September 16, 2013
The leader who gave the world hope.
Ladies and gentlemen!
Today is a special jubilee of the greatest living person on earth. Today is the 90th birthday of Lee Kuan Yew, the founder and indisputable leader of the city-state of Singapore, without whom Singapore today would be a very different place. This is the man who turned a backward non-entity of a place into a flourishing nation, a dream city – an example for all the other countries in the world.
So what was Singapore like before?
In 1965 Singapore didn’t just become independent as many nations do – it was forced to become independent after having been thrown away much like unwanted garbage. It was a tiny group of undeveloped islands with very little going for it, which no one in their right mind considered either credible or potentially viable. People in their right mind tended not to consider it at all in the first place.
What was it like?
- It was wretched territory – marshland and an overall mess of a territory on which pigs and cows grazed.
- No natural wealth, not even drinking water (and apparently still none).
- Unfriendly (to put it mildly) neighboring countries.
- A semiliterate population, and a strong communist influence (including outside support).
- Interethnic conflicts; a population made up of Chinese, Malay and Hindus – three very different religions.
Bonuses:
- Organized crime.
- No army; no loyal police force.
- Corruption with a very BIG capital letter.
- Besides the British military base and the sea ports there was practically no other business at all.
Enough?
Dirt, poverty and nothing to look forward to. That was in 1965.
After 25 years of reforms (yes, as early as in 1990) it was a completely different place…
More: rapidly growing economy, no corruption, rule of law, people dreaming living there. A paradise…