Singapore is a brief history of the country's development. The best book about Singapore's success story
The period of its formation and development is of great importance in the development of the country’s tourism business. The more mysteries or great accomplishments that happened at this time, the more important the city or country will be for the world, and for each tourist individually. The fascinating and mysterious history of Singapore only adds to the popularity of this territory.
Singapore's complicated history
First historical mentions Singapore has another 3 centuries. Story says that for a very long time the country was under someone’s protection. It was constantly conquered and subjugated by other countries. History of Singapore, as an independent country begins only in 1959, or this period is also called the era of modernization of Singapore. Ruler Lee Kuan Yew put a lot of effort into transforming a small piece of subjugation into an independent and strong state.
Capital of Singapore
In such a short period of time it has become a place that locals and tourists adore. There are many historical monuments and modern buildings in the Feng Shui style, which confirms Singapore culture very multifaceted. The nightlife of the city is very active and beautiful, and the bird's eye view is simply mesmerizing.
Population of Singapore
Today, about 5 million people live in Singapore, calculated per territory, which is about 7.5 thousand people per square kilometer. But it is considered one of the most affluent in terms of housing. The reason for this was the reforms adopted by the government in the 60s of the 20th century. Then a mass mortgage lending program was launched. Therefore, it is very rare to meet a person who does not have his own home.
State of Singapore
Since the period of independence, it has achieved great success in development and recognition on the world stage. It is worth mentioning that at the beginning of the formation of Singapore, all countries were skeptical about the independence and capabilities of this country, but practice has shown the opposite. Today, there is one of the best indicators of people's lives, the lowest crime and very developed tourism.
Politics of Singapore
The government of the country pays great attention to the development of external relations. The country establishes and maintains strong relationships with almost 190 countries around the world. More than 10 world organizations have accepted Singapore as a full member.
Singapore language
By law, there are 4 officially recognized languages in the country. But the national language of Singapore is Malay. Even the national anthem is sung in this language, although all others are freely used.
Lee, a native Singaporean with Chinese roots, became interested in politics during the Japanese occupation of the city, which was previously under British rule, in 1942-1944. “I did not get involved in politics on my own. It was the Japanese who brought politics into my life,” he later wrote.
Lee's political career began a decade later against the backdrop of Britain's gradual withdrawal from Singapore and the latter's unification with Malaysia. Lee became secretary-general of the People's Action Party in 1954, and five years later he won the election to become Prime Minister of Singapore. The latter by this time had received full autonomy within Great Britain. In 1962, Lee supported the creation of a federation with Malaysia, but this unification collapsed three years later. Singapore gained full independence in August 1965.
Lee had to create a state in difficult conditions. Singapore did not have natural resources; the country experienced difficulties even with the supply of drinking water, which was carried out from unfriendly Malaysia. In addition to the practical challenges of economic development, Lee also faced an ideological challenge.
Singapore did not have its own people. About three-quarters of the population were Chinese, another 15% were Malay, and there was also a growing Indian minority. Relations between these groups were not always smooth. The different residents of Singapore needed something to unite.
Lee solved both of these problems in a purely pragmatic way. In his memoirs “Singapore History. From the “third world” to the first,” the politician emphasized that “a sense of ownership is vital for our society, which is devoid of deep roots.” Lee encouraged family buyouts and slum clearance. According to the Prime Minister, the owners will be tied to their “father’s house”, for which they will be ready to give their lives. In addition, the owners will be much more picky about the choice of politicians, which should provide the country with even greater stability.
Since independence, Singapore has made significant efforts to translate education into English. English became a "neutral" language of communication, which was not possible for Chinese, Malay or Tamil. The spread of English has also increased Singapore's attractiveness to international investors. It was their arrival in the country that became the turning point in its history.
In 1968, Texas Instruments located its semiconductor manufacturing facility in Singapore, paving the way for other high-tech companies, including Hewlett-Packard and General Electric. Subsequently, Singapore became a hub for multinational corporations, which were attracted by the island's favorable location at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca, high quality of the workforce and political stability.
The rapid transformation of the country into one of the world's financial centers, according to legend, is due to the local banker Van Onen. It was he who drew attention to the fact that the time zone in which Singapore is located is ideal for the country to become a transit point on the route of global finance from San Francisco to Zurich.
In his later interviews, Lee always stated that there was no point in his country being the same as its neighbors, Singapore had to stand out from the rest, be better. In the 1970s, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea tried to attract foreign investment. Singapore's success was due to its stable political system, the rule of law and the almost complete absence of corruption. None of the Asian competitors could offer such a combination.
Lee achieved particular success in the fight against bribery. For this purpose, the Corruption Investigation Bureau (CPIB), created by the British in 1952, received broad powers. In his memoirs, the politician recalled that the fight against bribery came from the top down, from the highest ranks, which was the main reason for its success.
“Lee Kuan Yew was very consistent - he started with his immediate circle,” explains entrepreneur and philanthropist, founding partner of the SKOLKOVO business school Ruben Vardanyan. However, according to him, the experience of Singapore does not need to be idealized; corruption has not been completely defeated anywhere.
In the 1960s, corruption charges cost the careers and sometimes the lives of several ministers. In December 1986, National Development Minister Teh Chin Wan committed suicide. His family was forced to leave Singapore, unable to bear the shame. Intolerance to corruption has led to the fact that in all international rankings Singapore is recognized as the least problematic state in this regard. In 2014, Transparency International ranked it seventh in the world in its Corruption Perceptions Index.
Singapore in numbers
9th place Singapore is ranked in the UN Human Development Index as of 2014. According to this indicator, it is ahead of, for example, Denmark, Ireland, Great Britain and Hong Kong.
80.2 years According to the World Health Organization, in 2012 the average life expectancy in Singapore for men and women was 85.1 years.
1st place was awarded to Singapore in the World Bank's 2015 Doing Business ranking. New Zealand was in second place, and Hong Kong was in third place.
$81 billion Singapore attracted foreign direct investment in 2014, according to the United Nations Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). According to this indicator, the country was behind China, Hong Kong and the USA, but ahead of Brazil, the UK and Canada.
7th place Singapore was ranked in the world in 2014 in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, ahead of most other developed countries in the world.
1% was inflation in Singapore at the end of 2014. Moreover, deflation was recorded in the country in January 2015, and in February inflation was 0.03% year on year.
$556 billion reaches the capitalization of companies traded on the Singapore Exchange, according to Bloomberg. As of January 2015, shares of 774 companies were traded on the exchange.
On 9,2% Singapore's GDP increased on average every year in absolute terms during Lee Kuan Yew's reign from 1965 to 1990, according to World Bank estimates. Between independence and 2012, annual GDP growth was 7.7%.
1,98% was unemployment in Singapore in 2014, according to Bloomberg. Over the past three years, the unemployment rate has not exceeded 2%
Lee's economic and anti-corruption successes were achieved under undemocratic conditions. On the one hand, Singapore adopted the majoritarian political system of Great Britain (Westminster system); the country held competitive elections, in which participation was mandatory for voters. On the other hand, the ruling People's Action Party manipulated the electoral process, and opposition candidates were prosecuted for libel. The court in these processes, as a rule, sided with the government. Lee was skeptical of both the elections and media freedom, which Singapore still lacks to this day.
The paradox created by Lee - the persistence of ultra-fast economic growth, the high level of prosperity of Singaporeans against the backdrop of an unfree political regime - has been the focus of political scientists and the media in recent years. Singapore has become an exemplary example of authoritarian modernization, but how viable is such a model in the future? It was this question that Western journalists liked to ask Lee in various formulations.
For them, Singapore has become a misunderstood phenomenon of a successful state built on principles that contradict the Western political mainstream - without a strong opposition, free media and with a de facto irremovable government. Critics even argue that Lee handed down power by inheritance. Since 2004, the government has been headed by Lee's son, Lee Hsien Loong.
The politician’s answers to this question, on the one hand, testified to the strength of his convictions, on the other hand, they masked the vulnerability of the created structure that he realized. Lee himself once compared Singapore to a 40-story building that stands on swampy soil.
Lee always emphasized his practicality; only reality could be the judge of his plans. In this regard, his opponents could do little to oppose him. By all measures, Singapore, under Lee's leadership and his vision, became a first world country in a dysfunctional environment. “Are you better qualified than me to decide what will work for this country,” Lee responded to a question from a critical journalist. The politician knew that Singapore's government system was different from Western democracies, but what was more important to him was that it worked properly.
Another side of Lee, which was evident in his speeches throughout his life, was a fundamental uncertainty that Singapore was guaranteed not only prosperity, but also survival. Lee never took the country's successes for granted. He kept a close eye on global trends in politics and economics, eager to seize the moment when Singapore needed to be nudged in a different direction.
In addition to the sustainability of the state model created by Lee, the applicability of its experience to other countries remains a controversial issue.
“The uniqueness of Lee Kuan Yew was that dictators in the second period of their rule begin to roll back, revise what they did in the first half of their term. This did not happen to Lee Kuan Yew. As sociologists say, Lee Kuan Yew is a “statistical outlier,” an exception,” Konstantin Sonin, a professor at the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told RBC. He added that the uniqueness of Lee Kuan Yew's achievements was partly due to the uniqueness of Singapore itself. “It is not clear whether Lee Kuan Yew’s experience can be used somewhere else,” the scientist emphasizes.
Sciences Po professor Sergei Guriev is more optimistic. “Many countries have learned lessons [from the experience of fighting corruption in Singapore] - we must fight corruption consistently, without making exceptions for friends and supporters. Technically, this is not a Newton binomial - he created an independent anti-corruption agency,” Guriev noted. From this point of view, Singapore is quite comparable to Taiwan or Hong Kong. The Russian authorities repeatedly received the same recommendations, but each time refused to follow them, Guriev states.
If you're new to Singapore, you're probably wondering how this small city-state in Southeast Asia, with a total area of only 273 square miles (707.1 square kilometers) and one of the youngest nations in the world, became one of the most successful camps
The answer lies in Singapore's unique set of geography and history - its strategic location on the major shipping routes between India and China, its beautiful harbor and its free trade port, which it received thanks to Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.
However, while Sir Stamford Raffles laid the foundation for Singapore's early success, it was former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who helped Singapore survive as an independent nation for the first quarter of a century, setting the course for its current success.
The following is a brief history of the country, its development from a colonial outpost to the prosperous nation it is today.
The mythical origins of Singapore
Recent research has confirmed that lions never lived in Singapore, but legend has it that in the 14th century, after arriving on the island, a thunderstorm caused a Sumatran prince to see an auspicious beast (probably a Malayan tiger).
Thus, the name of the city Singapore comes from the Malay word "Singa" - Lion and "Pura" for city.
Before Europeans set foot on the island now known as Singapore, there were Malay fishing villages inhabited by several hundred Orang Laut indigenous people.
Founding of modern Singapore
At the end of 1818, Lord Hastings, the British Governor-General of India, appointed Lieutenant General Sir Stamford Raffles to establish trading stations on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.
The British expanded their rule over India and also established trade with China. They saw the need to create a port for the purpose of "repairing, revitalizing and protecting their merchant fleet" and to prevent any advances by the Dutch East Indies. 
After surveying other nearby islands by Sir Stamford in 1819 and the rest of the British East India, he settled on Singapore, which was to become their strategic trading post along the spice route.
Singapore eventually became one of the most important commercial and military centers of the British Empire.
The island was the third to be captured by Britain on the Malay Peninsula after Penang (1786) and Malacca (1795). These three British settlements (Singapore, Penang and Malacca) became direct settlements in 1826, under the control of British India.
In 1832, Singapore became the center of government for three regions.
On 1 April 1867, the immediate settlement of Singapore became a British colony and was governed by a governor under the jurisdiction of the colonial office in London.
In my article I talked more about the history of Singapore “Offshore Jurisdiction Singapore”
The weakening of the British fortress
During World War II, Singapore was occupied by the Japanese. British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill called it "the worst disaster and the biggest capitulation in British history."
After the war, the country faced staggering problems of high unemployment, low economic growth, inadequate housing, decaying infrastructure, labor strikes and social unrest.
However, it caused a political awakening among the local population and gave birth to a rise in anti-colonial and nationalist sentiment, epitomized by the slogan "Merdeka", which means "independence" in Malay.
In 1959, Singapore became a self-governing state under the British Empire with Yusuf bin Ishak, the first Yang de-Pertuan Negara (translated from Malay as "He who is the master of a prominent state") and Lee Kuan Yew as its first and longest-serving Prime Minister (he held the post until 1990).
Prior to joining the Federation of Malaysia with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, Singapore unilaterally declared independence from Britain in August 1963. 
Two years later, Singapore left the Federation following fueled ideological conflicts that arose between the Singapore government and a major political party called the People's Action Party (PAP), as well as the federal government of Kuala Lumpur.
On August 9, 1965, Singapore officially gained sovereignty. Yusuf bin Ishak was sworn in as the first president, and Lee Kuan Yew in turn remained as prime minister.
With independence came dark, if not dicey, economic prospects. According to Barbara Leitch Lepoer, editor of Singapore: A Country Study (1989): "Separation from Malaysia meant the loss of Singapore's economic continents, and Indonesia's policy of military confrontation directed at Singapore, consequently, Malaysia dried up economically in this direction".
According to the same book, Singapore also faces the loss of 20% of its jobs with the announcement of withdrawal from the British core island in 1968.
Singapore's Road to Success
Rather than demoralizing Singapore, these problems prompted Singapore's leadership to focus on the country's economy. With a Cambridge-educated lawyer, Lee Kuan Yew took the helm of the Singapore government, his rule was aggressive and export-oriented in the industrialization of labor, through an extensive program of incentives to attract foreign investment.
After all, Singapore still had his strategic location in his favor.
Before 1972, one quarter of the companies that engaged in Singapore industry were either foreign-owned or joint ventures of companies controlled by large US and Japanese investors.
As a result, Singapore's stable political climate created favorable investment conditions and a rapid expansion of the global economy, with gross domestic product (GDP) doubling from 1965 to 1973.
Since the economic boom of the late 1960s and 1970s, new private sector jobs have been created. The government began providing subsidized housing, education, health care, and public transportation, and created new jobs in the public sector.
The country's Central Provident Fund, with a comprehensive sustainable social security system, has created mandatory contributions for employers and employees to accumulate the necessary capital for government projects and the financial security of the country's older workers.
In the late 1970s, the government changed its strategic thinking to high professionalism and labor-intensive technology, added value to industry, and eliminated labor-intensive manufacturing.
In particular, information technology was a priority for expansion, causing Singapore to become the largest manufacturer of disk drives and disk parts in 1989. In the same year, 30% of the country's GDP was obtained from revenues from production. 
Singapore's international and financial services sector has been and remains one of the fastest growing sectors of its economy, accounting for almost 25% of the country's GDP in the late 1980s.
That same year, Singapore and Hong Kong became the two most important Asian financial centers after Tokyo. In 1990, Singapore had transactions with more than 650 multinational companies and several thousand financial institutions and trading firms. On the political front, Kuan Yew Goh Chok managed to defeat Lee Hsien Loong in the 2004 elections and Lee's eldest son Kuan Yew became the third Prime Minister of Singapore.
Singapore personalities
Of the 4.839 million Singaporeans, 3.164 million are Singapore citizens and approximately 0.478 million are permanent residents.
Chinese, Malays and Indians make up the three official ethnic groups in the country.
With such a multi-ethnic population of Singaporean individuals, the country's leadership calls for "Strong individualism with an emphasis on excellence".
Summary of the History of Singapore
The island's initial success stems from its convenient location as a transit point for 3 modes of trade between China, India and the Malay Archipelago.
At the end of the 19th century, British transshipments in Singapore extended their influence on the Malay Peninsula, and as a result, the port of Singapore acquired rich inland resources.
When the British failed to protect Singapore from Japanese occupation during the Second World War, they forever lost the trust of Singaporeans.
This subsequently resulted in an outpouring of anti-colonial and nationalist sentiment. Following its merger with Malaysia and subsequent separation, the former colonial port of Singapore became a leader in global finance and trade in the 1970s.
Today, it still maneuvers its way into the world of international trade, just as it did in the 19th century, and much of this success is due to its government's pro-industrialization policies and best practices catering to its multi-ethnic people.
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(1942 - 1945)
The island's importance grew markedly in the 14th century during the reign of Prince Parameswara in Srivijaya, when an important port was established here. In 1613, the port was destroyed by Acehnese marauders.
The modern history of Singapore begins in 1819, when the English statesman Stamford Raffles founded a British port on the island. Its importance as a center for Sino-Indian trade and a free port in Southeast Asia increased under British colonial rule. The settlement quickly turned into a large port city.
Singapore before the beginning of the 19th century
The first mention of Singapore is in Chinese chronicles of the 3rd century, where it is referred to as Pulozhong (蒲罗中) - a transliteration of the Malay Pulau Ujong ("island at the end"). The island was a stronghold of the Srivijaya Empire, centered on Sumatra, and bore the name Tumasik (from the jav. Tumasik - Sea town). Tumasik was at one time an important trading center, but then fell into disrepair. There is very little evidence left of the city of Tumasik other than occasional archaeological finds.
Under British rule
Singapore in World War II
Finding Self-Government
The new government adhered to a moderate course in both foreign and domestic policy. After some time, the left wing of the party appeared, disagreeing with the majority. In 1961, it split from the MHP to form the Socialist Front Barisan Socialis. Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew accused the new party of being a front for the communists, and then carried out the arrests of prominent party members. A particularly devastating action against the opposition was Operation Coldstore on February 2, 1963, when 107 left-wing political and trade unionists were arrested under the Internal Security Act. They were accused of having links with Indonesian intelligence, supporting the uprising in Brunei, plotting against the creation of Malaysia and overthrowing the Singaporean government. Without trial or investigation, they spent many years in prison. Journalist and leader of the Singapore People's Party Said Zachary was released only after 17 years of imprisonment. Fears that communists might come to power in Singapore forced the government to negotiate with the Federation of Malaya. The result of the negotiations was the merger of these states and the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
Secession from Malaysia. Present tense
Immediately after the merger, differences arose between Singapore and the confederation government. Lee Kuan Yew attempted to extend his political influence to all Chinese in the state, who made up a third of the country's total population. Constant disagreements led to the Malaysian parliament voting to expel Singapore from Malaysia. On August 9, after two years of being part of the federation, Singapore gained independence.
1965-1979
After unexpectedly gaining independence, Singapore faced a future filled with uncertainty. At this time, the Indonesian-Malaysian confrontation was underway and, in addition, the conservative UMNO faction was strongly opposed to secession. Singapore faced the danger of attack from Indonesia or forced integration into the Federation of Malaya on unfavorable terms. Much of the international media was skeptical about Singapore's prospects for survival. In addition to the issue of sovereignty, there were acute problems with unemployment, housing, education, and lack of natural resources and land. Unemployment was in the range of 10-12%, which could provoke social unrest at any moment.
Singapore immediately began to seek international recognition of its sovereignty. The new state joined the UN on 21 September, thus becoming the organization's 117th member, and joined the Commonwealth of Nations in October of the same year. Foreign Minister Sinnathamby Rajaratnam headed the new ministry, which helped establish Singapore's independence and establish diplomatic relations with other countries. On December 22, changes were made to the Constitution, according to which the President of the Republic of Singapore was proclaimed the head of state, and the state itself was declared a Republic. Singapore later became a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on 8 August and was admitted to the Non-Aligned Movement in 1970.
British troops remained in Singapore after independence, but London announced a decision to withdraw troops after 1971. With the secret help of military advisers from Israel, Singapore was able to quickly build up its armed forces, building on a national conscription program that was proposed in 1976. Since independence, Singapore has spent approximately 5 percent of GDP per year on defense. Today, the Singapore Armed Forces are among the best equipped in Asia.
1980s and 1990s
Further gains continued through the 1980s, with the unemployment rate falling to 3% and real GDP growth averaging 8% per year until 1999. During the 1980s, Singapore began to develop high-tech industries to compete with its cheaper-labor neighbors. In 1981, Changi Airport was opened and Singapore Airlines was created, becoming the country's main carrier. The Port of Singapore has become one of the busiest ports in the world. The service and tourism sectors also grew significantly during this period. Singapore has become an important transport hub and an important tourist destination.
The Housing Development Committee continued to design and build new housing estates such as An Mo Kio. Developments from this period have large and high-quality standard apartments and are accompanied by better infrastructure. At the moment, 80-90% of the population lives in apartments built under the programs of the Directorate of Real Estate (HDB - the Housing and Development Board). In 1987, the first line of the Singapore Metro was launched, connecting many of the new neighborhoods to the city center.
The People's Action Party continued to dominate political life in Singapore. The PAP won every parliamentary seat in elections from 1966 to 1981. Some activists and political oppositionists consider the MHP leadership to be authoritarian and believe that the government's strict regulation of political and media activity violates the political rights of citizens. Opposition parties cite the conviction of opposition politician Chee Soon Zhuang for illegal protests and the defamation lawsuits against activist Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam as evidence of authoritarianism. The insufficient separation of powers between the judiciary and the government leads to further accusations by opposition parties of miscarriages of justice.
The system of government in Singapore has experienced several significant changes. The positions of Non-Constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) were introduced to include in parliament the three representatives of the opposition parties that received the most votes but were not included in parliament. In 1988 they were created Group constituencies aimed at ensuring representation of national minorities in parliament. In 1990, the position of Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP) was created, which allowed non-partisan public figures to enter parliament without participating in elections. In 1991, the Constitution was amended to make the office of president elective. The President, according to it, has the right to veto the use of national reserves and has the right to appoint to government positions. Opposition parties negatively assessed the creation of Group Electoral Districts, since the new system made it more difficult for them to be elected to parliament, and the majoritarian electoral system reduces the chances of small parties.
2000s
The 2006 general election was a major milestone, marked by the prominent use of the Internet and blogs to report and comment on the elections, something that is largely prohibited in the official media. The MHP remained in power, receiving 82 of the 84 parliamentary seats and 66% of the vote. Two former presidents of Singapore, Wee Kim Wee and Dewan Nair, have died.
The 2011 general election was another watershed, as for the first time in a group constituency, the ruling PAP lost to the opposition party.
Notes
- World Economic Outlook Database, September 2006 (undefined) . International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on May 7, 2009.
On August 9, 1965, the creation of a new sovereign state, the Republic of Singapore, was proclaimed. The Constitution of the independent Republic of Singapore came into force on August 9, 1965. Singapore is a parliamentary republic. The unicameral parliament, together with the president, is the highest legislative authority and is elected through direct universal elections by the citizens of the country. The functions of the president are mainly representative in nature, since all his constitutional rights are transferred to the government. Executive power is exercised by the government - the cabinet of ministers. It is headed by the Prime Minister. According to the constitution, the president confirms the post)? the prime minister is the leader of the majority party. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are collectively responsible to Parliament. It is in their hands that real power is concentrated.
The Constitution declares broad democratic rights and freedoms- personal freedom, prohibition of slavery and forced labor, equality before the law without distinction of race, nationality, religious affiliation, gender and age, profession, occupation, social and property status. The Basic Law guarantees freedom of movement, as well as freedom of speech, assembly and association. Separately, the right to education is proclaimed for all citizens of the Republic of Singapore without exception. In the constitution freedom of religion and religious propaganda is proclaimed. Each religious community is guaranteed the right to freely engage in religious activities within the framework of its own religion.
It is important!
Singapore continues to preserve many elements of primarily Confucian political culture, characteristic of the dominant Chinese population and the leaders of the ruling People's Action Party. As a result, the state plays a leading role in economic, political and social life, including in the construction of civil society. There is tight power control over the media.
The laws in Singapore are quite strict. Some crimes lead to punishment by lashes, others to death. For particularly brutal murder and the importation and trafficking of drugs, the death penalty is imposed. The crime rate is one of the lowest in the world, and the number of death sentences is one of the highest.
There are 23 registered political parties in Singapore. However, since independence, a single party has dominated, the People's Action Party. It has real economic and social achievements to its credit, which have given Singapore a prominent place in the group of developed capitalist states. The purposeful policy of the party-bureaucratic elite also makes its contribution, explaining the rather strict regulation of all aspects of life in Singapore society by the need to maintain stability and order to accelerate the pace of economic modernization, especially necessary in the context of globalization.
All other parties are on the periphery of the political system and do not have a noticeable influence on its functioning. Leaders in the opposition camp Workers' Party, Singapore People's Party, Singapore Democratic Party is unable to offer any alternative program to the course pursued by the NMD, except to come out with demands for moderate democratic changes, striving mainly to end the monopoly of the INM.
From 1965 to 1990, the post of Prime Minister of Singapore was held by Lee Kuan Yew, who had been the head of the government since June 1959. He is considered the “father of the Singaporean nation”, the creator of the modern state of Singapore. Thanks to his skillful and thoughtful policies, Singapore has transformed from a backward British colony into a modernized, prosperous state, one of the most developed countries in the modern world.
Lee Kuan IO: “In Confucian societies, people believe that the individual exists in the context of family, relatives, friends and society and that government cannot and should not assume the role of the family... Singapore depends on strong and influential families to maintain a society of order and traditions of frugality, hard work, respect for elders, obedience to children, as well as respect for education and science. Such values contribute to increased productivity and economic growth.”
The political-economic model that Lee Kuan Yew created during his reign is characterized by centralization of power, reliance, while maintaining party pluralism, on the ruling PAP and a strong executive branch, a high level of personalization in politics, regulation of internal political life based on a legislative framework , maintaining the 1948 Internal Security Act, which allows for control of the activities of the opposition, whose leaders are being persecuted. It should be emphasized that this essentially authoritarian political system operated while maintaining the external forms and mechanisms of Western-style liberal democracy.
The country regularly holds democratic parliamentary elections, in which the MHP invariably wins. The party's policies made it possible to maintain the stability of a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society and provide Singaporeans with one of the highest standards of living in the world (7th place). Thanks to this, the party continues to enjoy the support of the majority of the country's population. In addition, the activities of the PAP leaders fully correspond to the Confucian ideas about effective governance widespread among various strata of society: they provided their citizens with political stability, order, peace, material well-being and prosperity, and therefore, according to the traditions of local political culture, they deserve full trust and loyalty, even despite the shortcomings in the leadership.
The constitution declares the multinational principle to be the basis of nation-building. For predominantly Chinese Singapore, located in the center of the Malay world, this task is one of the most important in the matter of modern socio-political development. The Constitution proclaims the legal equality of the ethnic groups existing in the country, each of which retains its own language, self-name and identity. Nation building in the state of Singapore presupposes the constitution of Singaporean identity in its not ethno-national, but civil-political sense. The symbol of the new identity (nation) becomes not the ethnic factor, but state affiliation.
Over the years of independence, the Singaporean elite managed to achieve a stable balance in intercommunal relations, providing its citizens with equal rights regardless of their ethnicity. Cultural pluralism was seen as the source of the Singaporean nation's lifeblood and cultural progress. The formation of Singaporean identity based on deepening integration processes has become one of the most important achievements of government policy.
For the successful formation of Singaporean identity in the late 1980s. was developed national ideology. The slogan of the need for the survival of a small island state that does not have natural resources was used as an integrating idea. It was supposed to unite the immigrant society not on the basis of the values of any one ethnic or religious group, but on the basis of new value guidelines of the consolidating community. Values such as pragmatism, efficiency, equality of opportunity and reward based on merit were used. They were proclaimed as symbols uniting the entire population in achieving a common goal - to survive in Southeast Asia as an independent sovereign state. Such elements of traditional political culture, characteristic of all ethno-religious groups of the country, were also used, such as the priority of the interests of society over the interests of the individual; family as the basic unit of society; consensus rather than confrontation; social harmony and religious tolerance.
The official ideology of Singapore is built on the opposition of Asian values, traditional humanism to the technocracy of the West, alienation of the individual and dehumanization of all life. At the same time, the multinational composition of the country's population encourages ideologists to choose what is universal in the traditional heritage, something that would not conflict with the basic value orientations of other ethno-confessional groups.
Malay has been declared the national language of the Republic of Singapore, despite the fact that its speakers make up only a little over 13% of the population. This is a tribute to the indigenous inhabitants of the island and recognition of their historical role in the socio-political development of this territory. However, the country also has official languages; along with Malay, they proclaim the languages of the main ethnic groups - Chinese and Tamil, as well as English. English also serves as the administrative language. It is emphasized that no one is prohibited from using and learning any other language or teaching any other language.
Lee Kuan Yew: “I was convinced that our people should never have developed the habit of hoping for someone’s help. If we wanted to succeed, we had to rely only on ourselves."
Political stability and sound economic policies have ensured Singapore's rapid economic growth and competitiveness in the face of globalization. In the absence of mineral resources and fertile lands, Singapore's only advantage is its geographical location at the crossroads of trade and communication routes.
At the beginning of its independent development, Singapore faced serious difficulties characteristic of a developing country - high unemployment, labor conflicts, a limited domestic market, dependence on external sources of food and fresh water, energy, capital, and technology. To this should be added the low level of education and professional training of the population, poor infrastructure and lack of housing. GDP per capita in 1965 was $432, the unemployment rate reached 14%.
The government of Lee Kuan Yew has taken a course towards attracting means of production from abroad and cooperation with transnational companies. By the end of the 20th century. 3,000 world-class TNCs were already operating in Singapore. The state sought to mobilize internal forces through the use of social engineering to form a positive attitude of people towards work.
Lee Kuan K: “If you run the country wrong, all the smart people will leave.”
Particular attention was paid to the education and training of the younger generation. The government provides scholarships for poor but talented students to study domestically and abroad.
Along with the development of human resources, the government paid great attention to the introduction of high technologies into the country's economy, using the latest achievements of world science and technology.
By the end of the 20th century. Singapore has solved most of the underlying socio-economic problems it faced. For more than 30 years, annual economic growth has been around 8%. At the same time, it was accompanied by the maintenance of social equality, so all Singaporeans could experience the success of the country's development and prosperity. Unemployment has disappeared. Its citizens are provided with housing, work, education, healthcare services, and live in conditions of security and stability. In 2013, GDP per capita, calculated at purchasing power parity, exceeded $60,000.
According to the Singaporean leadership, the main indicator of the success of ongoing reforms in the economy is growth, and in politics - stability. Therefore, for the economic and social modernization of such a fragile state as Singapore, a strong political regime with a legitimate ruling party is required. The country's elites believe that the statehood system created by the IND is the best for Singapore. In order to maintain political stability while renewing the country's leadership, this process was carefully planned and carried out by transferring power in the party, as well as the post of prime minister, to a specially selected and trained leader.
In 1990, Lee Kuan Yew was replaced as prime minister by his chosen successor, Goh Chok Tong, who led Singapore until 2004. The new prime minister generally continued the course of his predecessor, somewhat softening Lee Kuan Yew’s sometimes too harsh methods of government. he gained high prestige among the people, which allowed him to use “shock” methods to bring the country out of the financial and economic crisis of 1997-1998. - reduce wages against the backdrop of rising unemployment, maintaining political stability.
Having spent 13 years at the head of the government of Singapore, Goh Chok Tong in August 2004 handed over power to the new leader of the PAP and the country, Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Kuan Yew's eldest son. Having accepted the baton, Lee Hsien Loong continued the course that Singapore had been on all previous decades, identifying the priority areas of their policy as the economy, the social sphere, as well as foreign policy as an important factor in strengthening Singapore’s position in international political and economic relations. Lee Hsien Loong course - political modernization towards a more open and fair society, gradual, but very slow and measured democratization. The economy emphasized innovation. During the years of Lee Hsien Loong's tenure as Prime Minister, Singapore became one of the leading producers of gaming software, a developer of new technologies for lighting effects and computer graphics. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries developed rapidly. Singapore ranks third in the world in terms of competitiveness after the United States and Switzerland and has the highest ranking among countries with the most favorable investment climate.