria highlights the fact that local expatriates need to have a higher
Globalised Cities: Prevalent Issues Exacerbated 6

socio-economic background to enter Singapore, which further aggravates the inequality wage

differences already inherent locally. Drawing links from wage disparities, it results in potential

loss of high paying jobs available for locals, as reported (Chua 2018), these jobs instead go to

foreign talent even if they harness the same credentials, they are deemed more capable and equip

soft skills. Thus, globalisation may have benefited Singapore in opening our doors to more

opportunities and economic gains, it may have exacerbated a counter-effect, given that there will

be an increase in foreign investors and workers to enter the local labour market. This in turn

depletes chances for locals to be hired for high paying jobs, inevitably increasing competition for

the limited positions. This would thus translate to what we witness today, where expats are

settling down in Singapore yielding great resources in lifestyles as well as education standards

for their future generations.

Taking everything into account, we cannot undermine the success and growth

globalisation has allowed Singapore to become- a highly productive city with key investments

and trading opportunities. However, precisely because globalisation has opened up our borders to

attract foreign investors, foreign skilled workers are likewise interested by investing their money

to enter Singapore for residency and jobs. In turn, globalisation has exacerbated existing

inequalities and intensified competition for the already limited resources. Given that Singapore is

a meritocratic society, distribution of resources may seem to be equitable but underlying the

facade, globalisation has in my opinion widened the inequality gap, perpetuating an even more

inequitable distribution of resources. This is shown through the surge in foreign talent aiming for

similar positions as locals, as well as resource disparities between locals as well as international

students. Thus, globalisation has though propelled the direction of Singapore initially, yet it has
Globalised Cities: Prevalent Issues Exacerbated 7

brought about negative impacts the current generation are facing. In which I would conclude that

globalisation has further entrenched inhabitants in Singapore.

Globalised Cities: Prevalent Issues Exacerbated 8

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