Singapore: A melting pot
INTRODUCTION
Singapore is an anomaly. It is a small country both in terms of
geography and population, yet it thrives on a world stage'
Many islands of a' similar size surround it, but it shines by
comparison. It is as old as time, but as new as its twentieth
century independent status suggests. It is a melting pot of
humanity, but those who live there are distinctly Singaporean'
In short-it is unique.
It should not be the metropolis that it is, and it certainly
should not have the influence that it has in the region-but it
does. Why does it account for so much foreign investment?
Why is its role in ASEAN so pivotal? Why do foreign organizations
see it as the gateway to the region and often make it the
first place in which they seek to invest?
In some ways, the secret lies in the way that Singapore
manages its eclectic mix of inhabitants and their diverse lifestyles.
The way that Tamil meets Malay meets Indian meets
Chinese all go some way to explaining Singapore's role as a
world player. The ability to understand the integrated nature of
our global business world comes as naturally to the inhabitants
of Singapore as a curry laksa,mee goreng or Hainanese chicken
rice at dinnertime.
This case study was prepared by Tim Lyons, Director of Manage China and
Assistant Professor of Marketing, International School of Management'
Paris, France.
A LITTLE SINGAPOREAN HISTORY
The history of Singapore goes back much further than most
people realize. Although many think of Singapore as a 'new
.country (it won independence from Malaysia in 1965)' nothing
could be further from the truth' It may be a newcomer to the
status of country but it has long played an important part in the
politics of South-East Asia.
It is first found in the annals of history in the second century
AD, when it formed part of the Javanese empire and went by the
name of Temasek (Sea Town)' It survived in this form until the
fourteenth century when it became part of the Sultanate of
Johor and changed it, num" to Singapore (Lion city). Always an
important part*of whichever empire it belonged to' despite
spending a lot of its history as a large fishing village' the
significance of its strategic location was seldom lost on many
foreign countries invaded and re-invaded over the centuries' it
spent time as part of the Javanese empire' the Sultanate of Johor'
and the Portuguese and Dutch empires until the British finally
arrived in 181-9. Originally signing a treaty with the sultan who
controlled Singapore, the British East India Company controlled
it until 1858 when the British government made it a
British Crown Colony. It stayed this way until the Japanese
Invaded in 1942. Coming back to the colonial fold upon the
Cessation of world war II- Singapore remained a British colony
Until 1959. It formed part of Malaya in 1963 but went its own way
Two years later. On 9 August 1965' Singapore officially became