The Idea of Singapore by Tai Yong Tan

Author:Tai Yong Tan [Tan, Tai Yong]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789811213366
Published: 2020-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Lecture IV

THE IDEA OF SINGAPORE

City, Country and Nation

In my last lecture, I referred to Singapore as a port city, both in terms of functions and instincts. At various times in history, Singapore has been described as emporium, trading hub and cosmopolis. How would I describe Singapore today? Most obviously, it is a country. More accurately, it is a sovereign nation state. Invariably, Singapore has been called a city-state, and increasingly, a global city-state.

All this is to suggest that Singapore has, over time, morphed from one form to another, largely determined by historical circumstances. Singaporean author and poet, Alvin Pang put it eloquently when he said:

Our story was not inscribed whole upon some tabula rasa: no nation’s is. Building upon countless elements old and new, from near and far — whether imposed, inherited, invented or fashioned anew to suit — the Singapore we have today is the outcome of a long continuum of accommodation, adaptation, reimagining and risk. More to the point: we are not done with our changes. We continue to become.1

Throughout its history, Singapore has continuously evolved, taking on different forms. At this point, its status as city and country is most salient. It is a nation state that grew out of a city. Major cities in the past have become part of larger nation states: Venice in Italy, Hamburg in Germany, and Penang and Melaka in Malaysia. But Singapore’s experience is unique in that the city became the country.

I shall now try to narrate how this came to be and examine how Singapore’s evolution was not a straightforward and predictable trajectory. Singapore’s history took unexpected turns and its current incarnation as a country and city carries tensions and paradoxes that continue to animate its development and growth.

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