The Rise of Singapore: An Ultimate Lesson

Published in

ResilientMinds

8 min readAug 2, 2023

Singapore was a backward and underrated part of Malaysia until 1965. The land was marshy, barren, and swampy. The people of this city were sluggish, idle, and dull. Majority of them used to do nothing more than to loot or load marine ships. Malaysia was fed up with these people, and therefore, in the era of Tunku Abdur Rahman in 1964, Singapore started struggling for freedom. A total of 126 members of the Parliament did vote in favor of a free Singapore. Thus, it got independence on 9th of August, 1965.

There was not a single vote against the bill. The parliament said what they would do with that trivial public and marshland, and in this way, Singapore got freedom. It was the first blessing of God for Singapore. Then the second blessing was granted to them in the shape of Lee Kuan Yew.

Lee Kuan Yew became the first leader and Prime Minister of Singapore. This man absolutely changed the fate of those marshy and dusty lands, and exactly 20 years later, this state of 24 or 23 km2 had become the most successful and rapidly developed country in the world. Peace, prosperity, employment, investment, and a bright future were there in this little state. Singapore was the first country to display to the world how strong determination works for the prosperity of a country instead of resources.

Nations do not even need to have skills, a large area, or resources to develop; they just need to have strong determination and the power of resilience. Lee Kuan Yew was a perfect university, for sure. This man completely altered the whole nation within two decades. How?

He took six significant steps, primarily for the development of his motherland.

First, he established peace in the country. He made religion a person’s private choice. Whether you are a Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, or Hindu, no one cares about it there. He built a church and a temple, along with a mosque. He claimed that no one would question the religion and creed of another person. Neither a man would question, nor would he preach, if a Muslim visited a Church or a Christian visited a Mosque because all men are equal in the eyes of the law.
There was no class or culture in the country. No one had priority over the other. All men were equal and are still equal there. Lee Kuan Yew sanctioned any sort of strike or demonstration in the country. All the roads, streets, and markets would remain open at any cost. No individual would create insecurities for others in any circumstance.

Secondly, Lee Kuan Yew consciously selected the most honest people in his nation and appointed them to important civil positions and services. He granted them an open opportunity to serve and do their best. Many of the civil service officers have been in their high positions for thirty years.
Honesty was at such a level that nearly 20 ministers and bureaucrats committed suicide after being accused of corruption. The government of Lee Kuan Yew was appointing intellectuals and geniuses from foreign countries too.

Thirdly, Lee Kuan Yew opened his country to businessmen all over the world. Anyone could come from any corner of the world and work there. The only proviso was that the man should be skilled and experienced.

For example, Mushtaq Ahmad, a Muslim businessman from India, went to Singapore in 1971 and opened Al-Mustafa Store there. This store has now been converted into an ample Complex. Mushtaq Ahmad is an honest businessman, as he believes in low profit and high quality. That’s why, today, he is a business tycoon and a billionaire, for sure. The reason is that no one taunted and irritated him during the preliminary phase of his business. While he is not a mere example, there are hundreds of other examples like him, and each of them thrived and became prosperous like him.

Fourthly, Prime Minister Lee Kuan thoroughly concentrated on the structure of education and skill development in his people. The education institutions of Singapore are not merely institutions; they are laboratories of skills and abilities. Thus, 96% of Singapore’s educated population is purely skilled along with their education. They earn for themselves and, at the same time, spend it on their country’s development.

Fifthly, Mr. Lee taught pure ethics, discipline, and decorum to his nation. It began with personal hygiene and cleanliness. People were taught how to use toilets. Muslim showers and toilet papers were made compulsory all over the country. Cleanliness of hands was made a law within the state.
Spitting outside became a crime. Singapore is the only country in the world where if you are seen spitting or throwing any drug pack, you will be fined and arrested in this regard. That’s the reason you won’t see anyone spitting or even cleaning their nose or throat outside. You will be puzzled and surprised to learn that Singaporeans have had zero desire to spit since this restriction.
Furthermore, Mr. Lee had the notion that cigarettes, chewing gum, and chewing drugs spread dirt all over. So he sanctioned the use of these things in his country. Cigarettes are expensive in Singapore. There are specific areas for smoking cigarettes. If anyone is caught with a cigarette in places other than its usage zone, he is going to be caught and punished by the police.

Sixthly, Prime Minister Lee built beautiful infrastructure in his country. Singapore made highways, metros, and bridges at that time, when there was no imagination of them in the east. The government supplies fresh water to the whole country free of charge. You can drink water from any tap there.

I attended the ILO conference in Singapore. There were delegates from 48 countries around the world. It was so astonishing when I observed that there was not a single bottle of water on any table. Instead, there were jugs of water on the tables. The coordinating staff was supposed to fill the jugs with filtered water from taps.
There are even taps for fresh water in hotels. You won’t see any water bottles in the business lounges of airports. There is not even an imagination of gas or electricity’s load-shedding. However, thrifting and saving resources are really appreciated. Any stove that is uselessly burning or using an extra bulb is considered sinful.

Conclusion:
This is a short introduction to how a nation like Singapore thrived and emerged on the world map. How Singapore is winning the marathon of the world’s economy, infrastructure, and life standard. I wonder if there are plenty of other aspects to Singapore’s prosperity and insurmountable development. However, this bunch of lessons is sufficient for us as a nation to put them into practice and astound the world with our grand abilities and talents, like Singaporeans.
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On a tribute to the founding leader of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, I would like to qoute him with his dense and glitzy words through glimpses.