Blog of Personal Response to Current Affairs
Article title: Toursim Industry can earn more than S dollar 100m from F1 race: analysts
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna/cgi-bin/search/search_7days.pl?status=&search=F1&id=275657Entry no. 4
Category: Political/Societal Issues
Singapore is gearing up to host the F1 race, with many expecting lots of fast action off the track when F1 finally comes to town next year. According to Mr. Clement Lee and Mr. Dennis Foo, F1 would be a good opportunity that will put Singapore in the international spotlight as a global city. Also, it is believed the tourism industry will be making more than S$100 million from the race, and it would also benefit retailers, construction and logistics contractors, and the transport sector.
With the building of the F1 race track by next year, many more jobs would be provided. This would result in the unemployment rates in Singapore dropping. The constructing of the IR resort, scheduled to complete by 2009, would also provide jobs for many. I believe the constructing of the F1 racetrack and the IR resort are part of the Singapore government’s development plans to provide avenue and jobs to Singaporeans. This is a timely solution, due to the increase in the competition for jobs. With the immigration of vast numbers of foreign talents, and of labourers to Singapore, the unemployment rate is on a steady climb. The construction of the IR resort and the F1 racetrack would tackle the unemployment problem.
More importantly, I believe Singapore is constructing these places to add vibrancy to Singapore as a global city and business centre, which is abuzz with high quality entertainment and events. Besides constructing the F1 racetrack and the IR resort, Singapore constructed the Singapore Eye and many other attractions to boost Singapore’s reputation as a vibrant global city. I feel that this is an attempt by the Singapore government to shrug off Singapore image as a boring “nanny state”, and introduce the impression that Singapore is a vibrant city. However, I am not suitable to judge this as I am after all, only a student. There are many reasons for the construction of these attractions, many of which I do not know of.
Although the building of the F1 racetrack may seem like a good idea, we still need to be sensitive to those around us. Many Malaysians feel that Singapore is trying to compete with Malaysia in the economy. They might view us as trying to pose a threat to the Malaysian Grand Prix. Therefore, although we are celebrating the news of hosting the F1 next year, we should not in any way appear competitive with them, in order to maintain good relationships.
As a conclusion, the construction of the F1 racetrack is indeed a cause to rejoice, with the introduction of more jobs for our economy. At the same time however, we need to be sensitive to our neighbours, Malaysia, to avoid conflict. This is especially important as Rafflesians. Many of us will be future leaders of Singapore. We need to understand how others feel about our actions, and realise that our actions may cause them to question our motives. Only through this, can we maintain good ties with other countries.