The industralisation of Singapore
Interesting post from yesterday.sg
http://yesterday.sg/blogging/industrialisation-programme-in-singapore/
A few weeks back, exhausted by my day’s happenings, I fell asleep during my train journey. I was suddenly awakened by a long announcement. Thinking that I had finally reached Boon Lay Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) station, I walked out to the platform only to find myself in an unfamiliar environment.
“Joo Koon?” I thought to myself as I saw the signboard, and the realisation dawned upon me - the two new stations west-most of Boon Lay MRT station had opened some time back. Most of the commuters rushing into the train were foreigners; seemingly workers from South Asia.
That scene of streaming travellers reminded me of what it must have been like in the times of our forefathers - when migrant workers travelled from their hometown in search of a better life; in search of a better future for themselves and their loved ones.
Compared to the times of old when many migrants stayed in cramped squatter areas, amenities and living conditions of today have improved vastly. In fact, most workers may have secured some form of employment before leaving their home towns; very different from just half a century ago when migrants arrived in Singapore with just the clothes on their backs and a dream in their hearts.
The business of doing business in Singapore has changed greatly over the past 50 years. Before Singapore obtained self-governance, entrepôt trade was one of the main means of trade and support for the economy here. This meant that Singapore was really a trade middleman back then, importing goods from the region and re-exporting them to markets further afield for a small profit.
Such jobs did not require a lot of labour and the returns for the economy were meager. As more migrants poured in, the unemployment situation grew steadily worse. School leavers too were also having a hard time hunting for work to earn their keep. In a sense, this was not dissimilar to today’s recession.
To make matters worse, exporters found that instead of going through a middleman, with advancements in transport and a better connected global market, there was no need to go through a third party such as Singapore. As such, the volume of entrepôt trade declined steadily.
The Singapore Government was pressed to find alternatives to leg the economy. This is when they launched a rapid industralisation effort.
Through various planning exercises, policies and measures were put in place to attract industries and create new jobs and wealth. Local and foreign companies were encouraged to open factories in Singapore. At the same time, the government restructured the education system to prepare the new generation workforce for the technological challenges of an emerging industrialised economy able to compete on a global footing.
Under the revised education plan, more students were trained in vocational institutes for specialised technical work while institutes of higher learning had programmes to produce more engineers as well as technical and management personnel. For most school leavers, they were about the witness the unprecedented evolution of the Singapore economy.
On 1 August 1961, the Economic Development Board (EDB) was set up to spearhead the industrialisation drive where it encouraged businesses to invest in factories in Singapore. It also supported this drive by developing facilities and financing new industries.
Shortly after the EDB was established, swampland in Jurong - now the Jurong Industrial Estate, was reclaimed and converted to various industrial sites. Here, the land was offered to potential investors at irresistible rates. Moreover, various amenities such as water and electricity, road and rail, telecommunication and housing were also provided. The nearby wharves also helped in ease of import of materials for manufacturing.
With financial incentives from the government, foreign investors began to stream in and establish their factories here. Together with the restructuring of the education system, schools were able to train students who then became operationally ready for the new economy.
While everything seemed to be running efficiently as a clockwork, a turn of events hastened the industrialisation of Singapore. On 18 July 1967, the British Army announced that it would be withdrawing its troops from the shores of Singapore. This would have left about 25,000 people jobless. But with the successful attraction of foreign investment, jobs were readily made available for theose affected by the pull-out. By 1969, a total of 60,431 jobs were created in a nine-year period, with 14,525 jobs created in 1969 alone. By the end of the 1960s, Singapore achieved full employment.
Not only were more job opportunities to be had, Singapore’s industrialisation programme helped to boost other sectors as well such as construction. With more foreign companies setting up shop here, foreign exchange boomed as did tourism.
As Singapore entered to 70’s, other countries in Asia too embarked on their own industrialisation programmes. Not only did most of these countries possess natural resources, their labour cost was also cheaper.
To compete, Singapore revved up switching from labour-intensive low-value products such as textile, toys and beverages, to high yield ones such as electronics and petrol-chemicals.
In the late 1990s and the early years of this decade, the economy evolved further and there was a growing demand in the Research and Development industry. The government began to prepare students to take on the life sciences as many major research organisations were planning to set up bases in Singapore. A lot was invested to equip graduates with new knowledge and skills, and provide the infrastructure needed to support these companies. While Jurong Industrial Estate marked the crib of the manufacturing sector, Biopolis became the nursery of the life science industry in Singapore.
As I left Joo Koon MRT station that day and headed for the lab where I worked, I felt glad that the government carried out initiatives that brought not only the multinational companies into Singapore, but their accompanying technologies as well. Without them, I’d probably be washing test tubes somewhere far away from home today.
EDITOR’S NOTE::: This is the fifth in a series of blog posts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s journey to nationhood. To read the other offerings in this special series, see:
http://yesterday.sg/blogging/industrialisation-programme-in-singapore/
31 Jul 09
The industralisation of Singapore
A few weeks back, exhausted by my day’s happenings, I fell asleep during my train journey. I was suddenly awakened by a long announcement. Thinking that I had finally reached Boon Lay Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) station, I walked out to the platform only to find myself in an unfamiliar environment.
“Joo Koon?” I thought to myself as I saw the signboard, and the realisation dawned upon me - the two new stations west-most of Boon Lay MRT station had opened some time back. Most of the commuters rushing into the train were foreigners; seemingly workers from South Asia.
Bicycles ridden by foreign workers at MRT station (Picture by Angela Jean)
Compared to the times of old when many migrants stayed in cramped squatter areas, amenities and living conditions of today have improved vastly. In fact, most workers may have secured some form of employment before leaving their home towns; very different from just half a century ago when migrants arrived in Singapore with just the clothes on their backs and a dream in their hearts.
The business of doing business in Singapore has changed greatly over the past 50 years. Before Singapore obtained self-governance, entrepôt trade was one of the main means of trade and support for the economy here. This meant that Singapore was really a trade middleman back then, importing goods from the region and re-exporting them to markets further afield for a small profit.
The Twakows and the coolies carrying goods along the Singapore River at Boat Quay (Source: David Ng collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore)
To make matters worse, exporters found that instead of going through a middleman, with advancements in transport and a better connected global market, there was no need to go through a third party such as Singapore. As such, the volume of entrepôt trade declined steadily.
The Singapore Government was pressed to find alternatives to leg the economy. This is when they launched a rapid industralisation effort.
Through various planning exercises, policies and measures were put in place to attract industries and create new jobs and wealth. Local and foreign companies were encouraged to open factories in Singapore. At the same time, the government restructured the education system to prepare the new generation workforce for the technological challenges of an emerging industrialised economy able to compete on a global footing.
Under the revised education plan, more students were trained in vocational institutes for specialised technical work while institutes of higher learning had programmes to produce more engineers as well as technical and management personnel. For most school leavers, they were about the witness the unprecedented evolution of the Singapore economy.
From swampland to industrial hub - Jurong before its transformation (Source: David Ng collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore)
Shortly after the EDB was established, swampland in Jurong - now the Jurong Industrial Estate, was reclaimed and converted to various industrial sites. Here, the land was offered to potential investors at irresistible rates. Moreover, various amenities such as water and electricity, road and rail, telecommunication and housing were also provided. The nearby wharves also helped in ease of import of materials for manufacturing.
With financial incentives from the government, foreign investors began to stream in and establish their factories here. Together with the restructuring of the education system, schools were able to train students who then became operationally ready for the new economy.
While everything seemed to be running efficiently as a clockwork, a turn of events hastened the industrialisation of Singapore. On 18 July 1967, the British Army announced that it would be withdrawing its troops from the shores of Singapore. This would have left about 25,000 people jobless. But with the successful attraction of foreign investment, jobs were readily made available for theose affected by the pull-out. By 1969, a total of 60,431 jobs were created in a nine-year period, with 14,525 jobs created in 1969 alone. By the end of the 1960s, Singapore achieved full employment.
Workers hard at work in United Industrial Paper Products Manufacturing Co. Ltd. at Bukit Timah (Source: David Ng collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore)
As Singapore entered to 70’s, other countries in Asia too embarked on their own industrialisation programmes. Not only did most of these countries possess natural resources, their labour cost was also cheaper.
To compete, Singapore revved up switching from labour-intensive low-value products such as textile, toys and beverages, to high yield ones such as electronics and petrol-chemicals.
In the late 1990s and the early years of this decade, the economy evolved further and there was a growing demand in the Research and Development industry. The government began to prepare students to take on the life sciences as many major research organisations were planning to set up bases in Singapore. A lot was invested to equip graduates with new knowledge and skills, and provide the infrastructure needed to support these companies. While Jurong Industrial Estate marked the crib of the manufacturing sector, Biopolis became the nursery of the life science industry in Singapore.
As I left Joo Koon MRT station that day and headed for the lab where I worked, I felt glad that the government carried out initiatives that brought not only the multinational companies into Singapore, but their accompanying technologies as well. Without them, I’d probably be washing test tubes somewhere far away from home today.
EDITOR’S NOTE::: This is the fifth in a series of blog posts to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s journey to nationhood. To read the other offerings in this special series, see:
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