Singapore

WHILE Singapore cannot escape the global economic downturn, it must absolutely defy the loss of social cohesion, polarisation and despair that are taking hold in other countries, Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Wednesday.

"Never think these trends cannot take hold in Singapore. There are many societies which used to be cohesive, but are now fragmenting, both in the West and in Asia," said Mr Tharman, who is also Coordinating Minister for Social Policies. "No society remains cohesive simply because it used to be."