Doing Stuff and Doing Good at the UN
People love to mock the UN. Too many speeches. Too many resolutions. Not enough action. But is that actually true? This chapter makes a solid case that the UN has been “doing stuff” all along. And so has Singapore.
This is part of my retelling of “50 Years of Singapore and the United Nations” (Tommy Koh, Li Lin Chang, Joanna Koh, 2015, ISBN: 978-9814713030).
This chapter is written by Foo Kok Jwee, who ran Singapore’s technical cooperation programs and later became Singapore’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva. He’s someone who actually did the work on the ground.
The Starfish Story
Foo opens with a story that international development workers love to tell. A boy is on a beach throwing starfish back into the ocean, one at a time. A man walks up and tells the boy he can’t possibly save them all. The boy picks up another starfish, throws it into the sea, and says: “Made a difference to that one.”
That’s the mindset of people who work in development. Progress is sometimes measured one person at a time.
The UN Actually Does Things
Development is one of the UN’s three core pillars, alongside peace and security, and human rights. Most people only think about the UN when there’s a war or a heated debate in the General Assembly. But behind all that, the UN runs a massive development operation.
One big example: the Millennium Development Goals. In 2000, the UN got world leaders to commit to a set of concrete targets by 2015. The results were real. Extreme poverty was cut in half. Over 2.3 billion people got better access to drinking water. Women’s political participation went up. Development aid rebounded. These aren’t vague promises. They’re actual numbers.
Singapore’s Turn to Give Back
Singapore got help when it needed it. After gaining self-rule in 1959, Singapore turned to the UN Development Programme for help building an economic plan. The UNDP sent a team led by Dutch economist Dr. Albert Winsemius, who became the government’s Chief Economic Advisor. One of his early ideas? Create a one-stop agency for investors. That became the Economic Development Board, which you’ve probably heard of if you know anything about Singapore’s economic story.
Singapore also got technical help from UNIDO, UNCTAD, WHO, and the ILO. The country was new, small, and without natural resources. It needed all the help it could get.
Fast forward to 1992. Singapore had reached a level where it could start giving back. So it created the Singapore Cooperation Programme, or SCP.
What the SCP Actually Does
The idea behind the SCP is straightforward. Singapore figured out that technical assistance is often more useful than just handing over money. Teach someone how to run a port, manage water resources, or set up urban planning systems, and you create lasting change. Just writing a check doesn’t always do that.
So through the SCP, Singapore shares its development experience. What worked. What didn’t. Training programs and study visits in areas like public administration, economic development, urban planning, sustainable development, port management, civil aviation, and water management.
Singapore also partners with UN agencies like the UNDP, UNCTAD, and UNICEF to share knowledge on trade, investment, education, and technology with other developing countries.
By 2015, the SCP had trained over 100,000 officials from more than 170 countries. Singapore doesn’t hand out billions like the big OECD countries. But on a per capita basis, its contributions are very solid.
Why the SCP Works
Here’s the thing. The SCP works because Singapore works. The country is a living example that a small place without natural resources can thrive. The recipe isn’t a secret: good leadership, political stability, rule of law, pragmatism, strong institutions, and continuous investment in people.
When officials from other countries come to Singapore for training, they don’t just hear theory. They see a real place that actually did the thing. That’s powerful.
Development Aid Is Never Simple
Foo is honest about the messy reality of development work. It sounds nice on paper. Help other countries grow. Reduce poverty. Protect the environment. But in practice, every country has its own interests.
Big donor countries often direct their aid in ways that benefit them. Build infrastructure in a developing country, and your own companies might get the contracts. Help grow a middle class somewhere, and you’ve just created a bigger market for your goods. Sometimes aid is used to keep friendly governments in power.
Some countries even use “technical assistance” as a way to push their own political values. Not because it helps anyone on the ground, but because it plays well with voters at home.
And the flip side is ugly too. Some developing countries deliberately ask for more than they know donors will give. That way, when things go wrong domestically, they can blame the international community for not helping enough. It’s a convenient way to avoid accountability.
Why Singapore Helps (The Honest Version)
Foo doesn’t pretend Singapore is doing this purely out of the goodness of its heart. Singapore is a small country. It can’t set the rules in international relations. It has to take prices, not make them.
So it’s very much in Singapore’s interest to help its neighbors become stable and prosperous. A stable region means more trade, more investment, less risk. When countries around the world are better equipped to handle financial crises, terrorism, pandemics, and climate change, Singapore is safer too. These problems don’t stop at borders.
There’s also a practical diplomatic benefit. The SCP has won Singapore many friends. When Singapore needs support at the UN or other international forums, those friendships matter.
Doing good and looking after your own interests aren’t opposites. They can go together.
The Problem Governments Face at Home
Here’s a challenge that keeps growing. Citizens in donor countries are asking their governments: why are you spending our tax money on people overseas when we have problems at home?
Jobs are less secure because of automation and globalization. Income inequality is widening. Social mobility is shrinking. People are struggling, and they want to know why their government is writing checks to foreign countries.
It’s a fair question. And governments are having a harder time answering it. The argument that development aid prevents bigger, more expensive crises down the road makes logical sense. But it’s a hard sell when people are worried about their own bills.
Looking Forward
Singapore can’t help everyone. But it can be smarter about how it helps. Foo outlines the path: focus on areas where Singapore can make the biggest impact, try new tools like public-private partnerships, and strengthen partnerships with the UN and other organizations.
In 2014, Singapore announced a package for Small Island Developing States, covering their biggest challenges: sustainable development, climate change, public health, and food security. Singapore also teamed up with the UN’s disaster risk reduction office to help small island states build capacity for dealing with disasters.
The post-2015 development agenda was on the horizon when this chapter was written. Singapore planned to contribute through the SCP in meaningful ways.
The Bottom Line
This is a short chapter, but it makes an important point. The UN does more than talk. And Singapore, despite being tiny, contributes real value through practical programs that share knowledge and build capacity.
Foo’s central message is clear. You don’t need to be a superpower to make a difference. You don’t need billions in your aid budget. What you need is something real to offer, a willingness to share it, and the honesty to admit that helping others also helps yourself.
That starfish story at the beginning isn’t just a nice metaphor. It’s how development work actually feels. You can’t fix everything. But you can make a difference, one person, one program, one country at a time.
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