Even if they are non-profit, I would not describe or associate some of the organisations which Ms Tan features as, in EDB’s Mr Kua’s words, "civil society". Civil society is often described as a sector of citizens and for citizens. The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), on the other hand, is a UN agency and has 184 member States. Further, as Ms Tan acknowledges, the Regional Disease Intervention Centre (REDIC) was set up by the Singapore and US governments. Neither is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) nor a grassroots initiative, both of which are strong features of a vibrant civil society.

Ms Tan writes that Singapore is attractive to international NPs and NGOs because of its "location, excellent infrastructure, and large number of …MNCs". I disagree. These are well-known (and publicized) hallmarks of Singapore’s fantastic economic development which draw profit-driven MNCs, not NGOs. It has been my experience that such organisations also desire an environment that encourages citizens to question the public policies of the day, and participate in shaping them.

Greenpeace members dress up as orang utans outside Unilever offices, London, to protest the destruction of the endangered species' habitat from the spread of oil palm plantations.

 
It is disingenuous to invite international "civil society" in a bid to make Singapore a "world-class city", but insist that the NGOs that come to Singapore are "practical". Not only does this limit the very spirit of civil society, i.e. which the London School of Economics defines as uncoerced non-government collective action around shared interests, purposes and values, but it begs the question: when is an NP "practical" and when is it being "activist"?

Suppose World Vision, a renowned faith-based organization which the author mentions, decides to act on the grievances of the disabled community in Singapore and proposes reforms that the Singapore government could introduce, would that organisation be deemed impermissible? I think such activism is noble and should certainly be welcomed. By contrast, WIPO and REDIC being in Singapore hardly impact on the average Singaporean. In fact, they do not even assist in achieving the goals that Mr. Kua has set out for NPs: i.e. lending Singapore civil society "credibility" or promoting "intangibles…that attract people" to Singapore.

Amidst EDB’s desire to give international NPs "incentives such as tax exemptions", what is the plight of local NGOs? We have a good number of NGOs in Singapore who are doing excellent work and represent what civil society can and should be. The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) was set up in 2001 by a group of Singaporeans to raise awareness of the illegal trade in wildlife here. The Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME) was set up in 2004 to address the plight of foreign workers and migrants living and working in Singapore. Yet, funding and support for such NGOs remains minimal. Is EDB telling Singaporeans who want to be social activists in the name of positive change that there is no room for them in a country that only woos "practical" foreign NPs?

All this troubles me. Having spent time in Asian countries where civil society tangibly promotes social change, I sometimes feel I can accomplish far more abroad than in Singapore, where my ideas as a citizen are apparently not welcome unless they are "practical". The result of such an approach is that Singapore will continue to push passionate individuals away from the country, and for that, we cannot be blamed for being quitters. Ultimately, a mature civil society is not just meant, as Ms Tan or Mr Kua suggest, "to create jobs" or attract foreigners and tourists. It is meant to inspire Singaporeans to care; to take collective responsibility for communal or global problems.

Vinita Ramani Mohan

* * * * *

11 June 2008
Straits Times
(Front page, above the fold)

Numbers up sharply as Govt woos them to set up base here
By Theresa Tan

After years of courting big businesses, Singapore is attracting international non-profit groups such as United Nations agencies and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The number setting up here has doubled to more than 60 since 2005, with about 10 arriving over the past year.

They include Operation Smile, a medical group that helps children with facial deformities such as cleft palates, and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (Case), a group for professionals in communications, fund-raising, marketing and other fields.

Their causes range from fighting poverty and injustice (World Vision International), to offering consultancy services on philanthropy (Centre for Asian Philanthropy), and conservation (World Wide Fund for Nature).

Singapore is attractive to such groups because of its location, excellent infrastructure and large number of multinational companies (MNCs) based here.

The WWF, for instance, said the presence of thousands of MNCs here puts the organisation 'in a unique position to influence corporations and their sustainability practices'.

Said Mr Gary Loh, chairman of Operation Smile Singapore: 'Singapore has more than money to give. We have very strong medical expertise and facilities.'

To draw even more such groups, a one-stop office comprising different government agencies and led by the Economic Development Board was set up in February. Singapore also offers incentives such as tax exemptions.

The Government's push to woo these groups marks a change from the past when Singapore 'didn't know what to do with such groups', said EDB's director of new business group, Mr Jonathan Kua.

'It's not like we didn't welcome such organisations back then, but they were not our focus,' he said.

This changed as Singapore's focus on practical economic considerations widened in recent years.

'Our main goal in attracting such groups is not economic,' said Mr Kua. 'We want credibility as a world-class city. And as we develop, it's always the intangibles like quality of life, arts and civil society that attract people.'

Mr Gerard Ee, chairman of the National Kidney Foundation, said local charities will be able to learn from the international groups' global experience and best practices.

But there are direct benefits for Singaporeans as more such groups arrive - more jobs, for one.

The EDB hopes to attract at least 150 such groups by 2015, and that will create 2,500 jobs.

There will also be indirect spin-offs for the economy, such as spending by people who attend meetings organised here by these groups.