Quora Answer: Will Batam Become the Next Singapore?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Will Batam become the next Singapore?” 

What do you mean by the next Singapore?  In terms of being a sovereign city state, that is not going to happen.  The population of Batam is just over 1 million, which is small.  The population of the entire Riau islands is just over 2 million. 

In terms of geopolitical potential, however, Batam is strategic.  It can be built up as a refining, ship repair, and industrial park to leverage on its proximity to Singapore, just across the Straits of Singapore.  It sits at the natural junction between the Malacca Straits and the Sunda Straits.  It has the potential to be a rival air hub for the region.  It is surrounded by waters teeming with fishery and mineral resources.  It has fresh water resources.  Batam is not so much the next Singapore, as a complement to it.  Done properly, its population would explode and it would cease to be a backwater.  It may even be feasible, with all that development and increased population to have a viable land transport link between Batam and Singapore. 

Batam, like much of Indonesia, is potential.  Due to the state of Indonesia, it is wasted potential.  It would take a fundamental shift in thinking and values for Batam to actually live up to what it could be.