Live, Work & Play
Singapore is one of the most liveable cities in the world
1 One of the legacies of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew is his vision of modern Singapore as a Garden City—if the city is a nice place to live in, then the investments will come. Plants and biodiversity fill physical spaces and such urban transformations help improve the mental well‑being of the city’s residents. The Singapore Botanic Gardens, the country’s first Unesco World Heritage site, and Gardens by the Bay are stellar examples.
2 “Our greatest untapped potential is our racial and religious harmony, and multiculturalism. A few years ago, I was shocked when the leaders of Germany, France and the UK pronounced, in quick succession, that multiculturalism did not work. We should let the world know about this success story.” —Tommy Koh, ambassador-at-large
3 Three places of worship for three different religions on one stretch of road: Masjid Jamae, Sri Mariamman Temple and Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum are located just a stone’s throw away from each other on South Bridge Road. This is but one example—only in Singapore.
4 Singapore Airlines—a great way to fly, always.
5 Tiger Balm—trusted for generations.
6 Razer—for gamers. By gamers. FTW.
7 From January to May this year, Singapore residents donated $90 million to Community Chest (Comchest); Community Foundation of Singapore’s newly launched Sayang Sayang Fund; and through Giving.sg. The same amount was received by Comchest and Giving.sg for the whole of 2019.
8 “Stepping out for a good cause and having a good time while at it is uniquely Singaporean. Many, including myself, don’t apologise if we prefer to help the underprivileged among us by supporting (and organising) glitzy events—as long as the money raised goes to worthwhile causes. Fundraising is like gold prospecting—it doesn’t matter where and how you find a gold nugget (or charity dollar); the value of the nugget in weight is the same.”—celeste Basapa, society fundraiser
9 Connectivity is key to Singapore’s digital economy. The country is on track to roll out nationwide 5G coverage by 2025. It has one of the highest internet penetration rates in the world with nearly 5.14 million or 88 per cent of its residents going online as of January 2020.
10 “Modern Singapore is a testament to a simple principle: that vision, hard work, and perseverance can lead to greatness. The Singapore cocktail bar community is but one shining example of this attitude. Over the past 10 years, Singapore has swept into the global spotlight in the drinks industry, now placing behind only London and New York in annual rankings.”—paul Gabie, CEO of Proof & Company
11 “Because of who you are, I can be everything I am”—reads a line from this year’s National Day Parade theme song, composed by Joshua Wan and performed by Nathan Hartono. Surely this is a comfort to Singaporeans at a time like this.
12 “Through this pandemic, I feel that [the F&B] industry has stood stronger and even more united than before, as one voice through the #savefnbsg movement. A true display of the Singaporean kampong spirit, where people stay connected and help look after each other with their own support groups to tackle issues that are close to heart.”—beppe De Vito, chef-restaurateur and founder of illido Group
13 Singaporeans have access to affordable yet high‑quality healthcare. With initiatives such as Medishield Life and Community Health Assist Scheme, the focus is on health promotion and chronic disease management.
14 If recent health trends continue, the average life expectancy in Singapore will be 85.4 years in 2040, the third longest globally after Spain and Japan, according to a 2018 study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
This longer life expectancy may have something to do with the fact that Singaporeans are some of the fastest walkers in the world—10.55 seconds for a 18‑metre stretch. Recent research has shown that brisk walkers live up to 15 years longer.
Clever urban planning, an efficient transportation system, and safe streets are only three of the numerous things we have to be grateful for in Singapore.
Singapore’s growing and robust economy continues to attract international businesses including British brand Dyson, which has moved its global headquarters to the city and opened an R&D Centre in Science Park focusing on connected technology and intelligent machines. Other global tech brands such as Facebook and Google have offices in the country, too.
18 While it would take a while before we can exercise our passport power (and fly out from the one of the best airports in the world), Singapore is second only to Japan when it comes to the most powerful passport in the world, with visa‑free or visa‑on‑arrival access to 190 destinations, according to the latest Henley Passport Index in January 2020.
Pillars of Singapore
19 It takes a pandemic to better appreciate the value healthcare professionals bring to Singapore.
20 Essential workers from industries including transport are the gears that keep society moving like clockwork.
21 Migrant workers make up one‑third of Singapore’s workforce and their contributions are crucial to building our nation.
22 “Singapore is a small country—and this gives us a pseudo ‘village’ scale, where we tend to meet people with whom we share common friends with. Sometimes, even if we are strangers to begin with, we treat each other as if we are related. Couple that with our efficiency and being largely pragmatic, we can seem to be rude or blunt. But that’s what I like about Singapore society—it’s very genuine, you just need to be able to see past that.”— Nathan Yong, co-founder and design director of Grafunkt
23 As Singapore seeks progress in a post‑pandemic world, the values indicated in our national pledge should never be taken for granted: We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society based on justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.
24 Besides the main island, Singapore is made up of 62 smaller islands such as St John’s, Lazarus, Kusu and Sisters’. With leisure travel still restricted, it’s time to explore these Southern islands—sentosa is the most well known among them. While there are future plans for ecotourism, the focus for now is on the Sentosa‑ Brani Master Plan, with the first phase of infrastructure enhancements on Sentosa and Pulau Brani to be completed by 2022.
25 “I’ve taken up cycling as a form of transportation and exercise. One of the safest ways to get from place to place and yet be surrounded by nature and beauty is through the park connectors—it’s a great way to explore Singapore.” —Siti Khalijah Zainal, theatre artist
26 For this story, Tatler Singapore tapped on botanical design studio Humid House to create three conceptual floral designs inspired by Singapore. To pay tribute to our garden city, founder John Lim uses smokebush, red okra and an abundance of coastal seagrapes to symbolise the lushness of greenery.