Revealing 20 Years of Business Know-How in Singapore
Chapter 1: The Software Engineer
Twenty years ago, I wasn’t just a developer.
I was an engineer in an era where everything had to be built from scratch.
There was no AI.
No ChatGPT.
No Copilot.
Even Stack Overflow was not what it is today.
When problems happened, you didn’t “search” for answers —
you created them.
Every line of code, every system design, every architecture decision
came purely from experience, logic, and persistence.
The Beginning – Scouted to Japan at 26
At the age of 26, I was scouted to work on a DOCOMO-related project in Japan.
My role?
Developing and maintaining a Hotel VOD (Video On Demand) system.
This wasn’t just a simple media player.
It was a fully integrated system:
- TV interface in hotel rooms
- Backend streaming servers
- Payment processing
- Network infrastructure
- Logging and monitoring systems
From the moment a guest turned on the TV
to the second a movie started playing —
everything had to work seamlessly.
And if something broke?
There was no AI to debug it.
No ready-made solutions.
It was just me, the logs, and the code.
Expanding to the Middle East – Saudi Arabia Jail TV System
Later, I worked on a highly specialized system in Saudi Arabia —
a Jail TV Management System.
This project required:
- Strict security control
- Restricted content delivery
- Centralized monitoring
- Stable, uninterrupted broadcasting
Failure was not an option.
Systems like these taught me one thing:
Real engineering is not about writing code.
It’s about building systems that must NEVER fail.
Then vs Now – A Completely Different World
🔧 20 Years Ago
- No AI assistance
- Manual coding and debugging
- Limited online resources
- Heavy reliance on experience
- High failure cost
Today
- AI-assisted development (ChatGPT, Copilot)
- Rapid prototyping
- Cloud infrastructure
- Automation everywhere
- Faster, cheaper experimentation
The gap is not just technological —
it’s philosophical.
Back then, engineers built systems from zero.
Today, engineers assemble and optimize systems using powerful tools.
🇸🇬 Why Singapore is Different
Singapore is not just another country for business.
It is a nation that invests aggressively in the future.
Over the past decades, Singapore has:
- Invested heavily in IT infrastructure
- Supported startups and innovation
- Built a strong digital economy
- Attracted global tech companies
And now —
Singapore is going all-in on AI.
The AI Era – Singapore’s Strategic Bet
Today, Singapore is putting massive resources into AI:
- Government funding for AI research
- Enterprise AI adoption incentives
- Smart Nation initiatives
- AI integration across industries
This is not a trend.
This is a national strategy.
My Perspective After 20 Years
Having lived through both eras, I can say this clearly:
The tools have changed.
But the mindset must not.
AI can generate code.
But it cannot replace:
- Real-world experience
- System-level thinking
- Responsibility for failure
- Business understanding
The engineers who will win in this era are not the ones who rely on AI —
but the ones who know how to use AI with deep experience.
What Comes Next?
This is just Chapter 1.
In the next chapter,
I will share how I transitioned from engineer
to business operator in Singapore —
and the real lessons behind building companies here.
Stay tuned.
