Little red dot

"Little red dot" (or "Little Red Dot") is an epithet for the nation of Singapore. It describes the manner in which the main and subsidiary islands comprising the Republic, with a total land area of no more than 704 km² (270 sq mi), are marked on many world maps. Originally, it was apparently used to refer to Singapore in a disparaging manner by former Indonesian President B.J. Habibie (though this was denied by him), but has come to be used by both Singaporean politicians and ordinary citizens with pride and a sense of the nation's success despite its physical limitations.

Origin and subsequent developments

The term "little red dot" gained currency after the former Indonesian President B.J. (Bacharuddin Jusuf) Habibie (born 1936; held office 1998–1999) was regarded as having criticized Singapore in an article published in the "Asian Wall Street Journal" of 4 August 1998. It was reported that Habibie had remarked that he did not have the feeling that Singapore was a friend, and had pointed to a map, saying: "It's O.K. with me, but there are 211 million people [in Indonesia] . All the green [area] is Indonesia. And that red dot is Singapore."cite news|title=Sound Relations with Malaysia Vital, Says Hsien Loong|url=http://pgoh13.free.fr/spore_vital.html|publisher=Utusan Malaysia|date=2003-05-04|accessdate=2007-08-29] The remark caused an outcry as it was seen as a dismissal of Singapore.cite news|title=Habibie : What I Meant by Little 'Red Dot'|url=|publisher="The Straits Times"|date=2006-09-20]

The then Prime Minister of Singapore, Goh Chok Tong, responded in his National Day Rally Speech on 23 August 1998. Goh called the effect of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 on Indonesia a "major tragedy", noting that the rupiah was worth only a fifth of what it was against the US dollar in June 1997; the banking system had almost collapsed; the economy was expected to contract by 15% in 1998; and that riots had taken place in the country in May 1998, mostly targeting Chinese Indonesians. He then said, "Singapore will help Indonesia within the limits of our ability. We are a small economy. ... After all we are only three million people. Just a little red dot on the map. Where is the capacity to help 211 million people?" [cite web|last=Goh|first=Chok Tong|authorlink=Goh Chok Tong|title=Prime Minister's National Day Rally Speech, 1998|url=http://www.moe.gov.sg/speeches/1998/23aug98.htm|publisher=Ministry of Education (Singapore)|date=1998-08-23|accessdate=2007-08-29]

Reflecting on Habibie's remarks at a conference on 3 May 2003, Singapore's former Deputy Prime Minister (and present Prime Minister), Lee Hsien Loong, said: "This [Habibie's remark] was a vivid and valuable reminder that we are indeed very small and very vulnerable. The little red dot has entered the psyche of every Singaporean, and become a permanent part of our vocabulary, for which we are grateful." [cite web|last=Lee|first=Hsien Loong|authorlink=Lee Hsien Loong|title=Learning and Living the Singapore Story : Keynote Address by Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong at the Network Conference 2003|url=http://stars.nhb.gov.sg/stars/public/viewHTML.jsp?pdfno=2003050301|publisher=Singapore Government Press Release|date=2003-05-03|accessdate=2007-08-29]

On 19 September 2006, Habibie explained to reporters that far from dismissing Singapore in 1998, he had meant to highlight Singapore's achievements despite its small size. He said that he had made the remark while speaking off-the-cuff with members of an Indonesian youth group and trying to "give them spirit". He said that he had told them: "If you look at the map of South-east Asia, you [Indonesia] are so big, and Singapore is just a dot. But if you come to Singapore, you see people with vision." He also claimed that "I have corrected [myself] many times, but they have never put it ["sic"] . And I could not prove it in writing because I was talking freely." [cite news|title=Habibie Truly Admired the 'Little Red Dot'|publisher="Today"|date=2006-09-20]

Popular usage

The term "little red dot" has come to be used by both Singaporean politicians and ordinary citizens with pride and with a sense of the nation's success despite its physical limitations. With reference to Singapore, the term has also been used in the following contexts:

*"Little Red Dot", a magazine aimed at primary school students published by "The Straits Times" that was launched in 2005. [cite news|title=Big Help from ST's New Little Paper : The Straits Times Launches their New Primary School Magazine, Little Red Dot, with Full Explanations of How It Can be Used in the Classroom|url=http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=23193|publisher="The Straits Times" (republished at AsiaMedia)|date=2005-04-18]
*"The Little Red Dot", the title of a 2005 book edited by Tommy Koh and Chang Li Lin about the rise of Singapore through the eyes of 50 of its diplomats. [cite book|last=Koh|first=Tommy|authorlink=Tommy Koh|coauthors=Chang Li Lin (eds.)|title=The Little Red Dot: Reflections By Singapore's Diplomats|location=Singapore|publisher=World Scientific|year=2005|isbn=9812564144 For a review of the book, see cite news|last=Latif|first=Asad|title=The Little Red Dot : Reflections by Singapore's Diplomats (book review)|url=http://www.ips.org.sg/Media/yr2005/Launch%20of%20the%20Little%20Red%20Dot/ST_write%20on%20Spore%20diplomats_14%20Aug%2005.pdf|publisher="The Sunday Times (Singapore)" (reproduced on the Institute of Policy Studies website)|date=2005-08-14|page=27]
* [http://www.reddot.sg Little Red Dot Academy] , an aviation training and consultancy company headquartered in Singapore which was founded in 2004. [cite web|title=Little Red Dot Academy : Company Overview|url=http://www.reddot.sg/overview.html|publisher=Little Red Dot Academy|date=2006|accessdate=2007-08-29]
* [http://www.little-red-dots.com Little Red Dots] , a design collective based in Singapore that was conceived in 2004. [cite web|title=Little Red Dots : Who are We? What are We? Where are We? Why are We?|url=http://www.little-red-dots.com/us.html|publisher=Little Red Dots|date=2005-09-10|accessdate=2007-08-29]

Notes

Further reading

*cite news|last=Chua|first=Mui Hoong|title=Whither Singapore-Jakarta Ties?|url=http://www.singapore-window.org/sw99/90227st.htm|publisher="The Straits Times" (reproduced on Singapore Window)|date=1999-02-27
*cite news|title=PM Goh Urges 'Dignified' Reaction to Malaysian Criticisms|url=http://www.singapore-window.org/sw02/020315af.htm|publisher=Agence France Presse (AFP) (reproduced on Singapore Window)|date=2002-03-15
*cite web|last=Mok|first=Ly Yng|title=Little Red Dot : A Short Story by Mok Ly Yng|url=http://yesterday.sg/detail/little_red_dot_a_short_story_by_mok_ly_yng/|publisher=Yesterday.sg|date=2006-04-12|accessdate=2007-08-29
*cite web|author="layyoong"|title=Little Red Dot Two|url=http://yesterday.sg/detail/little_red_dot/|publisher=Yesterday.org|date=2006-04-20|accessdate=2007-08-29
*cite news|last=Chang|first=Clarence|title=MM Lee on Ensuring S'pore's Future as 'Special Red Dot' : Firm, yet Subtle, in Doing Things Our Way|url=http://www.singapore-window.org/sw06/060917NP.HTM|publisher="The New Paper" (reproduced on Singapore Window)|date=2006-09-17

External links

* [http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/little_red_dot/ "Little red dot" at the Double-Tongued Dictionary]
* [http://www.singlishdictionary.com/singlish_L.htm#little_red_dot "Little red dot" at the "Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English"]