A  success story against all odds

In 1945, after Japan's defeat, the British returned to Singapore and started to put it back on its feet, rehabilitating the city's devastated infrastructure.

An attempt of Malay communist groups to force them away failed at the beginning of the 1950s, but the failure of Britain to defend Singapore during World War II had destroyed its credibility as an infallible ruler in the eyes of Singaporeans.

The end of British colonialism in Singapore was now just a question of time...

In 1955, Singapore was granted Partial internal self-government and David Marshall, leader of the Labour Front, became the country's first Chief Minister.

In 1963, Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak were formally merged and Malaysia was formed.  This partnership, however, did not last long and, in 1965, following racial tension and violence, Singapore was expelled from the federation and became an independent republic.

At the beginning, Singapore's future did not look too promising... Small size, lack of natural resources, ethnic diversity and large, powerful neighbors were some of the problems the newly born city-state had to face...

Independent Singapore owes its astonishing success and prosperity to its first prime minister, the "father of the nation", Lee Kuan Yew.

"I am often accused of interfering in the private lives of citizens. Yes, if I did not, had I not done that, we wouldn't be here today. And I say without the slightest remorse, that we wouldn't be here, we would not have made economic progress, if we had not intervened on very personal matters - who your neighbour is, how you live, the noise you make, how you spit, or what language you use..." ...                                                                                             Lee Kuan Yew

This strong and charismatic leader ruled Singapore from 1965 to 1990 and led the country forward, till it became one of the world's most prosperous and successful nations.  He imposed relatively strict measures and, in some cases, attracted hostility and harsh criticism from around the world...

Inspired and influenced by Confucius, Lee Kuan Yew's political ideologies, opinions and actions were sometime expressed in the form of strict "rules" which he believed, were absolutely necessary for the creation of a stable and healthy society.

One of his best known "rules" was that: "Efficient government, public order, personal security, and social-economical progress are not part of the natural order of things...". His message was quite simple : Without all those strict and sometimes annoying rules, Singapore would have never achieved what it achieved.

One of his favorite models was Israel.  Lee Kuan Yew admired the young Jewish state and learnt a lot about it.  As far as he was concerned, the two nations had a lot in common:  Ethnic diversity that could sometimes cause tension, cultural and economical problems that needed to be resolved in a short time, large and hostile neighbors, and lack of resources that forced the two small nations to invest more in their human assets.

Strong co-operation between the two countries existed in the first post-independence years and Israel helped a lot in the formation of the Singaporean army and police.

In the last twenty years or so (since the 1980s), the government's stance on law and order has somewhat softened and the ambience on Singapore's streets is fairly relaxed and enjoyable.  Nevertheless, law enforcement is still taken far more seriously than in many other countries.

Singapore is considered an amazing success story and the small country attracts almost ten million visitors every year, alongside businessmen and investors from around the world. 

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