New Singapore

Introduction

Climbing Mount Everest

  When the Singapore team successfully climbed Mount Everest in 1998, I cheered. I spoke to Khoo Swee Chiow and his team-mates later.

  They told me that they climbed up in stages, from Base Camp to Camps 1, 2, 3 and 4, before they made their assault for the summit. The climb became more difficult and dangerous the higher they went. The air became thinner and the slope steeper. You had to be disciplined, determined, and well prepared. And you had to have luck on your side. There could be avalanches and rock falls, or the weather could change suddenly. Swee Chiow told me that the most important quality needed to climb Mount Everest was mental strength.

  The climb up Mount Everest provides a vivid image for Singapore’s own climb up the mountain of economic development.

  Senior Minister brought Singapore up to Camp 2 – from labour intensive to electronics and higher value-added industries. In the last 10 years, we have climbed higher to Camp 3, with wafer fabs, chemicals, and financial services. Now, we are making our way to Camp 4, to do IT, life sciences, and other knowledge-based activities. If we make it to Camp 4, we can then try to scale the summit where countries like the US, Japan and Switzerland are.

  But let me warn you. As in the Mount Everest climb, the going will get tougher from here. As we go higher up the mountain of economic development, progress will be slower. We will not see the same high growth rates as in the past. We will have to work smarter and acquire more sophisticated capabilities to overcome complex challenges. We will be tempted to relax. Indeed, some Singaporeans have asked: "Do we need to be Number One in everything?" We will need great mental strength to continue pushing ourselves to excel. If we do not do so, others now behind us will push us off the track.

  Tonight, I want to focus on this next stage of our economic climb.

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