My Rockstar Classmates: Discovering Singapore with Dawn

Singapore had never been in my bucket list or my close radar until this year at Stanford. I have 6 classmates from Singapore, one of them is Dawn Lim. An amazing woman passionate about serving her country. She works for the Singapore Economic Development Board. And her job is to attract investment and talent to Singapore.

Dawn has taught me about the great opportunities Singapore has to offer. Beyond its great tropical weather and friendly people, there are unparalleled economic benefits. Incentives for investors and talented people, low tax rates, affordable living and great quality of life. In Singapore it only takes minutes to incorporate a new company! While in other countries like the US it takes weeks or months. It is a thriving nation that moved from 3rd to 1st world in a very short time. No wonder why Dawn is so proud to be Singaporean.

But, what does it take for a nation to develop? What did the people of Singapore do to become a 1st world country in less than 50 yeas? And what will it take to continue to evolve in the next 50 years? If you want to hear what Dawn has to say here is a video of her LOWKeynotes (Stanford GSB's version of a Ted Talk).

About Dawn's talk: How do you build a nation? Join Dawn Lim, 2018 Sloan Fellow at the Stanford GSB, as she takes us on a journey of her family's history intertwined with that of her country's, Singapore. Follow her story of dreams, sacrifice and discipline as her family and country beat the odds from third world to first in just 50 years. If Singapore could do it, perhaps other cities and countries can too.

What I have learned from Dawn is how discipline, focus and resilience help us achieve the unimaginable. Also how passion and being true and proud of your roots shapes an amazing and successful individual. I am happy, proud and grateful that I got the chance to spend this year getting to know Dawn. I am looking forward to witness all the great things she will continue to accomplish. And also visiting Singapore!

I asked Dawn to tell me the 5 things she want everybody to know about Singapore. Here they are:

1) One of the easiest places to do business in the world (#2 according to WEF): English is the language of business and government. We are committed to an open economy and have an extensive number of FTAs (21) and DTAs (67). Did you know that manufacturing makes up 20% of our GDP? We make the semi-conductor chips that go into your high-end devices, the jet engines that go into your A380s, the vaccines that protect you from disease, the specialty chemicals that give your clothes that extra tensile strength. Takes just minutes to open a company - all online - with no restrictions on foreign ownership. 2) Learn some Singlish lah! : We have 4 official languages: English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. But Singlish is really the heart of our culture. It’s a hybrid of English interspersed with colloquialisms from the other ethnic languages. It even includes words we created to punctuate statements and convey exclamation. For example, it’s customary to end many sentences with “lah” - “It’s okay lah!” - or “lor” - “you are crazy lor!”. It takes some localisation to figure out when to use what, but it’s great fun once you figure out the nuances! PS: Singlish even made it into the Oxford dictionary! 3) Eating is a national pastime: We are obsessed with food. Everything we do revolves around eating - we have work meetings and personal catch ups over breakfast, lunch, tea breaks and dinner. You’ll find a coffee shop or food court on every corner. And we are exacting of our tastes and spices and flavours. The result is some of the best street food in the world, fusing the different cultures and cuisines that make up Singapore’s multi-racial social fabric. 4) We are Singaporean and also Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian: Our food is a reflection of our multi-dimensional ethnic make-up. While we identify ourselves as Singaporean, we also come from various ethnic and racial roots (there’s no Singaporean “race” per se. “Singaporean” is a nationality. Just like “American” is not an ethnicity but a national identity.) Our forefathers came from China, India and the surrounding Malayan Archipelago. Racial harmony is a linchpin of our identity and you’ll find our children playing together, neighbours sharing a meal, even worshippers cross-worshipping at each other’s places of worship! We also get to celebrate all festivals of each ethnic group and the various religions they identify with - Deepavali, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Christmas and Easter. 5) A city in a garden (not a garden in a city): That’s why you’ll find so much greenery in Singapore. From the moment you land at Changi Airport, along the highway that takes you downtown, to the UNESCO World Heritage site that’s the Singapore Botanical Gardens, the modern Gardens by the Bay and the many parks and reserves spread across the island. It is our founding father, Lee Kuan Yew’s, vision of Singapore - a cosmopolitan hub that’s liveable, breathable, sustainable.

Ah, if you want to invest in Singapore, I can connect you with Dawn!