Synopsis:Security is discussed through the four dimensions of external, internal, civil and societal security, and policies are examined in terms of their sustainability for the next 50 years of Singapore’s development. Questions asked include: what demographic constraints underpin the challenge of the Singapore Armed Forces, and what implications does this spell for its future? In light of the threat of domestic terrorism and the need for greater internal vigilance, what measures can we take to balance the protection of individual rights versus the needs of state security? To what extent is judicial corporal punishment justified by simply its deterrent effect as we aspire to become an increasingly humane and civilised society? And in the interests of societal cohesion, what possible policy initiatives might be considered?
Speaker:Mr Ho Kwon Ping is Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, which owns both listed and private companies engaged in the development, ownership and operation of hotels, resorts, spas, residential homes, retail galleries and other lifestyle activities around the world.
Born in 1952, Mr Ho was educated in Tunghai University, Taiwan; Stanford University, California and the University of Singapore. He worked as a broadcast and financial journalist and was the Economics Editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review. He joined the family business in 1981.
In 1994, after the success of rehabilitating an abandoned tin mine into Laguna Phuket, Asia’s first integrated resort, he launched Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts. Banyan Tree has grown to more than 30 hotels and resorts, over 60 spas and close to 80 retail galleries, as well as three golf courses. With a strong presence in China, Banyan Tree will double its number of properties by 2016.
In May 2000, Mr Ho was conferred an honorary doctorate by Johnson &Wales University, and later received the London Business School 2005 Entrepreneurship Award. In 2008, he was named CEO of the Year at the Singapore Corporate Awards. In 2009, he was the recipient of the Hospitality Lifetime Achievement Award at the China Hotel Investment Summit in Shanghai.
As Chairman of Singapore Management University (SMU), Mr Ho was awarded the Singapore Government’s Meritorious Service Medal for his contribution in the founding of SMU. In 2010, he became the first Asian to receive the ACA (American Creativity Association) Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his creativity and innovation in various spheres of endeavour. In 2011, he was voted top Thinker in Singapore in the Yahoo! Singapore 9 Awards, a testament to his business innovations and leadership in civic causes. In 2012, Mr Ho was given CNBC’s Travel Business Leader Award Asia Pacific 2012, in addition to being named to the board of Diageo, a British multinational. Mr Ho is married to Claire Chiang, Senior Vice President, Banyan Tree Holdings Limited. They have three children – two sons and a daughter.
Downloads:•
Mr Ho Kwon Ping’s speech• Media Coverage of Lecture III: Security and Sustainability (5 Feb 2015)
•
Report on Lecture III: Security and Sustainability•
20174/15 IPS-Nathan Lecture Series: Lecture III by Mr Ho Kwon PingVideo: