The recent passing of Singapore’s first Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew on March 23^rd has left a very deep mark on Singaporeans. Without him, Singapore wouldn’t be what it is today, a developed nation. A man with lots of controversies, he managed to lead Singapore from a country with no natural resources to one of the world’s richest countries. From a meagre US$0.70 billion in 1960. Singapore has grown to an astonishing record of US$ 297.94 billion in GDP.

To date, Singapore is a vibrant and thriving nation which attracted many foreign investments. Leaders from different countries have been studying the policies enforced onto us Singaporeans by Lee Kuan Yew and while some have successfully incorporated his policies into their very own country, others have failed terribly for instance China’s belief that Autocracy is the way to go to develop a nation.

So what exactly did Mr. Lee did that propelled Singapore from a third world nation to a developed country? He brought people together to focus on transforming the key components towards building a developed nation. Some of them are liberalization of Singapore’s trade, establishing the SAF, Racial Harmony, Bilingual Education, Safe Water Supply, Low corruption and crime rates and the establishment of the HDB.

Liberalizing Singapore’s Trade

Not known to many Singaporeans, the underlying fact about Singapore’s economic miracle was driven by Goh Keng Swee and Dr. Albert Winsemius (Dutch economist sent by the United Nations). Initially, Mr. Lee pursued the wrong policy of import substitution in anticipation of the Malayan common market which was considered impractical after the alienation from Malaysia. Then, under Dr. Winsemius’s guidance an export strategy was promoted instead. With Singapore’s secession in 1965, the United Nations proposed the “Industrialization Programme for the State of Singapore” which later on became the basis for Singapore’s industrialization strategy. As a highly developed trade-oriented market economy, Singapore now boasts 21 bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with 32 trading partners, and has the third highest per-capita GDP in the world in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).

Establishing the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)

The SAF was created following Singapore’s separation from Malaysia which consisted only two infantry regiments, commanded by British officers and comprised mostly of non-Singaporeans. Soon, the National Service (NS) bill was introduced in March 1967. It stipulated the compulsory conscription of 18 year old male citizens and permanent resident for a 2 years full-time national service. As time went on, the British soldiers and the New Zealand troops left Singapore which accelerated expansion of the SAF in creating a more capable defense force. The SAF acts as a deterrence against hostile countries and because of the security provided by the SAF, it creates a safe environment not just for citizens, but also for foreign investors.

Racial Harmony

It is an accomplishment to integrate people of different race together into a society and though not commonly seen in other countries, Singapore has did it under the leadership of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. Mr. Lee and his team stressed the importance of maintaining religious tolerance and racial harmony, and they were ready to use the law to counter any threat that includes ethnic and religious violence. It is by no means an easy feat to do it as Singapore went through many racial riots in order to attain Racial Harmony. Can you imagine living in a Singapore where discrimination and hostility is the norm?

Bilingual Education

Since the day Mr. Lee ran office, he heavily emphasized on bilingual education. Mr. Lee aimed to get rid of the dialects back in the days to focus on other language such as English. He believed that English was and will be an essential to the survival of Singapore’s economy. Comparing with the past, it is indeed a wise decision made by Mr. Lee to impart English language into our education system. Had he succumbed to the protests of Singaporeans back then, we probably would not be able to attain the status of having world class education and attracting foreign talents.

Safe Water Supply

Water is not only a key component in ensuring a country’s population, but also to maintain its industries and other economic activities. Back when Singapore depended on Malaysia for water, Mr. Lee recognized the need to source for alternatives to the water supply so as to minimize the vulnerability to a potential supply cut-off by Malaysia. In order to avoid having water supply problems, Mr. Lee experimented with water recycling in 1974. It failed in 1975 due to monetary issues and in 1998, the Public Utilities Board and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) initiated the Singapore Water Reclamation Study (NEWater Study). The aim was to meet the water demand of Singapore’s population. In 2010, Singapore’s latest and largest NEWater plant was built and it was estimated to be able to meet up to 30% of the nation’s water needs. By 2060, NEWater hopes to increase the water supply to meet up to 55% of the population’s water demand.

Low Corruption and Crime Rate

Like many other countries, Singapore had issues with political corruption. Seeing as a need to eliminate corruption, Mr. Lee legislated laws giving the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) greater power to conduct arrests, search, and investigate bank accounts and income tax-returns of suspected people. He also believed that in order to avoid attributing power to the corrupts to govern Singapore, the salaries of ministers, judges and top civil servants have to be comparable to that of the top professionals in the private sector. Coupled with harsh laws on crimes and highly paid ministers, Singapore has attained the status of a safe country with a clean and honest government.

Establishment of the Housing Development Board (HDB)

Take a walk down memory lane and you’ll see many people without a proper house. Even during 1966, 7 years after Mr. Lee was appointed the Prime Minister, less than 300,000 people were still living in squatters. This prompted Mr. Lee to prioritize rehousing which led to the establishment of the HDB. Apart from housing Singapore’s population, Mr. Lee believed that owning a home gives Singaporeans a sense of entity which motivates them to strive for the better in order to maintain the home. Today, Singapore has one of the world’s highest homeownership rates, with 90% of Singaporeans owning their homes, majority of which are HDB flats.

It is truly a remarkably sad day for every Singaporean to have lost one of our forefathers, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. Mr. Lee is a well respected man by many leaders around the world who sees him as an inspiration. His capability to transform Singapore into a developed nation over a short period of time has gave all Singaporeans a better standard of living. Though he has left Singapore, his legacy will be remembered in every heart of a Singaporean. Although not being able to witness Singapore’s transformation, I am honored to know of his existence and contributions.

Thank you Mr. Lee Kuan Yew.

 “At the end of the day, what have I got? – A successful Singapore”

“What have I given up? My life.” – Mr. Lee Kuan Yew