Inflation
According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in their report “How to Feed the World in 2050”, the world's population will reach 9.1 billion by 20502. With a rapidly growing population, competition for goods and products worldwide has been increasing as demand grows at a rate exceeding the current supply. This has resulted in higher costs of living in Singapore, especially for the ordinary Singaporean with a standard job.
Digitisation
With the advancement of technology, mankind has started to implement technology to improve the accuracy and efficiency of doing things. Some current methods include replacing manpower with Artificial Intelligence (AI). For instance, two service robots named Techi from the company Techmetics1 were used at Park Avenue Rochester Hotel for “alleviating the labour shortage” since they could “perform the job of three full-time employees in a year” together so that other housekeeping staff has more time and energy to do other tasks.
Tighter Security
There has been a rise in public attacks resulting in the deaths of many innocent civilians, with some either relating to terrorism or personal interest. The relaxed and unrestricted gun laws in many parts of the world fuel the possibility of terror attacks. Some examples include the Florida High School shooting, killing 17 people, or on a larger scale the November 2015 Paris terror attacks.
Hence, there will be a rise in demand for effective security for huge events to ward off any attacks, as huge events are popular and potential lethal targets for terrorists to gain attention.
Possible opportunities and impacts of globalisation on Singapore
Singapore can capitalise on globalisation through initiatives such as the Smart Nation initiative. In response to trends in global Science and technology and global economic trends, it is Singapore’s vision to be an economically competitive global city and a livable home (Smart Nation Singapore, 2018)16. Through the implementation of various technologies, the government hopes to improve standards of living, foster stronger bonds between Singaporeans, conceive a more effective government and strengthen Singapore’s position in an evolving world. Below are some of the consequential opportunities and impacts:
Low skilled workers in Singapore
Although new technology introduced will help increase efficiency, job security and necessity for many low-skilled workers will decline rapidly, as low-skilled jobs will be rendered obsolescent with technological enhancements.
Business-Owners in Singapore
The Smart Nation Initiative will benefit technological startups by bridging them with mentors experienced in the business through SGInnovate for guidance, increasing their likelihood of succeeding. Singapore has a very suitable environment for startups as the country has many venture capitalists. Singapore is also a suitable testing bed for the development, prototyping, and pilot of technological solutions, with the government being receptive towards innovation, remaining faithful in investments for research, and encouraging new developments, opening up new areas in the economy to further develop solutions.
Taxpayers
Taxpayers are directly affected by the Smart Nation Initiative as taxes are used to fund projects that are part of the initiative. Bloomberg Markets reported that the Singapore government spending on education has doubled since 2005 to S$12.9b ($9.3b) this year, or 17 percent of its total budget. This is not just to pay for teachers and better infrastructure, but also subsidies for Singaporean students.
Populace’s response to corporate and governmental efforts
Public reception of current efforts by the Smart Nation Initiative to forge into app markets have been lukewarm at best. Most applications, such as Oneservice (Oneservice, 2017)10 , introduced by the government received an average rating of about 3 stars, with users reporting glitches and that certain functions were not working. It seems that the government’s first foray into providing applications for the populace is not very successful due to somewhat poor implementation.
The Smart Nation Initiative hopes to promote a unified e-payment system instead of a fragmented market to ensure a confusion-free adoption of e-payment. Yet, after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s speech at the 2017 National Day Rally, many companies pounced on the opportunity to publicise their efforts for e-payments. The sudden increase in the variety of e-payment systems confused people, with many reverting to whatever e-payment system they habitually use. (Boon, 201715). DBS Paylah! (DBS PayLah!, 2018)6, an e-payment platform which involves scanning QR codes, has a rating of 3.4 out of 5 on the Google Play Store, with one user claiming the developers “were in a hurry to launch the app” as the app keeps crashing and experiencing various errors in transactions. Overeager implementation is not the solution.
These problems could potentially be solved, through methods such as introducing a longer prototyping phase for the applications or ensuring compatibility with the huge range of devices available for purchase.
On the contrary, a more complex problem has emerged that the government has yet to publicly announce their solutions for.
Members of the public have voiced their discontent over the policy stating that some of the projects are not of priority or concern. For instance, software that enables sensor data exchange and data and video analytics with the aim to make all 110,000 lamp posts in Singapore an interconnected network of wireless sensors – and the data can be used for urban and operational planning as well as prompt maintenance and incident response. Members of the public have criticized this project asking the government no to “waste their tax contribution”, not seeing how the project increases efficiency as a faulty lamp post is not a critical asset. (Kwang, 2017)29.
Social Impacts
The Smart Nation Initiative can stem the decline of public infrastructure amid a rise in urban density. Since a complete overhaul of current public infrastructure would cause even more inconvenience to residents, the government has to resort to technology to slowly tweak the system slightly. The Mass Rapid Transit system having trains break down every now and then since 2012 due to multiple reasons, such as signaling faults, despite being reliable in the past. (Seow, Kok, & Hong, 2017))7 (Channel News Asia, 2017)8 The system seems outdated, with complete renovations of the subway system being a foolish venture, as many commuters utilise it. Therefore, SMRT is now utilising electronic notice boards and social media to effectively alert residents to train delays to better let them plan their journeys and avoid being late.
The Smart Nation Initiative can result in a more effective government and thus a higher standard of living. Through the initiative, many platforms and applications have been created to enable the government to work in tandem with its citizens, with residents easily providing feedback on government actions, allowing the government to fine-tune its actions to better suit citizens. OneService (OneService, 2017)10 enables feedback to the town council on municipality issues. (Crates, 2017)9 The town council can then correct problems more efficiently, with a higher level of cooperation between the government and Singaporeans. Hence, the Smart Nation Initiative can result in a more effective government and a more livable nation.
Impacts on The Economy
The Smart Nation Initiative can prevent the stagnation of Singapore’s economy. Singapore is facing an existential crisis, with an aging population and a shrinking workforce. The main resource Singapore has to power its economy is its people, as it lacks natural resources. With the reduction in its main resource, the government is now trying to find new solutions, without angering the population. One possible method is through the Smart Nation Initiative. Through technology, some sectors could be automated, leaving more potential employees for other sectors. Automated sectors also enhance efficiency, allowing Singapore to match other countries with limited manpower. The services at Changi Airport new Terminal 4 are all automated, from baggage check-in to security scans. (Tan, Mei, & Lim ,2017)11 Meanwhile, the planned Tuas mega port will feature the world’s largest fleet of automated yard cranes and driverless vehicles for the transportation of cargo containers. (Sim, 2017)12 These technological improvements will enable Singapore to remain as a top aviation and trading hub, even with a shrinking workforce. People that should work at these places can now supplant areas that genuinely require manpower. Hence, the Smart Nation Initiative can encourage growth in the economy, despite manpower constraints such as an aging population.
Justification for Smart Nation policy change in Singapore
Not all the projects of the Smart Nation Policy are of high priority for the rise and stability of living standards in Singapore. As mentioned, taxpayer money is used to fund the projects and thus projects should be chosen wisely to justify the hefty taxes which accompany the policy. One inevitably questions why the government continues to venture into the most minor of projects such as the improvement of lamp posts instead of tackling the larger issues such as the constant Mass Rapid Transport breakdowns which affect Singaporeans and the economy on a larger scale as productivity is decreased.
We propose that the government set up a panel to approve the implementation of the projects. Panelists should comprise of citizens not associated with any political party. It is this group of people who feel the weight of the taxes they pay the most and they should be given the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns. In doing so, hopefully, the government can implement more cost-efficient policies which are useful and helpful to a wider audience.