OPINION: Happiness is not for sale - Seah Chiang Nee

Malaysia Star, 27 Oct 2012
A FEW years ago a Cabinet minister visited Bhutan and came back declaring that in his view the tranquil mountainous kingdom “is not the Shangri-La on earth”.
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan told Parliament that he had met a cross-section of people from the Prime Minister to the chief monk to ordinary folks.
His conclusion was that “the Westerners’ romanticised version of this ancient kingdom does not fit the reality of what I saw. Bhutan is not Shangri-La on earth”.
His remarks were made in reply to an opposition MP’s proposal to start a National Happiness Index in Singapore, similar to Bhutan’s.
Khaw’s Bhutan viewpoint was no surprise to Singaporeans who have often heard former premier Lee Kuan Yew say that building GDP must take precedence above all else.
With prosperity you can do many things; without it, trouble, he often said. Full story