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S’pore’s global rankings can’t provide sense of community

I refer to the commentary “High time we stopped worrying about global rankings” (Dec 6). Singaporeans, as a nation, want to be better off, and the tendency to make comparisons is almost a national psyche.

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Santi Yeo Her Chuen

I refer to the commentary “High time we stopped worrying about global rankings” (Dec 6). Singaporeans, as a nation, want to be better off, and the tendency to make comparisons is almost a national psyche.

We care about our social status, check our global rankings and measure nearly everything with indices. But it is navel-gazing and an obsession that makes our people myopic. It lacks depth and the pride of belonging to a Singaporean community.

Foreign workers who build our homes and offices and who clean our homes are not highly paid, but they are proud of their work in Singapore. What are their global rankings? Without their contributions, where would our economy be?

We should learn from them and their sense of global community. Singapore, made up of a multiracial people, was never tribal. And where work needs to be done, let us rise to the occasion.

Our concern should be with growing closer and bigger together, community-wise. Our purpose should not be so blind and shallow as to compare and top global rankings alone using statistical studies.

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