Commentary: Farewell 2023, you will not be missed

SINGAPORE: Congratulations, we’ve made it through almost a whole year of the “new normal” after Singapore moved to living with endemic COVID-19 in February. The pandemic years went by in a distorted blur; 2023 saw such a flurry of activity we’d be forgiven for mistaking some events this past year as happening long ago.

It’s no surprise geopolitical tensions, the climate crisis and economic woes continued to dominate headlines. But events that rocked Singapore and the world will surely make 2023 a reference point in history – for better and for worse.

As we look forward to a less eventful 2024, here are the commentaries that capture the past 12 months.

SHINE YOUR LIGHT

Research shows humans often remember negative experiences more than positive ones. So let’s start with the bright spots – and there was none brighter this year than Shanti Pereira who blazed her way to gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games in October and straight into our hearts with her story of perseverance.

So did the Singapore women’s national tchoukball team, world number one despite limited resources, and national athletes and para-athletes whose grit and character shone more brightly than any medal haul at the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games in Phnom Penh. What will the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics hold in store?

Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh made Hollywood history with her Best Actress Oscar in March. Every winning actor at the Academy Awards was in their 50s or 60s – a reminder that ageism doesn’t make sense if our biggest triumphs could still lie ahead at any age.

Singaporeans also took pride in seeing our own performing on the world stage. TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi withstood a five-hour grilling by the United States Congress in March. The United Nations High Seas Treaty was also negotiated under the presidency of Rena Lee, Singapore’s Ambassador for Oceans and Law of the Sea Issues and Special Envoy of the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

And though 2023 was ominously the hottest year in recorded history with extreme weather events wreaking havoc around the world, countries at the COP28 climate summit in December struck a historic deal to cut down on fossil fuels.

SOME ECONOMIC RESPITE?

Signs point to the global economy avoiding a recession as countries tame inflation. The next concern? China, which is battling deflation woes and a real estate sector at risk of collapse.

After hitting a 14-year high in January and February, core inflation in Singapore has been easing. But with retrenchments on the rise and job vacancies falling, what will happen to employees if such trends continue?

For one, employees have been summoned back to the office, their bargaining power eroding in a cooling labour market. Short-sightedness about flexible work arrangements will hurt as more employees become caregivers in an ageing population or start families. But will employees let their feet do the talking amid rising cost of living pressures, such as record-high Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices and planned increases to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and water prices?

2023 was also the year that generative artificial intelligence became inevitable. Every profession from journalists and teachers to HR recruiters and psychologists have been deliberating how to harness the new technology yet protect jobs. More guardrails and regulation are surely to come in 2024.

SINGAPORE POLITICS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

Even those who lament Singapore’s “boring” domestic politics might have been stunned by the uncharacteristic string of controversies, starting in May with controversy over the rental of state-owned bungalows to two People’s Action Party (PAP) ministers. A particularly tumultuous July saw Minister of Transport S Iswaran arrested in a corruption probe and the resignation of three Members of Parliament (MPs) – from both the ruling PAP and opposition Workers’ Party – after extramarital affairs.

The political scene in Singapore will never be the same again. But what will change look like – how do we nourish the political culture we want, especially as Singapore builds up towards the next General Election due by 2025?

The other political event of the year was undoubtedly the President Election, swept by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam after a three-way race that ignited debate over political independence and powers. In an increasingly polarised world, no doubt a unifying figure will be important for multiracial multicultural Singapore.

SEARCH FOR REGIONAL STABILITY

With Singapore’s own leadership transition looming, the shifting regional landscape must also come into focus. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has held on to power for a year amid a strong anti-corruption push. The question now is whether he will be able to push his reform agenda while the opposition shores up support after a strong showing in six state elections in August.

In Indonesia, concerns of dynastic rule have once again emerged after outgoing President Joko Widodo’s son was cleared to run for vice-president. How will Indonesians vote in February?

After months of political deadlock, Thailand finally chose a prime minister in August. Meanwhile, the Myanmar crisis continues to evolve, with rebels pushing back against the military in a coordinated October offensive.

NEVERENDING GEOPOLITICAL DANCE

All eyes are on the Taiwan Strait as the island gears up for a presidential election in January, but it is the South China Sea that has raised concerns of late. China and the Philippines have traded barbs over a series of incidents, involving a “military-grade” laser, water cannons and collisions. Fears that more clashes increase the risk of a miscalculation will certainly spill over into the next year.

After nearly two years of fighting – and a Russian militia mutiny in June - there’s still no end in sight for war in the Ukraine. Then in October, a surprise assault by militant group Hamas tipped the uneasy co-existence of Israelis and Palestinians into full-blown conflict.

The US has found itself inextricably tied up in two wars and will be distracted domestically, given the presidential election in November and the circus of former president Donald Trump’s criminal and civil trials.

There are suggestions that China is testing US’ commitments to its allies by provoking incidents in the South China Sea. But with two Chinese ministers abruptly fired after mysterious absences, President Xi Jinping may have deeper problems to attend to first.

May cooler heads prevail in 2024.