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MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has a pragmatic approach to the winning Singapore brand he largely built: If it ain't broke, don't fix it; just modify as needed.
Mr Lee told a packed auditorium at Suntec City on Friday that Singapore's image - efficient, law-abiding, stable but a bit prudish and uptight - can do with a tweak but not at the expense of the nation's core values.
That means such diversions as bar-top dancing, reverse bungee jumping and casinos can have a place in Singapore, as long as the Republic's fundamental integrity is not damaged.
Mr Lee, addressing the topic The Branding Of Singapore at the inaugural World Effie Festival, a two-day marketing and advertising jamboree that attracted about 2,000 media professionals from around the world, said Singapore's winning image was something of a happy accident.
'We stumbled on the fact that if we had stability, safety, good health standards, efficient working environment and industrial peace, we can get American multinationals like Hewlett-Packard and Texas Instruments' to use the island as their manufacturing base, he said.
These firms were looking for regional bases in the 1960s, but the then-ongoing Cultural Revolution in China had made them wary of sites like China and Taiwan.
Even today, factors like Singapore's 'rule of law, integrity of its systems, efficient working environment, rational policy decisions' keep making it the 'better environment in the neighbourhood, why you are prepared to pay a premium to be here' compared to cheaper locales.
The brand's value has been recognised by other nations, all too happy to tap into Singapore's expertise, said Mr Lee, a factor made easier by the way Singaporeans have absorbed the country's values and have come to embody the brand itself.
He said he was 'surprised to see so many big investment firms have got Singaporeans as chief financial officers'.
Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.
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