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146 2013 Year of Rethink

Inside or outside Singapore, even it is an isolated case as claimed by the government, the Little India riot is a piece of international news. It presented the other side of Singapore to the international audiences, that a stable country can also have violence.

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Piji Tailai
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77 views5 pages

146 2013 Year of Rethink

Inside or outside Singapore, even it is an isolated case as claimed by the government, the Little India riot is a piece of international news. It presented the other side of Singapore to the international audiences, that a stable country can also have violence.

Uploaded by

Piji Tailai
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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2013 Year of Re-think, from Riot to Rentier Economy

Inside or outside Singapore, even it is an isolated case as


claimed by the government, the Little India riot is a piece
of international news. It presented the other side of
Singapore to the international audiences, that a stable
country can also have violence.

So, we need to rethink the possible reasons for the Riot,
beyond the official version. Besides riot, the whole of 2013
is a year of re-thinking, re-consideration, re-assessment and
re-evaluation of our past, present and future. The PAP is
re-thinking and re-introducing democratic
socialist. Why? It is because our very successful model is
mainly based on the rentier economy and rentier
capitalism. So, the PAP is re-examining its glory past and
tries to re-fine the model. Will it work? It is too early to
tell.

Rentier economy

Rentier economy usually refers to oil rich producing
countries but it can also refer to countries that have
certain characteristics of a rentier state.

There are four characteristics that would determine
whether or not a state could be identified as rentier#1:
1. if rent situations predominate
2. if the economy relies on a substantial external rent
and therefore does not require a strong domestic
productive sector
3. if only a small proportion of the working population is
actually involved in the generation of the rent
4. and, perhaps most importantly, which the states
government is the principal recipient of the external rent.
[2]


How well does Singapore fit into the above
characteristics?

1. Yes. For example our location, our big government
business, our special designed election system, etc.
2. Yes. For example, our trade is many times our GDP, the
tourists arrival is more than the local population, etc.
3. Yes. For example, the emphasis on scholars and foreign
talents and now even the casinos are only open for
foreigners etc.
4. Yes. For example, the CPF monies, official reserves,
GIC and Temasek Holdings etc.


Rental incomes

If we have the characteristics of a rentier economy, then
where are the rental incomes?

These rental incomes can come from COE and ERP;
work permits; casino licences; Singapore Pool; sale of
state lands; the difference between CPF interest rate and
investment returns of GIC/Temasek; in elections
through media control and boundary design; etc.

Singapore has no natural resources, but using
administration measures, the PAP government can
achieve the level of rentier economy for its own
consumption.

Besides the state having renting income, in a personal
capacity, individuals can also enjoy profit above normal
level. One very clear example is the highly paid
ministers. Administration decision can be taken without
public consultation to award ministers salaries above
international standard.

One of the reasons that rich becomes richer in Singapore
is due to rentier economy. For example you can see them
in property investment, in personal tax rates, or not to
forget there is no capital gain (e.g. shares) and real estate
duty.

The unique rentier structure in Singapore can also benefit
some individuals who dare to take risk. For example,
false marriage, false IC or lending of IC, illegal
application of HDB flats, illegal subletting, etc.

With the rentier income in national and individual level,
we now recall 10 events in 2013 that are related to
this. You can see from these events that how the PAP re-
thinks and re-evaluate its position in a rentier economy.

The Top 10 Re-thinks in 2013

The ten 2013 things for thought for Singapore are as
follows:

1 Punggol by-election: Why did voters reject the PAP?
Are they happy with the current distribution under our
rentier state?

2 Population: Why did the first ever large scale
legalized peaceful protect in Singapore taking place in
Hong Lim Park? Are they happy with the population
distribution under rentier economic model?

3 Social media: Is Free My Internet movement
necessary? How do things change in the new media era?
Can a rentier state continue to control the media?

4 Housing: Is getting a HDB flat first before marriage a
new trend? Will the new housing policy make a fairer
distribution of state estates?

5 Democratic socialism: Is this a re-think of the PAP? Is
this a clear signal to move away from the rentier
practices?

6 llo llo: How important are maids in Singapore society
and the problems of children growing up under this
environment? Like Little India Riot, is there an urgent
need to re-think the foreign workers policy in the new
democratic socialist arrangement?

7 MedicalShield: This medical insurance is now
compulsory for all Singaporeans. You cant even opt out.
Is this the result of our rentier economy after a review of
the past mistakes?

8 Legal and court: There are some challenges (Hougang
by-election, gay right, death penalty etc.) to the
interpretation of our constitution. This, perhaps, is the
most important of all the events. How does the court
maintain its position in a rentier state?

9 AIM and town council management: Will the story
continue to the next election? How do public view the
government using its rentier power to score points or lose
points?

10 Prime Minister: Do we need to re-think his
performance during the year? Is his high salary, due to
the rentier capitalism, matching his performance over the
years?



#1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rentier_state
For further reading:
Britain is recreating a rentier society fit for a baby royal

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1642f23a-ee07-11e2-a325-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2ojY4lDsG

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