“But watching towers collapse, watching people fly off towers and die, and realising that something 12 time zones away, something far, far away was going to impact the security, safety, the cohesion and the economic vitality of Singapore, made me realise that life was not so straightforward,” Balakrishnan said, during his speech at the Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum 2008 on Oct. 17.

He added, “There are things to protect and there are things to fight for, and it is not enough to talk about it.”

The awareness that Singapore cannot escape the trappings of an increasingly complex and connected world was the focus of this year’s forum, “Globalisation: Threat or Opportunity for the Ordinary Singaporean.”

Opened to NUS students, staff and members of the public for the first time this year, the forum addressed issues concerning the need for Singapore to adapt to globalisation.

Balakrishnan said Singapore had no choice but to be plugged into the world economy since separation from Malaysia in 1965, due to a small land area and lack of natural resources.

The only way to become sustainable was to open up the economy because a society with an increasing population could not be based on agriculture.

“The choice of a closed society and closed economy was lost the moment we got kicked out of Malaysia,” he said.

This was also one of the earliest lessons on globalisation that taught the importance of remaining relevant through industrialisation and having a productive work force.

And Singaporeans can be better off in the future if they maintained the discipline and competitiveness demonstrated by those in the last generation.

Balakrishnan said, “This is something indigenous, maybe something that proves to be more accentuated in an Asian society, which is what we are.”

And Singaporeans work hard because they are expected to do so.

In a response to a question posed by the audience, Balakrishnan said, “If you work, we expect you to work damn hard.”

However, for Singaporeans wary of foreigners taking over local jobs, that is a scenario that cannot be avoided.

“We must be an open city. In fact for the next stage of our development, we must be even more open than before,” he said.

After the 30-minute speech, Balakrishnan fielded more than a dozen questions by the audience that centred on concerns ordinary Singaporeans face given the rapid changes in society.

These included questions about meritocracy, quality of life, the apparent overcrowding, and whether there is the possibility of gaining dual citizenship status for Singaporeans in the future.

However, the forum left some questions unanswered.

Alan Chan, an NUS graduate, said the forum failed to adequately address the more recent issues and instead featured the “timeless discussions” of globalisation.

Chan said, “Being caught up in the global tide is predictable and has been talked about often enough.

“There are newer crises that are not explored more, like the bank loan issues that will perhaps be more severe in the future. And how is expecting ‘efficiency’ natural, given the recent collapse of banks?”

The forum, organised over the past decade, attracted an audience of about 300 people.