At 60, Singapore Risks Growing Old Before Its Time

Singapore turned 60 this year — young by the standards of nations, but old enough to face the dangers of middle age. The city-state that once pulsed with hustle now risks slowing into caution and comfort. The society that once thrived on the restless energy of migrants has grown conservative, stable, and afraid to take risks.

President Tharman, in opening the new Parliament, called for Singapore to foster an “outgoing and experimental spirit” of entrepreneurship. He spoke of making Singapore a place where ideas can take root, where entrepreneurs can build, innovate, expand abroad, and become global leaders. It is a bold ambition. But it cannot be achieved with the Singaporean DNA as it now stands.

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”The Problem With Prosperity”

The paradox of prosperity is that it dulls the hunger that built it. Singaporeans today are more comfortable than ever, and comfort breeds caution. Parents steer their children into safe professions; entrepreneurs chase government grants rather than disruption; failure is feared more than ambition is admired.

You cannot legislate hunger. No slogan or incentive can restore the hustle that survival once demanded. President Tharman’s vision is the right one. But exhortation alone will not make Singaporeans experimental or entrepreneurial. Comfort cannot be reversed into restlessness.

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“The Wrong Kind of Immigration”

Worse, Singapore’s immigration policies have tilted in the wrong direction. In the name of protecting local jobs, work pass rules have tightened, favoring older, established expatriates. They bring stability, but not the spark of youth. They are not the ones who will disrupt industries or reinvent the economy.

What Singapore needs are young, hungry immigrants — people with drive, ambition, and nothing to lose. Yes, they will compete with locals. Yes, they may accept lower pay. But they will also refresh the country’s DNA, just as the migrants of an earlier generation once did.

Silicon Valley was built by such people: Sergey Brin co-founded Google at 24; Elon Musk arrived in America at 24 with little money and built Tesla and SpaceX; Sundar Pichai left India young and now runs Google. None came as comfortable executives mid-career. They came young, hungry, and willing to hustle.

Singapore once welcomed the same kind of people. They became its pioneers, its traders, its builders. They gave Singapore its edge. Without such renewal, the city-state risks becoming a museum of its own success — gleaming, admired, and irrelevant.

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“Over-Regulation Kills Energy”

There is another danger: over-regulation. Singapore cannot foster an “experimental spirit” while smothering entrepreneurs with red tape, risk-averse rules, and constant state oversight. A society that fears foreigners and fears failure cannot also claim to embrace experimentation. Energy cannot be both invited and restrained.

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“A Stark Choice at 60”

Singapore is entering its 60s at a crossroads. The path of stability and protectionism leads to caution, ossification, and decline. The path of renewal requires courage: to open the door to the young and hungry, and to allow innovation without over-regulating it to death.

President Tharman is right: Singapore must be experimental, bold, and outward-looking. But it cannot get there by decree. If the nation cannot rediscover hustle within itself, it must import it, as it once did. Otherwise, 60 will not mark the start of a new chapter — it will mark the beginning of the end.