When then prime minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong received what was described as an unprecedented welcome during his visit to the United States in April, it was the outward sign of the remarkable success of a comprehensive campaign by his government to win hearts and minds amidst the US-led 'war against terror'.

Even before his arrival in the US capital, the senate had approved a special resolution to welcome the prime minister, expressing gratitude for Singapore's support as a 'steadfast partner' in the global campaign on terrorism, and reaffirming the friendship between the two countries.

The 'high value' meeting with President George W Bush further underlined the message that Singapore, in the words of US ambassador to the Lion City, Frank Lavin, was viewed as 'a good friend but with its own perspective.'

As the echoes of the bombs in Bali and those that destroyed the entrance to the Marriott in Jakarta resounded around the region little more than a year before, it could have been a very different story.

With the international media focused on internecine strife in the region, the terror attacks that came in the wake of September 11 were a firm reminder that Singapore sits on the doorstep of the largest Muslim country on earth.

An adverse reaction from the global business community could have pushed the country, already in the grips of the worst recession in its 36-year history, over the brink into an abyss of financial ruin.

Role of protector

Singapore's geographic accident of birth is a situation of which its government is well aware.

With a devotion born of distress, nurtured through internecine strife, and secured in the creation of the most successful economy in Southeast Asia, the citizens of Singapore have been in thrall to the governing People's Action Party and its senior figure Lee Kuan Yew for almost 45 years.

For its part, the PAP have relished their role of protector, barricading what they perceive to be a delicately imagined community against forces within and without that they believe seek to tear it apart.

They have also harnessed the means of communication available in the strategically-positioned island state to this end. Well-served by a media cognisant of its developmental responsibilities, the PAP has been effective in controlling the space for debate.

It has been successful in conveying its own internal messaging aimed at securing the state of its own political longevity has been ensured by the creation of the image of Singapore as a fortress of stability and prosperity in a sea of Malay uncertainty.

But the post-9/11 global security concerns were met by a very different Singapore from the one known for being more at ease with public education campaigns than sophisticated crisis management.

The Singapore government has become an effective communicator, aware that its internal audience is more sophisticated and more demanding.

A slide in popularity in the early 90s bought it home to the government that exhortation on the subject of being polite or keeping toilets clean was no longer enough to ensure a mandate for its policies from a public that were better educated, well traveled, and had access to the Internet.

Singapore is also increasingly part of the global economy, and its economic realignment made it intensely sensitive to international financial sentiment. With Goh Chok Tong as prime minister - he stepped down yesterday - communications became institutionalised.

Perceivably, the government recognised the need to be more consensual and participatory for the benefit of multiple audiences.

Additionally, should the old guard resist, the media was given free reign to criticise what the Straits Times described as 'fearful bureaucrats... [who are] habitually evasive and defensive'.

The upshot was the creation of a communications network that became very efficient at crisis management. Indeed, with the help of global public relations giant Burson Marsteller, it seemed to shrug off the SARS crisis in the first half of 2002.

Its integrated PR campaign was successful in engaging both the local and international media to relay the government's messages about its effective anti-SARS campaign.

On top of this, the campaign also had foreign key opinion leaders like the chairman of British bank Standard Chartered, Patrick Gillam, and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, spreading the word on how safe Singapore was.

The campaign won the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore's Prism 2004 Excellence Award for Crisis Management.

'Remaking Singapore'

Efforts to protect its reputation amidst the 'war on terror' have seen similar initiatives. Singapore acted quickly to squash any internal threats, rounding up JI suspects and receiving plaudits from the US administration.

The local media has been engaged in persuading voters that while the government has the situation in hand, outside Singapore the risks are real. Third party voices, like that of locally-employed academic and terror expert Rohan Gunaratne have been raised in its support.

Meanwhile, the international media has been sold on the message of 'remaking Singapore'. The Lion City is to be seen as an ally that has its own perspective, but has more in common with western liberal societies than the illiberal supporters of terror around the world.

Furthermore, to ensure there are no doubts about its loyalty in the struggle against terror, Singapore has been working closely with the US, providing access to local military bases, and even suggesting that help might be needed to police the strategic Malacca Straits.

Singapore's reward has come in more substantial form than just congressional applause, as the signing of the FTA (Free Trade Agreement) in May 2003, underlined.

So, in the face of the emerging threats to its control posed by new information technology and the exigencies of the global economy, the Singapore government has been forced to become increasingly sophisticated at managing perceptions and minimising controversy.

Indeed, it has successfully met this challenge, even burnishing its public image in the face of 9/11 and the emergence of concerns over militant Islam in Southeast Asia.

Despite efforts by the international media to paint an increasingly gloomy picture of the security situation in Southeast Asia, an integrated public relations campaign has helped Singapore to reclaim its position as Guardian of the East.

Monday: Making sense of Singaporean policies

More articles in the 'A new Singapore?' series

JONATHAN WOODIER is a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Malaysiakini is publishing a 12-part series by different writers on the challenges facing Singapore as new leader Lee Hsien Loong takes the helm. These articles are edited by James Gomez, coordinator of the Monash Asia Institute's Singapore Studies project on civil society. For more information about the project, visit www.jamesgomeznews.com .