Singapore's next lap to rest on skilled workforce with effective leadership

THE story of Singapore in its first five decades has been one of defying the odds. As it faces its next half century, will it once again - this time under markedly different circumstances - stand out and prove exceptional in tackling the day's challenges and crises?

That's one question being mulled over as the country marks its 51st year of independence this week - with the fervour of last year's Jubilee celebrations not entirely faded, yet public sentiment now a little weighed down by all the uncertainty and turmoil going on around the world. The biggest immediate threat confronting the world today is arguably the evil of extremist terrorism, with the atrocities not only having grown in frequency and intensity across Europe but also hit South-east Asia. It'll be an ongoing battle for local community leaders, educators and security forces to safeguard hearts and minds, and prevent people, particularly youths, from becoming radicalised by the likes of rogue quasi-religious organisations, such as the Islamic State.

But disillusion and disquiet about personal economic circumstances and state of being have, by and large in much of the Western world, also fed insular mindsets and resulted in hostility towards drivers of economic growth such as free trade and technological change, including "job-replacing" robots in industry. The disenchantment of the working class has driven an apparent revolt against the ruling establishment and other perceived elite of society, and is manifest in Brexit and the rise of nationalism across Europe, and not least in the ascent of the US Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump, who has fed and fuelled populist sentiments in America with his campaign rhetoric and bluster.