Singapore Not A Country: Scientists
Posted on Sunday, September 17, 2006
Topic: Local News
by K.K. Cheow
Following the reclassification of PlutoÂ’s planetary status, scientists say that SingaporeÂ’s status as a country needs to be reconsidered too.
Recently, the International Astronomical Union said that Pluto should only be considered a ‘dwarf planet’ as it failed to meet all the conditions necessary to qualify as a full planet.
Likewise, the Evaluation of Nations Guild (ENG) believes that the tiny island state of Singapore should be stripped of its status as a full country. According to the ENG scientists, to be considered a country, a nation needs to meet the following criteria:
1. Has internationally recognized boundaries
2. Has people who live there on an ongoing basis.
3. Has economic activity and an organized economy.
4. Has the power of social engineering.
5. Has a transportation system
6. Has sovereignty.
7. Has external recognition.
8. Has a government.
Said ENG spokesman Professor Terry Torial, Singapore fails to meet the criteria for the following reasons:
1. Singapore constantly exceeds its recognized boundaries as certain senior politicians are always providing advice to other actual countries on how they should be more like Singapore
2. Its people live on the island on an ‘ongoing’ basis only in the sense that they want to ‘go on’ to another country if they could afford it
3. It has economic activitiy and an organized economy, in that it regulates trade and issues money, but it does so mostly to the benefit of a small group of inhabitants.
4. It does engage in social engineering, as it provides education, but education in Singapore seems mostly about ‘teaching the people a lesson’.
5. While it has a transport system, it always seems to be on the wrong track.
6. Singapore has sovereignty only in the sense that it has a Sovereign.
7. It has received external recognition from other countries, but there is no consensus to that recognition as it has variously been recognized as a ‘little red dot’ (Indonesia), a ‘pimple’ (Malaysia) and ‘a piece of snot’ (Taiwan).
“Having a government is the only criteria that Singapore satisfies,” said Prof. Torial. “And boy, does their government seem satisfied.”
“Singapore should be reclassified as a company,” Prof. Torial continued. “It doesn’t have a newspaper, it has a newsletter designed to boost employee morale all the time. By its own chairman of the board’s admission, it has no unique culture. Furthermore, the directors are reappointed by a rubber stamping exercise with little prospect of changing incumbents, and shareholders are offered only cursory financial statements. In fact, with the dominance of a particular grouping on the board of directors, it seems like a family-run corporation, much like Mars.”
The Singapore government says that it is happy to be compared to Mars, and is now petitioning to be reclassified as a planet.
The ENG is supporting the reclassification bid as “It may not be a country, but life in Singapore does seem like living on a different planet. Maybe it’s a bit like Pluto.”
When asked to elaborate, Prof. Torial said, “It’s very Mickey Mouse.”
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Oh, and on a related note, there's a front page article in today's pap times that the gahmen is opening tender for consultants to come up with a new "branding" strategy for S'pore. It does feel like we're living in some family owned company.