George Yeo links S’pore’s alleged unhappiness to its success, points to social divide with wealthy foreigners as big challenge

George Yeo says Singapore’s unhappiness may be linked to success, claims Lee Kuan Yew never promised happiness

Former Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo drummed up controversy when he linked Singapore’s alleged unhappiness to its success.

In the same discussion, he pointed to the social divide with wealthy foreigners as a potential major challenge in the country’s future.

George Yeo claims Lee Kuan Yew told him not to promise happiness

Mr Yeo took part in a discussion for Bloomberg’s ‘The Mishal Husain Show’, filmed in Singapore on 9 Sept and released on 22 Sept.

He was joined by Professor Kishore Mahbubani, formerly Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

The host, Mishal Husain, asked Mr Yeo why Singapore is within both the top 20 wealthiest and top 20 unhappiest countries in the world.

“I always remember Lee Kuan Yew reminding us: ‘Never promise happiness’,” Mr Yeo said, drawing laughter from the audience.

He said that they could promise economic development, education, and infrastructure, but not happiness.

George Yeo says unhappiness may be precondition for Singapore’s success

Ms Husain asked if he was “unbothered” by Singapore being ranked in the top 20 unhappiest countries.

Mr Yeo replied with an anecdote from his time working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

He said that the public service conducted surveys to find out which government ministries had the best work-life balance.

“Both MTI and MFA had terrible work-life balance. But we had the highest morale,” Mr Yeo claimed.

So sometimes unhappiness may be a precondition for achievement.

The audience laughed again, and Prof Mahbubani agreed.

Netizens question whether Singapore is actually unhappy

The Instagram reel, which was later deleted and reposted by Bloomberg over a graphic error, went viral.

Many netizens responded negatively to the two guests laughing about Singaporean unhappiness.

Another commenter countered Mr Yeo’s claim about never promising happiness by noting that it was part of the National Pledge.

A third user questioned Ms Husain’s claim about Singapore being in the top 20 unhappiest countries.

In the World Happiness Index, Singapore ranked as the 36th happiest country in the world out of 147.

Only Taiwan outranked Singapore in Asia, according to the index.

Social divide between locals and wealthy foreigners is major challenge, says Yeo

In the same discussion, Ms Husain asked the two men about one major challenge Singapore faces in the decade ahead.

“We have large numbers of foreigners here. They are wealthier, sometimes they see themselves as a blessing to Singapore,” Mr Yeo said.

He stated that the wealthy foreigners and Singapore locals have an ever-present tension.

Mr Yeo said the challenge would be for the government to ensure that this social divide is tackled before it becomes too difficult to solve.

Ms Husain asked him if he meant “wealth inequality” was the challenge.

Mr Yeo did not directly answer, instead claiming that strong family values and education were key to Singapore.

Singapore diplomat argues for maintaining core Singaporean identity

Prof Mahbubani picked the declining birth rate as Singapore’s biggest challenge.

He elaborated that it would be difficult to maintain a “core Singaporean identity” within a society with heavy trade and tourism, and thus many foreigners.

“You’ve got to preserve a strong core Singapore base that remains the heart of the country. And keeping that heart going is very important,” Prof Mahbubani concluded.

Also read: Report finds millennials the least happy at work, S’poreans discuss if purpose outweighs salary

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Featured image adapted from @bloombergpodcasts on Instagram.