LESSONS FOR SINGAPORE
It’s been a variety of years since Singapore final noticed vital social unrest, and whereas the UK is kind of removed from us each when it comes to distance and political and social traits, the dramatic scenes that began in Southport and unfold to Manchester, Plymouth, London and Belfast amongst different cities, are stern reminders to not take relative social peace and stability without any consideration.
There are three key causes for this.
For starters, Singapore is just like the UK when it comes to being a melting pot of cultures, races and religions, and a rustic that has at all times welcomed expatriates and migrants. Managing the pursuits, considerations and foibles of those totally different teams to create a peaceable and functioning society has and at all times might be a tough balancing act for the authorities.
Singapore can be a particularly open and wired nation, with widespread adoption of newest applied sciences within the digital and social spheres. Whereas this permits Singapore to maintain up with the remainder of the world when it comes to innovation and growth, it additionally means it’s susceptible to the threats of misinformation and disinformation, and overseas interference operations that are more and more being waged on-line and within the social media sphere.
Thirdly, in an period of accelerating political contestation around the globe, Singapore is seeing increasingly more political actors leveraging nationalist and nativist rhetoric to interact and activate their supporter base, no matter what this implies for nationwide and social unity.
That is compounded by the rising risk of overseas affect operations and hostile data campaigns deployed by state and non-state actors that actively search to focus on this very unity with the intention to weaken their adversaries and rivals.
For a small nation like Singapore, these components imply {that a} situation just like what the UK skilled in the previous couple of weeks might have disastrous penalties. The danger to social and financial stability, and extra importantly to concord between folks, will not be price taking.
Nicholas Fang is director for safety and international affairs at unbiased suppose tank, the Singapore Institute of Worldwide Affairs. He’s a former nominated member of parliament and is founding father of Black Dot Analysis, a market and social analysis consultancy that runs an unbiased fact-checking platform.
For extra evaluation on the UK riots and their relevance to Singapore, watch CNA’s three-part particular on Asia First from Aug 28 to 30.
