A nation state traditionally should serve to protect the interests of its citizens. Standard measures include key statistics such as GDP, Health care, Education, etc.
Singapore, however, is not a nation state in the traditional sense. Ours is a country that now has so many foreigners in so many areas and at so many levels of society. What this means is that Singaporeans have to compete with Singaporeans for basic education, jobs, housing and even for space when we take public transport.
Singapore's performance, as measured by GDP and other standard measures however, have been nothing short of spectacular. But we seem to have confused good economic results with the well-being of Singaporeans. (I won't say "social well-being" since my aim here is focus on the well-being of Singaporeans only.)
We are today a nation with so many people who are non-citizens that it is difficult for government spending to benefit citizens only - except for handouts which of course the government is disinclined towards since it dampens productivity and is unsustainable in the long run.
Essentially then, Singapore is a very successful place, but it is not a nation. It is not a nation in the sense that it seeks to benefit and protect its citizens interests.
If future success of this place called Singapore is measured by such indicators of performance, and if government's role is to strengthen the Singapore brand and ensure that such indicators are favourable, then the next step is clear and logical.
We should outsource our government. The current government should identify a list of key performance indicators by which our success has always been measured. An agency should then be formed to identify the best people internationally who will maximize Singapore's success as measured by its key performance indicators.
In fact, such an agency to identify international talent and invite them to Singapore already exists, so its just a matter of giving them the assignment to scout for the next Prime Minister and Ministers for Education, Finance, Environment and so on.
The only justification for hiring a Singaporean into any of those jobs would be because he truly is the best person for that job.
Individually, it is time for all of us to think about what is the best nation for us to be a citizen of. If we decide to remain Singaporeans, it should only be because we are unable to obtain any other citizenship. Since even if we decide that we want to live in Singapore, being a citizen of another nation while living in Singapore would be at least equal to, if not better than, being a citizen of Singapore and living in Singapore.
