Quotessence
Home / Topics / Singapore Quotes

Singapore Quotes

Browse 249 quotes about Singapore.

Related topics

IfsPeopleFirstsWorldInspiringNeedsBelieveBuildingStatesThinking

Singapore Quotes

“I have said this on many a previous occasion: that had the mix in Singapore been different, had it been 75% Indians, 15% Malays and the rest Chinese, it would not have worked. Because they believe in the politics of contention, of opposition. But because the culture was such that the populace sought a practical way out of their difficulties, therefore it has worked.”

WayBelieveSaidDifferentCultureDifficultyPracticalsOccasionsChineseOppositionSingaporeContention
Author:Lee Kuan Yew
Create image

“The Singapore judicial system's shameful recourse to using torture - in the form of caning - to punish crimes that should be misdemeanors is indicative of a blatant disregard for international human rights standards, one of the defendants said that sentencing day was the darkest day of his life, but in reality every day that Singapore keeps caning on its books is a dark day for the country's international reputation.”

LifeShouldHumansSaidBookCountryRealityFormDarkRightsCrimeStandardsInternationalHuman RightsReputationTortureShamefulDisregardJudicialSingaporeRecourseDark DaysJudicial SystemMisdemeanors
Author:Phil Robertson
Create image

“Never before has information been so important, to governments and businesses alike. And please don't imagine that some of you gathered here today may be less concerned than others. Globalization means that the "butterfly effect" is everywhere at work. The mistakes of a stockbroker in Singapore or the collapse of the Baht in Bangkok, the decisions of a Finnish industrial concern, or what the Governor of Minas Gerais in Brazil decides to do about his State's debt, have had consequences for the world as a whole.”

WorldMayMeanImportantStatesWholeGovernmentTodayDecisionBusinessMistakeImagineEffectsInformationPleaseConsequenceConcernConcernedDebtButterflyCollapseImagine ThatGovernorsGlobalizationBrazilSingaporeFinnishStockbrokersBangkokButterfly EffectGovernment And Business
Author:Jacques Chirac
Create image

“Dubai was brilliant, they looked around the world. They saw Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, Chicago, Sydney, London all ran British common law. British common law is much better for commerce than is French common law or sharia law. So they took 110 acres of Dubai soil, put British common law with a British judge in charge, and they went from an empty piece of soil to the 16th most powerful financial center in [the] world in eight years.”

WorldYearsLawPowerfulCommonSawsPiecesNew YorkJudgingEmptyFinancialEightBritishLondonBrilliantAround The WorldRanSoilMost PowerfulChicagoCommerceSingaporeSydneyAcresHong KongShariaCommon LawDubaiSharia Law
Author:Michael Strong
Create image

“I look forward to hosting Prime Minister Lee [Hsien Loong], whose friendship and partnership I appreciate very much and with whom I've worked throughout my administration. This will also be an opportunity for me to reciprocate the hospitality that the Prime Minister and the people of Singapore showed to me during my visit to Singapore for the APEC summit in 2009.”

PeopleLooksOpportunityAppreciateAdministrationMinistersPrimePartnershipPrime MinisterHospitalitySummitSingaporeReciprocate
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“More broadly, Prime Minister Lee [Hsien Loong] and I will work to advance the US-Singapore partnership across the board. We're committed to sustaining the dynamism of our economies with the Trans-Pacific Partnership - the highest-standard trade agreement ever - which will support trade and innovation in both our countries.”

CountrySupportEconomyHighestStandardsInnovationTradeCommittedOur CountryMinistersBoardsAgreementPrimePartnershipPrime MinisterTransPacificSingaporeSustainingDynamismTrade Agreements
Author:Barack Obama
Create image

“This distraction is what one wants, which is very, very bad for the muse, because the muse hates not being in the line of sight. It's no longer an external conflict, like, oh, I have all these demands and I don't like them. The split is in the self. This may explain why, when I was in Santa Barbara before I went to Singapore and then now to Hong Kong, there was a writing moment when I was writing a poem a day. I had never done that before.”

WantWritingMaySelfDoneMomentsHateLinesDemandConflictSightDistractionSplitsMuseSantaSingaporeHong KongBarbaraSanta Barbara
Author:Shirley Geok-lin Lim
Create image

“I've toyed with this idea [of Fresh Hell] for a long time. I actually wrote a feature years ago with this sort of concept in mind, and it's gone through several incarnations, and... It wasn't 'til I met Chris Ellis, who directed me in a little thing that was actually for a ride in Universal Singapore, for those of you who happen to be going to Universal Singapore.”

YearsMindLittlesLongIdeasHappensGoneHellMetsLong TimeConceptsYears AgoUniversalFeaturesLittle ThingsIncarnationSingapore
Author:Brent Spiner
Create image

“The biggest empty space, the biggest gap in what should be a premier and always vibrant food scene in America is that we don't have hawker centers like they do in Singapore, basically food courts where mom and pop specialists can set up shop in fairly hygienic little stalls all up to health code making one dish they've been doing forever and ever.”

ShouldLittlesAmericaSpaceForeverMomSceneEmptyCourtPopsCodeShopsGapsDishesSingaporeSpecialistsEmpty SpaceHawkers
Author:Anthony Bourdain
Create image

“As a young child I wanted to be a writer because writers were rich and famous. They lounged around Singapore and Rangoon smoking opium in a yellow pongee silk suit. They sniffed cocaine in Mayfair and they penetrated forbidden swamps with a faithful native boy and lived in the native quarter of Tangier smoking hashish and languidly caressing a pet gazelle.”

ChildrenWantedYoungBoysRichSuitsFaithfulSmokingPetNativeYellowQuartersForbiddenCocaineSilkSingaporeYoung ChildrenSwampsOpiumBurroughsGazellesHashishTangierMayfair
Book:Word Virus: The William S. Burroughs Reader
Create image

“I am often accused of interfering in the private lives of citizens. Yes, if I did not, had I not done that, we wouldn't be here today. And I say without the slightest remorse, that we wouldn't be here, we would not have made economic progress, if we had not intervened on very personal matters - who your neighbour is, how you live, the noise you make, how you spit, or what language you use. We decide what is right. Never mind what the people think.”

PeopleIfsThinkingMindMadeMatterDoneUseTodayLanguageProgressEconomicCitizensNoiseInterfereRemorseAccusedPrivate LifeNeighbourSpitSingaporeEconomic ProgressPersonal Matter
Author:Lee Kuan Yew
Create image

“The most revolutionary aspect of technology is its mobility. Anybody can learn it. It jumps easily over barriers of race and language. ... The new technology of microchips and computer software is learned much faster than the old technology of coal and iron. It took three generations of misery for the older industrial countries to master the technology of coal and iron. The new industrial countries of East Asia, South Korea, and Singapore and Taiwan, mastered the new technology and made the jump from poverty to wealth in a single generation.”

MadeCountryScienceThreeLanguageWealthRacePovertyTechnologyGenerationsMastersIndustryComputerAspectMiserySouthEastFasterRevolutionaryBarriersIronSoftwareCoalAsiaKoreaNew TechnologySingaporeMobilityTaiwanSouth KoreaComputer SoftwareThree GenerationsEast AsiaOld TechnologyMicrochips
Author:Freeman Dyson
Create image

“The 21st century will be the Asian century. This also means that Asians will be expected to provide greater leadership to solve global challenges, including environmental challenges. Hence, this multi-disciplinary programme from NUS could not be more timely. It meets a pressing need to educate, train and empower leading players in the public, private and civil society sectors in Singapore, Asia and the world.”

WorldNeedsMeanChallengesEnvironmentGreaterPlayerCenturyTrainEnvironmentalIncludingSolveExpectedEmpoweringEducate21st CenturyAsiaAsianSingaporeProgrammesCivil SocietyTimelyEnvironmental Challenges
Author:Kishore Mahbubani
Create image

“The environmental issues we face today are complex and span many knowledge domains. This undergraduate degree programme in Environmental Studies will nurture a pool of graduates who are able to think deeply and broadly about these issues, and help develop novel solutions for Singapore, Asia and beyond. I am delighted at this programme for another reason - it is the first undergraduate course that draws on expertise from eight Faculties in NUS, making full use of the comprehensive strengths of our University.”

ThinkingFirstsReasonHelpingUseTodayAbleFacesCoursesNovelStudyIssuesEnvironmentDegreesSolutionsDrawsComplexesEnvironmentalUniversityEightFacultyPoolGraduatesNurtureAsiaDomainDelightedComprehensiveExpertiseSingaporeProgrammesUndergraduateEnvironmental Issues
Author:Tan Chorh Chuan
Create image

“This is a timely and relevant initiative. The environmental challenges facing Singapore and the region are becoming more complex. Tackling them will require inter-disciplinary approaches combined with a good understanding of science, economics and governance aspects. The NUS Bachelor of Environment programme will fill a much needed gap in the current framework. NEA is pleased to be a partner to this programme.”

UnderstandingChallengesEnvironmentBecomingNeededApproachAspectEconomicsComplexesEnvironmentalCurrentsPartnersRegionsGapsRelevantInitiativeGovernanceFrameworkBecoming MoreSingaporeProgrammesBachelorsTimelyTacklingGood UnderstandingEnvironmental Challenges
Author:Andrew Tan
Create image

“I started off believing all men were equal. I now know that's the most unlikely thing ever to have been, because millions of years have passed over evolution, people have scattered across the face of this earth, been isolated from each other, developed independently, had different intermixtures between races, peoples, climates, soils... I didn't start off with that knowledge. But by observation, reading, watching, arguing, asking, that is the conclusion I've come to.”

PeopleKnowsMenYearsBelieveHas BeensDifferentEarthFacesReadingRaceMillionsEvolutionEqualAskingClimateArguingConclusionObservationSoilIsolatedUnlikelySingapore
Author:Lee Kuan Yew
Create image