Singapore Sets Sail on Next Phase of Its Nation-Building Journey

The state played a strong role in shaping Singapore's identity. Citizens must now step up to mold the next phase.

- Tan Tai Yong

It is ironic that Singapore did not originally aim to be a nation-state but, 60 years on, has become such a successful one.

In its first chapter, Singapore forged a strong national identity, often with robust state intervention. The next phase of nation-building may involve more civic-driven efforts.

To see where we came from and where we could be headed, a brief look at history is instructive. In the lead-up to independence, most nationalists in Singapore envisaged a future in Malaya. Even the PAP advocated merger with Malaya, arguing that Singapore lacked the natural resources, population size and hinterland to sustain itself independently. Few believed that Singapore could survive on its own.

So, Singapore planned to be Malaysian—a goal that was achieved in 1963. But the Malaysian dream dissipated quickly, and Singapore had to leave Malaysia in 1965 to become a sovereign nation-state.

At that point, it was not prepared for nationhood. Unlike many post-colonial nations that had a dominant indigenous population with deep historical roots, Singapore was a society of immigrants. From this heterogeneous group of people, a nation had to be built. How could such a hotchpotch of races, with no sense of shared identity, become a nation?

Majoritarianism would have been a convenient way out, but that ran against the instincts and beliefs of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and his colleagues. This meant the 75 per cent majority had to be persuaded to accept that Singapore would not be a Chinese state.

Multi-racialism (and its corollary) became the bedrock of the new Singapore identity.

STATE-LED EFFORT