Being a corruption free nation in Southeast Asia is an achievement of Herculean proportions. While other regional leaders were enriching themselves at their country's expense or dithering around with illogical communist policies, Lee Kuan Yew laid the foundation for Singapore to become a global powerhouse in spite of having NO natural resources. One of the greatest leaders in modern history.
The housing of Singapore is really something many economy would discourage for nation building, Singapore right now has 80% of citizen in government housing which is truly an outlier in the world. There are essentially lower to upper middle class people who stay in government house. The cost is huge considering that for many governments selling/ leasing out land for private developer is a HUGE part of their income. So for Singapore to give out such a vast sum and still make it work is truly phenomenal. I’m not saying all countries should copy this, it really depends on the particular situation and conditions of different nations. Which also goes to reflect why some westerners like to highlight Singapore has no left wing or right wing, only what’s practical and what’s right
His economic genius is also visible in how he managed the small land: 1) SG is a financial hub now - finances come and go through banks, or stored there as digital accounts, but not take a place; 2) logistics - great cargo port, cargo domes and goes, generally not occupying much place; 3) tourism - people come and go; 4) great Changi airport - same idea… So the thing is - everything is moving, money are vegetated, but small territory of Singapore is not suffering from it. That was a great lesson visible choice.
Much easier to run a city state, than it is a sprawling nation. Far fewer choices to be made, meaning fewer chances of mistakes, but also fewer moving parts.
@@syahmiwafiy2675 Singapore is its own country. It is made up of mainly Chinese Singaporeans at 75.9%, Malay Singaporeans at 15.1%, Indian Singaporeans at 7.4% with the rest coming in at 1.6%. Singapore speaks Mandarin and English fluently. They speak English with an accent that is westerners refer to as ‘Singlish’. But no, Singaporeans are not Chinese. They’re Singaporeans the same as Americans and Australians are not British just because we came from there originally.
@@miamunshi8513 Maybe that can be the case for companies with marginally more Chinese. As a Chinese Singaporean working in a MNC, 95% of the time I’m expected and subconsciously speaking English, and so in my university days, I rarely spoke Mandarin with my other Chinese friends and mainly speak Mandarin with my family. It’s good to keep our heritage, but I’m sure English is still more spoken than Mandarin in Singapore, especially in work and school environment. I have Chinese-ethnic friends who barely understand basic Mandarin, and that feels alarming to me.
@@miamunshi8513 i disagree on this. As an employee in the workforce, most of the corporate environment speaks English and stated English as the first priority unless you worked in a blue-collared industry where the employers are mostly English illiterates. As someone who had worked in Hong Kong for 2 years, Singapore is way better. In Hong Kong, most of the employees in office communicates using local Cantonese and I'm left out...
@@mrtan1309just because HK was a British colony, doesn't mean they will get rid of Cantonese. Cantonese is OG. it's like me going to Germany for work but complain people talk and work in German mainly, it's not a surprise they speak German.. it's still a foreign country
I had the privilege of traveling with Lee's father, Chin Koon Lee, on a 30 day tour of Europe. He was humble, humorous and smart. I had no idea who he was until the end of the tour.
@@mzheteo8734 Lee was born on 16 September 1923, the first child of Lee Chin Koon, a Semarang-born Singaporean, the same year as my father, so I am in the same generation as Lee Hsien Loong. I had to pinch myself to make sure I was still alive. I was with my parents on the tour, and Mr. Lee was in his seventies. My Mom and Grandmom later visited him on a trip to Singapore.
It wasn't a privilege, just an accident. A person doesn't choose their parents: "Lee was not close to his father, who worked as a storekeeper within the Shell Oil Company and had a gambling addiction. His mother Chua would often stand up against her husband for his poor financial management and parenting skills. [...] Later in life, Lee described his father as a man with a nasty temper and credited his mother with holding the family together amidst her husband's gambling addiction." (Source: Wikipedia, "Lee Kuan Yew")
I lived in Singapore when Lee Kwan Yew was in charge. Strong education, very good HDBs, almost zero violent crime, perfect public transport, clean public spaces, thriving kopi tiams.
@@SinKimishimait’s a soft censorship in that all the publicly funded media is pro ruling party. It’s not illegal to be in the opposition, you just won’t have a platform. It kind of sucks and I wish Singapore had a real political opposition. Eventually any party that stays too long in power will succumb to corruption and incompetence. It’s human nature: why would you need to do better when you know you will win the election every time?
@@harcoom. I was too distant from Singapore to judge, but I would nominate Carlos Antonio Lopez that's probably the only good dictator in history. He was so good that the secret police left over from the very extreme Dr Francia dictatorship had almost nothing to do. Unfortunately, he did not eliminate corruption, just did not let it get in the way of the country progressing, and also concentrated so much power in the presidency that when his son did not live up to his standards of prudence (at least), the country became involved in a terrible war that destroyed almost everything Carlos Antonio had achieved.
A disgusting individual responsible for the deaths of hundreds of British soldiers, so this scummy person could look big on the world stage with that dimwit. George W Bush. A vain politician like no other.
When he died, the whole nation mourned in unison. It was such a sight to behold. Was in high school then but you won’t forget how visibly evident this man means to every single Singaporean.
My little grandma queued in the hot sun and cried so much when he died. She had minimal education, was a housewife with 7 children, and the entire family lived in a single room when she first came to Singapore. And in 3 generations, she has seen Singapore grow into what it is today, her grand children are lawyers, creatives and doctors because of the infrastructure the government built. He was not perfect but he did achieve a lot for us.
I’m a singaporean. There’s more than what you said that Mr LEE KUAN YEW has done for Singapore. Short form- Singapore will not be what it is now if not for this great man.
The question is can it be sustainable after his demise? You got your answers in recent cases of “alleged corruption”. Yes it’s yet to be proven but the future of Singapore is at stake not the past. He has already done his part and his old team, like Ong Teng Cheong, Goh Keng Swee and himself, are no longer around. It’s best that Singapore doesn’t keep on yapping after Past Glory! It’s the future of the next generation it should be concerned about.
He didn't say they would speak English (instead of their local languages) but rather that they would be ABLE TO speak English (alongside the other languages). There's a huge difference. That's Blair's monolingual cultural background misinterpreting it.
That's just you misinterpreting what he said in the video. Nowhere did he say that existing languages would be forgotten. Just that English would (also) need to be spoken.
Correct. English was meant to be the language of Commerce mid last century because the US was the largest economy in the world. Singapore also taught Mandarin and simplified Chinese which aligned with mainland but not Taiwan or HK. Amazing foresight... Blair is not at the level of Lee.
Respect and deep admiration forever for LKY❤️🇸🇬 as a Filipina living in Singapore, I benefit on one thing no place in the world could ever offer- safety! As a content creator, I am sharing all my life experience being in this amazing country, I love listening to his old interviews ❤️just admirable
Singaporeans - you ought to be really proud of yourselves - I envy you ... I'm a veryyy close neighbour of yours and really wished my dear grandfather chose SG when he had the chance ....
I’ve spent a lot of time doing business in Singapore, and I’ve traveled all around the world on business. I’ve met many many people from all kinds of cultures. Lee Kuan Yew is in my opinion one of the greatest modern leaders in history. The people of Singapore are some of the greatest humans you will ever meet and Singapore is by far, far and away the best run city on the planet today. So many countries and cities could learn a lot from Singapore
Yes agree. Tony blah just talk shxt. Mr Lee biggest decision is that he didn't believe western way of governing a country is right. Which we all can see now
I live in Singapore, and it's got its challenges, but I absolutely adore it here. It's night and day from Canada, where I came from. It's a disciplined, family-centric meritocracy that values not only hard work, but also the qualities of inspirational dreamers. The near-complete lack of crime is a huge bonus, but it goes beyond that. There's a level of discipline in Singaporean society that reflects the best of humanity. People behave because they WANT to behave, not because they HAVE to. It's a personal decision that they value, whereas in places like Canada, it's the inverse. Discipline has been thrown out the window in favor of atomized, selfish individualism. I feel more free in Singapore than I did in Canada, a supposed "free country."
17$ for a beer at the holiday Inn in Singapore crazy. I went across the street and bought one for $3 tourist trap for sure. Also the 4 floors of hoars is a blast
Every country that has had a history of a formal government has been corrupt in one way or another whether it be China or France politics is a business opportunity for some people
no, because all he did was legalise corruption, he over payed his politicians himself, so while bribes obviously went down, the flaw is that they are then paid more than anyone else in singapore (which is still a form of corruption) which is wrong because that tactic eventually turns your country into an oligarchy, If you also combine that with the fact that it could be argued he engaged in nepotism and cronyism, giving all politicians a high salary is already suspect to me, but if those people were close to him then the potential benevolence falls away and just plain corruption takes its place. In my opinion as he was fairly cruel anyway, he should have lowered politicians salaries and put a extended death penalty for corruption, which would've made sure that no one was going into politics with the aim of finacial gain
@@juliusraben3526 No it was Blair that opened the boarders to eastern Europeans. He even admitted it was a mistake years later. saying he didn't realize so many would come. Over 10 million
@@juliusraben3526Just out of curiosity what did the Dutch generally think of America going into Iraq pre invasion? Did you believe that the Iraqis had WMDs? Because I think Americans generally did at that time. I don’t know what the politicians actually knew.
Politicians make six figures. That seems like alot to the common person I suppose. When you consider that CEOs, or members of the board of major companies make millions, politicians really don't make that much.
The average MBA grad from a recognizable program like Harvard, Penn or NYU has a starting salary at or higher than your house representative will make during their tenure. The MBA grad has huge income growth to look forward to as well.
@@Mr1159pm in the past they're used to move to DC - maybe that'd keep the cost low? 🤔 it's not guaranteed for their children to go to private school I'm assuming
He knew a small country with no natural resources wouldn't survive for long and so made some tough decisions on Day One. He may have been the only nation-building genius in the world. Credit too goes the Chinese and Malay population of Singapore that put their trust and sweat in his vision.
@@ashwinsubramaniyan8349It was literally British India. Not British Tamil Nadu. And the province was called Madras Presidency, a part of British India.
@ashwinsubramaniyan8349 India was already established when the British invaded. And it was almost the end of that invasion that Indians/Tamil were sent to other countries as indentured laborers.
Yep, his government had plenty. Keith Vaz, Peter Mandelson, Jacqui Smith, Blair's own cash for honours, Bernie Ecclestone and his £1m donation that got F1 excluded from cigarette ad ban, Tessa Jowell mortgage scandal, Peter Hain and his donations and so on.
i'm in singapore right now. i met up with my friend and she took me around the country. it was definitely an amazing experience. i'm considering going to university in singapore now and potentially settling permanently.
I visited Singapore for a week, and it was a fantastic and memorable experience. The city is so well organized, clean, and beautiful, and the people were very kind. I felt very safe and at peace during my stay.
Candidly, his mistake was to follow US in that war. He should have considered a fact finding mission. He had M and Bond on his payroll, so no excuses for following Bush like a puppy.
Lee Kwan Yew was a hero for Singapore, dragging it almost single handed from 3rd world status to one of the wealthiest countries in the world in a single generation. Sure there were some controversial policies, but many of them were needed in order to create the stability for economic growth.
I once met Chinese Malaysians who were discriminated in Malaysia, and so went to University in Singapore on the condition that they stayed for a certain number of years to pay back their education. By that time most had settled into good jobs, married Singaporean’s and never went back to Malaysia.
My uncle, a former Maine Pilot and Boston Arson investigator, and his wife, who is Korean, ended up retiring in Singapore because they said they felt out of all their world travels it was the best place to live. Clean, good health care, nice weather, and they all speak English and are polite.
@@michogarry7421 I read both his books on Singapore's history and they were fascinating. Like how he had to learn Chinese (or rather multiple dialects) when becoming a politician.
Yea, everyone overlooks this on purpose cos they do not want to serve. Mandatory Military Service was one of the major proponents of LKY's plans. He was adamant about it. It paved the way for his other policies and it help create the Singaporean identity amid the diverse racial groups. Singapore's transformation would not work without National Service. Readers and viewers just pick out the points that are convenient to them and leave out others that don't appeal to them.
I am doing my thesis on a topic in Cambodia. There were so many papers and books I saw references to that I could not find in Cambodia. I went to a university in Singapore, just walked into the library and found basically everything I was looking for and more.
LKY wasn't kidding when he said there will be zero tolerance to corruption. Singapore's ex-transport minister S. Iswaran accepted a little over $300,000 SGD from a business tycoon over 8 years or so, from 2015 to 2023. Case was made public in March 2024. Iswaran was 'asked to resign' as a minister and got hit with 35 charges for the bribes. 34 were corruption related, and 1 from obstructing justice. If I'm not mistaken, each corruption charge could technically land you 7 years in jail + $100k SGD in fines. You really don't want to fuck around in Singapore
Before he died, he in his last appearance at parliament motioned all the high ranking party members of the government PAP and LF and restate those 3 same points and said that while he is gone, they should uphold those 3 points until their dying breath. And that was a leader that a nation mourned for.
You do realise that Singapore is essentially a city state? It exists now as a place to move money around. Trying to enforce even one language in India is next to impossible. There are more people taking the train to work every day in Mumbai than there are people living in Singapore. Don't be daft.
@@rustomkanishka And you realize when Deng Xiaoping visited Singapore, he decided to model many of China's economic reforms after Singapore? Singapore's approach seems to have worked for a country with comparable population to India since China is now 6x wealthier than India.
A humble and visionary person, building a nation ,put into governance that each of its people has the best of opportunities ,to learn ,to grow , and to contribute in the journey of their life.🙏
First of all, that's four items. Second of all, he placed education (investment in the people of Singapore) at the top of the list, since the people of Singapore were the only natural resource of Singapore. English as a national language was a derivative of that decision, not the other way around. But this is just a soundbite, in an interview, not a book or a thesis, so it is what it is, no harm.
Depends what you mean by 'natural resource', though, doesn’t it? Are people a 'natural resource'? Why not its location on one of the busiest shipping lanes, its extremely benign weather and geological stability?
@@ianstreet5724 i know its a popular opinion that singapore was only rich because of its port but its a lot more complex than that. When Malaysia kicked Singapore out, they did it believing that Singapore couldn't stand on its two feet, all it had was a port, food and water had to come from Malaysia/Indonesia. So they imagined that once Singapore's funds run dry, they would beg to be taken back into Malaysian federation. But why is this relevant? You have a busy port, people come and go using your port, they come with a full load and expect to be leaving with stuff as well, but Malaysia intentionally heavily reduced their exports like rubber through Singapore's ports and were building their own ports. Meaning full cargo ships were often leaving Singapore's port empty, even refueling was an issue. That's what we mean by no natural resources, Singapore didn't actually get rich from the port itself, they upskilled by being a manufacturing hub, importing in raw materials, refining it into something useful then exporting it back out. It secured partnerships with Brunei for their oil and built a huge refinery in Singapore to process it. It was the only country in the region with extremely high skilled and hardworking people in that region. The fact that it survived despite the sabotage from their closest neighbors is a miracle, this isn't an exaggeration, check out how much they spend on defense
@daniel1233 No, it's definitely NOT a popular opinion; many of us Singaporeans delude ourselves that we are an exceptional population of talented strivers, without whom Singapore would have sunk without a trace and will attempt to argue this viewpoint ad nauseum. However, there is a grain of truth in what you have written, I agree. All countries with more conventionally defined 'natural resources' need infrastructure to exploit those resources. Singapore had that infrastructure at independence - a well developed port, trained workers and an international human network of administrative relationships (shipping agents, international shipping lawyers and insurers etc) used to dealing with Singapore rather thsn any Malaysian port. Where do you think the 'extremely high skilled' Singaporeans came from? Those skills happened because of Singapore's lucky position as Britain's main SE Asian port and the administrative centre of the Malayan colonies. That kind of trading relationship doesn't evaporate overnight. I definitively do not agree with your assertion that the 1965 population was uniquely hardworking or highly educated/motivated compared to any other immigrant population. Immigrants of the first and second generations of whatever ethnic background are self-selected to be more risk taking and industrious - I would hope you have the wit and initiative to look at the multiple historical examples of this. I will provide just a few examples - USA, Dubai, Israel.
@@ianstreet5724geography doesn't dictate prosperity. Otherwise Egypt would be prosperous too. The fact remains that there was 50% projected unemployment after separation, with British withdrawal shuttering large parts of the economy. A port alone would not have been enough.
@PainRack 1) Geography does not dictate prosperity, it's true, but it provides enormous advantage. To claim otherwise is foolish. 2) Egypt has a gigantic hinterland of mostly desert, populated by a huge, economically unproductive rural poor population, present at a far greater proportion than postwar Singapore. Also, the British left far less infrastructure in place when Egypt declared independence, relative to Singapore at Singapore's independence. The Egyptians have had less competent political leadership, whilst living in a more militarily unstable part of the world.
He did alright when you consider that England in general, and London in particular thrived under his leadership (the culmination of which was the Olympics of 2012), and that he had God forgot how many years of Thatcherism to redress. I'm not English or British, and let me tell you, what he accomplished was low-key envied around the world. His biggest blunder was following Bush in his quest to destroy Iraq, but who knows how much room to maneuver he had (nevertheless, he still gets blamed for it - and with reason: he was the one in charge).
@balisaani really??? are you living in a bubble of labour or what? He's failed to reform CAP budget to EU until 2006, thus triggered Brexit referendum. He's the opposite of LKY in many ways, from the Minimum wage policy and taxation regime.
@balisaani you're not british. that sums it up. He's so bad, even Queen Elizabeth didn't want to give him the Knighthood title just like his predecessor. Thatcherism is good, and the world is swinging back to it, F statism BS.
@@balisaani his minimum wage policy is such a failure, even Jacobin, a Communist magazine in europe deemed ot as such. Look at singapore with no minimum wage except for janitor and security personnel.
@@saltymonke3682you are either delusional or privileged😂. He literally dropped all the left and right bullshit and made a suitable way for 21st UK. He should at least get some compliment for that. However, invasion of Iraq was evil and disastrous nevertheless.
It doesn't matter that Mr Blair is the person telling us about Lee Kuan Yew. It is about what Lee Kuan Yew did for Singapore that matters, not what the narrator did or didn't do.
And that is why Singapore was able to rise from a island backwater into one of the richest and technologically advanced nations in the world. Within half a century and with no natural resources to speak of. Lee Kuan Yew was a great man, and if the other world leaders had half of the steel that he had the world would be in a much better place.
@@gershomtan5879 Absolutely, though they had a good deep port and strategic location. However LKW quickly grasped that above all Singapore needed political stability in order to develop economically, so provided that. And yes he was heavy handed sometimes but overall the benefits for Singaporeans far, far outweighed the costs.
He is a man I would forever respect. He used his life to develop Singapore from a mudflat to a metropolis. As a singaporean, I cant really express my gratitude to Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s sacrifice. He will forever be in us Singaporean’s hearts. May he rest in peace
Blair, having seen Singapore's success 1: Promote fractious policies amongst the British and multiculturalism amongst non British 2: import any old wanker from around the world, no questions asked 3: perfected the cronyism that already in part existed in a creaking, corrupt bureaucracy and political system. Brilliant. Cheers Tone
It's called knowing the facts but choosing to ignore them because of personal gain or ego. Blair pretty much knew what to do but chose not to do it. He saw the success of Singapore and how it was achieved but chose to do the exact opposite. Which makes what he says actually factual.
We invented English, of course we speak it. Our politicians are well paid, yes, but there is not 0 tolerance, there is some sort of scandal or fuck up almost every week. And as for "intellectual capital", yes we have many many immigrants, but not a majority of which I would call "high skilled" or "net contributor". Consider our nose well and truly rubbed in it.
Its true tho, the reason congressmen and women in the U.S. are so easy to curruptable is because their govonrment salary is that of a highly experienced electrician at the low end.
@@rolanddriverTony Blair began mass immigration which basically makes Singaporean politics impossible. How can you speak English if you never live among any English people.
Not just Singapore, other countries like: the Philippines, India…are also put English first (above their local languages), and how rich these countries are now??? One of the poorest in Asia.
Spoken like a true person in denial, they usually find one thing from a bunch of stuff then latch onto it then say "oh, if this is not true then the rest of it is not true either", sounds alot like you, isn't it?
It is the best Beacon of which to look. If a nation were to study only two cases for development, they should study the industrialization of South Korea and the public policy and governance in Singapore.
@@rowlandpaes9213 lol, Switzerland and Denmark beacons for which other countries to look to, in what world! Denmark is a welfare state reliant on its access to markets in capital from the rest of Europe, and 30% of its population is on welfare and another 30% rely on the government for employment. Not to mention it basically has only three major corporations that pay all of the taxes that support the rest of its teetering economy. Switzerland, aside from the fact that it's Confederation organization does not work without a long history of compromise and cooperation behind it, not to mention that the Swiss did have a major civil war, is not a functional model unless you think you can duplicate being a bank haven over night. Singapore status is a bank Haven came well after its development and proven track record of stability and efficient government.
@@andrefalksmen1264and what is a bank haven? For corrupted officials, rich businessman and corporations to hide their money, from authorities. That's why Singapore is around.
@@thevindictive6145 a bank Haven is a jurisdiction that deals with Financial products outside of its domestic currency and primarily Services foreign nationals. Now if you're angry that money grubbing wasteful jurisdictions cannot get their hands on every last crumb of wealth from productive citizens to support waste, that's your problem. However, the fact that Singapore is a banking Haven shows the level of trust and confidence that people have in its system of government and the officials of that government. Which once again shows us it is the model which ought to be followed.
I’m in Singapore right now. Never will be back. Can’t chew gum, can’t vape, everything’s a fine here. Strictest country I’ve ever been to, and the people have to work 12 hour days to try and afford the ridiculous prices here. My advice? If you want to visit Southeast Asia, go to Vietnam, Thailand, literally anywhere but here is more fun and worth it.
I'd rather have a semi corrupt government than someone who gets paid millions then pretends to be on the side of the people but don't serve the people at all.
Isn't it wrong the politicians get paid ridiculous amount. Are they supposed to serve the people not themselves? If corruption is such an issue they shouldn't even consider serving the people... What nonsense
only in your dreams, need to be realistic. The temptation of abusing power for your own good is always present whether the pay is high or low, but the presence of high wages AND a strict law against corruption makes doing so doesn't look so enticing. If you are asking the politicians to be serving the people first and not themselves, thats such a utopian ideal, which doesn't last over 1 year max, all dictators start like that, example Suharto
@@Kiki-lp6sr Two things LKY did when he first assumed power was to ensure civil servants were reasonably paid, and ruthlessly prosecuted his own party members when they were found to be corrupt. You are right that in an ideal world our representatives should be honest and not need to be paid much, however LKW was in the business of building a country and knew what he had to do given human nature.
You want people who make decisions on a huge organisation to be paid minimum wage? Not even the Bolsheviks went so far. Lenin said they need to pay politicians and civil servants the same as other educated workers. That's a nice bottom line. Do you want your best people to lead the country, or do you want them to sell you more financial products? That's actually one thing happening now in the West: most math and physics talents are hired by banks to optimize trading software. This brings little value to society. You may be fine with that because it's not politics, but that just shows your ignorance on what politics actually is and means.
@@StCreed oh yes me ignorant. Oh noooooo. But what makes them qualified to run a country to begin with. Do they have prior experience? Phycologist physics blah blah blah. At the end of the day we know they're corrupt. Even with a million dollar salary you wanna say their hands are clean? It's about serving the people. Even if you make half a million you're saying its still good enough still? I'm not even talking about minimum wage wtf. Why the absorbent amount. Getting paid that much makes them the best politicians or something? There's still homelessness. People unable to retire at age 70. So clearly their policies and wage mean fk at all when the people still struggle. Prices of homes sky rocketing and you say it's justifiable to prevent corruption. Birth rates declining because it's too darn expensive so clearly.... Fking clearly the country isn't that great... If money is the motivation then clearly it's not the job for you
You forgot to mention the modified Land Value Tax that Singapore uses that is responsible for the efficiency with which Singapore uses the space it has while simultaneously being one of the per capita wealthiest and most technologically advanced countries in the world with relatively low wealth inequality along with anti-protectionist policies that prioritize free trade and minimize trade barriers and tariffs. All hail Henry George
As a Singaporean I'm happy that Singapore is well known by other people and Americans ❤️ may Lee kuan yew rest in peace he made Singapore green clean and amazing
His economic genius is also visible in how he managed the small land: 1) SG is a financial hub now - finances come and go through banks, or stored there as digital accounts, but not take a place; 2) logistics - great cargo port, cargo comes and goes, generally not occupying much place; 3) tourism - people come and go; 4) great Changi airport - same idea… So the thing is - everything is moving, money are produced, but small territory of Singapore is not suffering from it. That was a great less visible choice.
how true. I'm a true-blue Singaporean. Working in the UK, and love to hear how the people in the UK love & respect LKY/ Singapore ! We all still regard him as the true Father of our land.
![CAMPปลิ้น | EP.83[2/2] ประสบการณ์ขนหัวลุกจากตำนานวงการผี!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/T_kFecQw7Ds/mqdefault.jpg)
My country Kenya 🇰🇪
1. Speaks English.
2.High politicians salary
3. Loves Corruption
3. Loves Corruption (So that all these money would be confiscated and belonged to the government's)
Yes that because you're system didn't follow Singaporean systems part three. The most important part. Zero tolerance for corruption!
British speak English, literally no corruption, talented people come to Britain. How fascinating is Britain now? 😂
@@taikongrivers1179talented people are leaving UK now
Singapore is run by Chinese race n your country is run by Black with different culture n ideology on corruption!!!
Being a corruption free nation in Southeast Asia is an achievement of Herculean proportions. While other regional leaders were enriching themselves at their country's expense or dithering around with illogical communist policies, Lee Kuan Yew laid the foundation for Singapore to become a global powerhouse in spite of having NO natural resources. One of the greatest leaders in modern history.
I can conclude that you don’t live in Singapore.
@@fredpuiHow do we tell him?
@@fredpuican you elaborate please?
@@BlueV205was he actually corrupt?
There was no corruption as he turned down the CIA's blackmail moneym Blair didn't do the same
Housing. Don't forget the housing.
I think housing is a result of what he said. Low corruption high competency meant good policies
I was just going to say that ..
true!
@@williamadiputra2850the housing policy has nothing to do with “low corruption”, since it was implemented on his government…
The housing of Singapore is really something many economy would discourage for nation building, Singapore right now has 80% of citizen in government housing which is truly an outlier in the world. There are essentially lower to upper middle class people who stay in government house.
The cost is huge considering that for many governments selling/ leasing out land for private developer is a HUGE part of their income. So for Singapore to give out such a vast sum and still make it work is truly phenomenal. I’m not saying all countries should copy this, it really depends on the particular situation and conditions of different nations. Which also goes to reflect why some westerners like to highlight Singapore has no left wing or right wing, only what’s practical and what’s right
His economic genius is also visible in how he managed the small land: 1) SG is a financial hub now - finances come and go through banks, or stored there as digital accounts, but not take a place; 2) logistics - great cargo port, cargo domes and goes, generally not occupying much place; 3) tourism - people come and go; 4) great Changi airport - same
idea… So the thing is - everything is moving, money are vegetated, but small territory of Singapore is not suffering from it. That was a great lesson visible choice.
Much easier to run a city state, than it is a sprawling nation. Far fewer choices to be made, meaning fewer chances of mistakes, but also fewer moving parts.
So in other words a tax haven
@@toffeecrisp2146 Especially with a dictator running a one-party state that persecutes its competition.
I used to live in Singapore. I suggest you read the book 'From Third World To First In 30 Years' written by Lee Kwan Yew. Fascinating book.
Lee Kuan Yew is the greatest politician of all time
Thx man, i also lived there, amazing place.
Singapore is a chinese country right? Why don't they just speak chinese
@@syahmiwafiy2675 Singapore is its own country. It is made up of mainly Chinese Singaporeans at 75.9%, Malay Singaporeans at 15.1%, Indian Singaporeans at 7.4% with the rest coming in at 1.6%. Singapore speaks Mandarin and English fluently. They speak English with an accent that is westerners refer to as ‘Singlish’. But no, Singaporeans are not Chinese. They’re Singaporeans the same as Americans and Australians are not British just because we came from there originally.
@@syahmiwafiy2675Ce n'est pas un pays Chinois mais un pays Asiatique ! Le pays a sa propre langue et l'anglais
The best thing about Lee Kwan Yew is that he wrote a book about how he turned Singapore around.
Bro I need the title
@@gbucks5117"From third world to first"
@@puneetmishra4726thanks!
It’s really hard to read and he writes a lot but of unimportant details but it’s very valuable
YES!! I read it twenty years ago and never forgot what he wrote.
English was used to unify the 3 main races. He made sure we all spoke the same language and chose English because it is the world's lingua franca.
well, though its English main language its Chinese language peaks the list today for jobs. this is my personal view.
@@miamunshi8513 Maybe that can be the case for companies with marginally more Chinese. As a Chinese Singaporean working in a MNC, 95% of the time I’m expected and subconsciously speaking English, and so in my university days, I rarely spoke Mandarin with my other Chinese friends and mainly speak Mandarin with my family.
It’s good to keep our heritage, but I’m sure English is still more spoken than Mandarin in Singapore, especially in work and school environment. I have Chinese-ethnic friends who barely understand basic Mandarin, and that feels alarming to me.
@@miamunshi8513 i disagree on this. As an employee in the workforce, most of the corporate environment speaks English and stated English as the first priority unless you worked in a blue-collared industry where the employers are mostly English illiterates. As someone who had worked in Hong Kong for 2 years, Singapore is way better. In Hong Kong, most of the employees in office communicates using local Cantonese and I'm left out...
He later promoted a speak Mandarin campaign
@@mrtan1309just because HK was a British colony, doesn't mean they will get rid of Cantonese. Cantonese is OG. it's like me going to Germany for work but complain people talk and work in German mainly, it's not a surprise they speak German.. it's still a foreign country
I had the privilege of traveling with Lee's father, Chin Koon Lee, on a 30 day tour of Europe. He was humble, humorous and smart. I had no idea who he was until the end of the tour.
Then how are you still alive? Lee died years ago and he was 91
@@mzheteo8734 Lee was born on 16 September 1923, the first child of Lee Chin Koon, a Semarang-born Singaporean, the same year as my father, so I am in the same generation as Lee Hsien Loong. I had to pinch myself to make sure I was still alive. I was with my parents on the tour, and Mr. Lee was in his seventies. My Mom and Grandmom later visited him on a trip to Singapore.
It wasn't a privilege, just an accident. A person doesn't choose their parents: "Lee was not close to his father, who worked as a storekeeper within the Shell Oil Company and had a gambling addiction. His mother Chua would often stand up against her husband for his poor financial management and parenting skills. [...] Later in life, Lee described his father as a man with a nasty temper and credited his mother with holding the family together amidst her husband's gambling addiction." (Source: Wikipedia, "Lee Kuan Yew")
I am sad to learn this about Mr. Lee. I was a kid, not sophisticated, and carried my impressions of him to adulthood.
@@yeahyouright4034 short and picturesque representation of a true leader maker😁
I lived in Singapore when Lee Kwan Yew was in charge. Strong education, very good HDBs, almost zero violent crime, perfect public transport, clean public spaces, thriving kopi tiams.
Me too. However, i slightly smelled authoritarianism with all those censorships.
@@SinKimishimait’s a soft censorship in that all the publicly funded media is pro ruling party. It’s not illegal to be in the opposition, you just won’t have a platform. It kind of sucks and I wish Singapore had a real political opposition. Eventually any party that stays too long in power will succumb to corruption and incompetence. It’s human nature: why would you need to do better when you know you will win the election every time?
Korea needs a leader like Lee!!
@@SinKimishima He was a dictator. Just a good one
@@harcoom. I was too distant from Singapore to judge, but I would nominate Carlos Antonio Lopez that's probably the only good dictator in history. He was so good that the secret police left over from the very extreme Dr Francia dictatorship had almost nothing to do. Unfortunately, he did not eliminate corruption, just did not let it get in the way of the country progressing, and also concentrated so much power in the presidency that when his son did not live up to his standards of prudence (at least), the country became involved in a terrible war that destroyed almost everything Carlos Antonio had achieved.
Tony Blair giving world nation advice is like asking a mosquito to cure malaria
Next step is a pro-George B speech
😂
😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂 so true
Aside from Iraq Tony was a great leader
When Julian Assange spent 12 years for exposing war crimes and Tony Blair got nothing for starting the war
History will remember these rascals, woe to their descendants.
If corruption tolerance existed in uk then how many politicians will be behind bars??
Julian Assange casually released the names of many people putting them at risk of being arrested or tortured in their home countries.
A disgusting individual responsible for the deaths of hundreds of British soldiers, so this scummy person could look big on the world stage with that dimwit. George W Bush.
A vain politician like no other.
@@healing4ALL99% of them
When he died, the whole nation mourned in unison. It was such a sight to behold. Was in high school then but you won’t forget how visibly evident this man means to every single Singaporean.
My little grandma queued in the hot sun and cried so much when he died. She had minimal education, was a housewife with 7 children, and the entire family lived in a single room when she first came to Singapore. And in 3 generations, she has seen Singapore grow into what it is today, her grand children are lawyers, creatives and doctors because of the infrastructure the government built. He was not perfect but he did achieve a lot for us.
How about iswaran? Are he not get paid well enough?
I’m a singaporean. There’s more than what you said that Mr LEE KUAN YEW has done for Singapore. Short form- Singapore will not be what it is now if not for this great man.
Yes, expelled all foreigners
Do remember that if someone invents a time machine and allows Singapore to be a part of Malaysia, it isn't Singapore anymore.
‘IF’
The question is can it be sustainable after his demise?
You got your answers in recent cases of “alleged corruption”. Yes it’s yet to be proven but the future of Singapore is at stake not the past.
He has already done his part and his old team, like Ong Teng Cheong, Goh Keng Swee and himself, are no longer around. It’s best that Singapore doesn’t keep on yapping after Past Glory! It’s the future of the next generation it should be concerned about.
@@sifu2u_now Indeed ... Sigh
He didn't say they would speak English (instead of their local languages) but rather that they would be ABLE TO speak English (alongside the other languages). There's a huge difference. That's Blair's monolingual cultural background misinterpreting it.
@@tihomirr Interestingly Lee couldn't speak Chinese so had to learn the several dialects common in Singapore as he became politically active.
@@dundas666Strange. Because he spoke Japanese apparently. His bio on Wikipedia states he served as interpreter for Japanese during Ww2
That's just you misinterpreting what he said in the video. Nowhere did he say that existing languages would be forgotten. Just that English would (also) need to be spoken.
Correct. English was meant to be the language of Commerce mid last century because the US was the largest economy in the world. Singapore also taught Mandarin and simplified Chinese which aligned with mainland but not Taiwan or HK. Amazing foresight... Blair is not at the level of Lee.
@@dundas666 He spoke Mandarin. Quite well actually.
PS. I'm Chinese.
Tonys worth about £100 million now. Pretty well paid i wonder how he got that.
corruption
thief and a killer
By being an honest leader of his people 🤔
He wishes he hadn't had to go out and get grubby
By having the sort of skills that are massively in demand across the world. When Blair speaks, people listen.
Respect and deep admiration forever for LKY❤️🇸🇬 as a Filipina living in Singapore, I benefit on one thing no place in the world could ever offer- safety! As a content creator, I am sharing all my life experience being in this amazing country, I love listening to his old interviews ❤️just admirable
Singaporeans - you ought to be really proud of yourselves - I envy you ... I'm a veryyy close neighbour of yours and really wished my dear grandfather chose SG when he had the chance ....
I’ve spent a lot of time doing business in Singapore, and I’ve traveled all around the world on business. I’ve met many many people from all kinds of cultures. Lee Kuan Yew is in my opinion one of the greatest modern leaders in history. The people of Singapore are some of the greatest humans you will ever meet and Singapore is by far, far and away the best run city on the planet today. So many countries and cities could learn a lot from Singapore
Deng Xiao Ping did.
@Cyberpunk9000 Lee and Deng held each other in high regards.
They will not pull off a Ukraine, not that kind of heart
I don’t think it was just those three things that Blair said but LKY was truly a legend that many do not fully realize.
Yes agree. Tony blah just talk shxt. Mr Lee biggest decision is that he didn't believe western way of governing a country is right. Which we all can see now
He has vision! It isn’t because he likes English; he was being realistic and knew what was needed for his country! He is a visionary leader
The fundamental 3 things that lay the foundation for S’pore.
I live in Singapore, and it's got its challenges, but I absolutely adore it here. It's night and day from Canada, where I came from. It's a disciplined, family-centric meritocracy that values not only hard work, but also the qualities of inspirational dreamers. The near-complete lack of crime is a huge bonus, but it goes beyond that. There's a level of discipline in Singaporean society that reflects the best of humanity. People behave because they WANT to behave, not because they HAVE to. It's a personal decision that they value, whereas in places like Canada, it's the inverse. Discipline has been thrown out the window in favor of atomized, selfish individualism. I feel more free in Singapore than I did in Canada, a supposed "free country."
17$ for a beer at the holiday Inn in Singapore crazy. I went across the street and bought one for $3 tourist trap for sure. Also the 4 floors of hoars is a blast
Reminds me of Willincks - discipline is freedom,
Singapore is also a city. And it "uses" other countries.... that is why you would not care, at all ? Sure.
They behave well because generationally it is engraved on what will happen if you dont
My thoughts precisely.
As proud Singaporeans, we really look up to Lee Kuan Yew. He made Singapore what it is now, a beautiful garden city, a country way better than before.
Imagine that. Zero tolerance of corruption. The British Parliament would shut down immediately if we had that rule in the UK.
Every country that has had a history of a formal government has been corrupt in one way or another whether it be China or France politics is a business opportunity for some people
no, because all he did was legalise corruption, he over payed his politicians himself, so while bribes obviously went down, the flaw is that they are then paid more than anyone else in singapore (which is still a form of corruption) which is wrong because that tactic eventually turns your country into an oligarchy, If you also combine that with the fact that it could be argued he engaged in nepotism and cronyism, giving all politicians a high salary is already suspect to me, but if those people were close to him then the potential benevolence falls away and just plain corruption takes its place.
In my opinion as he was fairly cruel anyway, he should have lowered politicians salaries and put a extended death penalty for corruption, which would've made sure that no one was going into politics with the aim of finacial gain
So would the USA.
Same for Canada, our current P.M. has set a new record for corruption and scandals.
@@wisereaper4747 "he was fairly cruel" "he should have... an extended death penalty for corruption"
hmmm...
Tony Blair giving his opinion on anything is fkn hilarious
Singapore is apparently the only country on earth that is against corruption
Everyone can give his opinion in this world and that’s called free speech
@@yusefkhan1752corruption is accepted in a lot more countries than you think
@edvinolaj4576 except he should be in jail,not free.him and bush invading Iraq is still mind blowingly crazy over 20 years later
@@stilettoswinger7404 that’s for Iraqi 🇮🇶 people to judge
And yet here is Tony Blair who not only destroyed other countries but also managed to destroy his own and went on a quiet retirement.
Im dutch, but wasnt it nigel farage who wanted brexit ?
Iraq/afghanistan was a big mistake, we didnt had the balls to stop america.....
@@juliusraben3526 No it was Blair that opened the boarders to eastern Europeans. He even admitted it was a mistake years later. saying he didn't realize so many would come. Over 10 million
@@juliusraben3526 Tony Blair absolutely had a choice, he actively choice to support the invasion
@@perhaps1094 what did you thought i said ?
@@juliusraben3526Just out of curiosity what did the Dutch generally think of America going into Iraq pre invasion? Did you believe that the Iraqis had WMDs?
Because I think Americans generally did at that time. I don’t know what the politicians actually knew.
As an SG citizen, Lee Kuan Yew is LITERALLY AMAZING I look up to him SO MUCH
We've got the "well paid politicians" part right, we just seem to have forgotten the part about the zero-tolerance corruption policy
The US Congress people are not that well paid considering how costly it is to live in DC and also support your family back home.
Politicians make six figures. That seems like alot to the common person I suppose. When you consider that CEOs, or members of the board of major companies make millions, politicians really don't make that much.
The average MBA grad from a recognizable program like Harvard, Penn or NYU has a starting salary at or higher than your house representative will make during their tenure. The MBA grad has huge income growth to look forward to as well.
that's exactly the part US didn't get right!
@@Mr1159pm in the past they're used to move to DC - maybe that'd keep the cost low? 🤔
it's not guaranteed for their children to go to private school I'm assuming
Blair should be sentenced for war crimes 😂😂😂
That he's talking about no corruption in another country too 😂
ONLY Democrat country in the world has no corruption. Other inc big bro US n UK are so corrupt plus all ally countriea
No court in the world could be trusted to deliever this man justice. He must be removed through other means.
100%
Yeap
He knew a small country with no natural resources wouldn't survive for long and so made some tough decisions on Day One. He may have been the only nation-building genius in the world. Credit too goes the Chinese and Malay population of Singapore that put their trust and sweat in his vision.
You missed out on the indian population. They're literally the ones who built all the amazing houses in Singapore. Singapore has 3 main races, btw.
@@harshinihershey4971 *tamil... There was no india when they were taken to singapore by the British.
@@ashwinsubramaniyan8349It was literally British India. Not British Tamil Nadu. And the province was called Madras Presidency, a part of British India.
@ashwinsubramaniyan8349 India was already established when the British invaded. And it was almost the end of that invasion that Indians/Tamil were sent to other countries as indentured laborers.
Lee Kwan Yew actually meant 4, but he never mentioned the fourth because it's a secret.
hahahaha. How odd that you did not mention the 4th secret.
Says the most corrupt human on Earth.
Wkwkwkwkwkwk.. You don't know what kind a person the most corrupt is
Come to nigeria
@@SolomomMamman amen brother.. Amen
@@SolomomMamman do your research
@@CliffordHepplethwaite come to nigeria and see the mutated form of corruption currently feeding on the country
No corruption - no job for Tony
There is plenty of corruption in singapore, it takes the form of an unaccountable government
Psychos be psychoin
Yep, his government had plenty. Keith Vaz, Peter Mandelson, Jacqui Smith, Blair's own cash for honours, Bernie Ecclestone and his £1m donation that got F1 excluded from cigarette ad ban, Tessa Jowell mortgage scandal, Peter Hain and his donations and so on.
i'm in singapore right now. i met up with my friend and she took me around the country. it was definitely an amazing experience. i'm considering going to university in singapore now and potentially settling permanently.
Of fucking course you think this country is great if you're a woman
If you have a child here and it turns out to be a boy get out of here for his sake
Of course you love this place if you're a woman
I lived there in the early 1990s. The place is amazing, I'm glad you are enjoying it!
'met up' with a 'friend' and she took you 'around the country'? stay far away from NUS, you'll ruin its flawless reputation of antisociality
I visited Singapore for a week, and it was a fantastic and memorable experience. The city is so well organized, clean, and beautiful, and the people were very kind. I felt very safe and at peace during my stay.
Lee Kwan Yeu was God sent for Singapore 🇸🇬..❤👍🏼🙏🏽
Yes, we can never deny it. F.F Lee Kwan Yew, is a miracle come true to S'pore.
This man should be in prison. He as played is part in destroying Britain 🇬🇧.
He would not be tolerated in Singapore thanks to the zero tolerance on corruption
Hes gone global now
@@derekmoore8224 He's at large. Interpol needs to get on it
For having lived 3 years in Singapore, I can say that this country is for sure unique in so many ways. I miss it
3 great decisions so why mr blare did you make so many wrong turns that yo this day cripple our country with your ideology
He also helped the homeowner rate to rise to more than 90%
So he did invade a Middle Eastern oil rich country unnecessarily? What a mistake!
Candidly, his mistake was to follow US in that war. He should have considered a fact finding mission. He had M and Bond on his payroll, so no excuses for following Bush like a puppy.
Mr. Lee is the best leader I have seen in my life.
Lee Kwan Yew was a hero for Singapore, dragging it almost single handed from 3rd world status to one of the wealthiest countries in the world in a single generation. Sure there were some controversial policies, but many of them were needed in order to create the stability for economic growth.
I once met Chinese Malaysians who were discriminated in Malaysia, and so went to University in Singapore on the condition that they stayed for a certain number of years to pay back their education.
By that time most had settled into good jobs, married Singaporean’s and never went back to
Malaysia.
What's ur point
They become slaves English
@@isaiahdungeonmarrying Singaporean is the way to stay 😅
Joke and not joke same time.
@@isaiahdungeon do u have reading comprehension issues? 😂
@@isaiahdungeonall edge, no point
"no corruption" Tony almost held his smirk back when he said that.
My uncle, a former Maine Pilot and Boston Arson investigator, and his wife, who is Korean, ended up retiring in Singapore because they said they felt out of all their world travels it was the best place to live. Clean, good health care, nice weather, and they all speak English and are polite.
And no chewing gum plastered all over the streets!! A minor thing I know but again about pride in your surroundings.
The first thing that made singapore stable is they reformed their military first, he even wrote about it in his book
@@michogarry7421 I read both his books on Singapore's history and they were fascinating. Like how he had to learn Chinese (or rather multiple dialects) when becoming a politician.
Yea, everyone overlooks this on purpose cos they do not want to serve. Mandatory Military Service was one of the major proponents of LKY's plans. He was adamant about it. It paved the way for his other policies and it help create the Singaporean identity amid the diverse racial groups. Singapore's transformation would not work without National Service. Readers and viewers just pick out the points that are convenient to them and leave out others that don't appeal to them.
I am doing my thesis on a topic in Cambodia. There were so many papers and books I saw references to that I could not find in Cambodia. I went to a university in Singapore, just walked into the library and found basically everything I was looking for and more.
LKY wasn't kidding when he said there will be zero tolerance to corruption.
Singapore's ex-transport minister S. Iswaran accepted a little over $300,000 SGD from a business tycoon over 8 years or so, from 2015 to 2023. Case was made public in March 2024.
Iswaran was 'asked to resign' as a minister and got hit with 35 charges for the bribes. 34 were corruption related, and 1 from obstructing justice. If I'm not mistaken, each corruption charge could technically land you 7 years in jail + $100k SGD in fines.
You really don't want to fuck around in Singapore
An true, self-made expert on corruption here.🎉
Literal war criminal by any definition.
Singapore is the greatest country in the world. I live in Singapore, and am currently serving my military. I could not be happier.
Have you ever lived somewhere else?
How much did you get paid to write this
Stop pretending to like the military
It's just sad
Yeh Booiii
PM Lee Kuan Yew was TRULY BLESSED with foresight - his ‘divorce’ from Malaysia has been his GREATEST LEGACY!👍👍🙏🙏
He did not want that it was Tumkus decision and he turned things around so breaking away from Malaysia was not his achievement of sorts
Malaysia stills in corruption 😂😂
Before he died, he in his last appearance at parliament motioned all the high ranking party members of the government PAP and LF and restate those 3 same points and said that while he is gone, they should uphold those 3 points until their dying breath. And that was a leader that a nation mourned for.
pay and pay
He created a strong foundation for his country to stand on. I really admire him.
Compare with India 1. Speak hundred of different languages. 2. Drive out best homegrown talent with reservation system. 3. Top to bottom corruption
😭
Reservation keeps the rest of India intact.. north East and Kashmir would rather complete with themself then with the rest of rich Indians
You do realise that Singapore is essentially a city state?
It exists now as a place to move money around.
Trying to enforce even one language in India is next to impossible. There are more people taking the train to work every day in Mumbai than there are people living in Singapore. Don't be daft.
@@rustomkanishka And you realize when Deng Xiaoping visited Singapore, he decided to model many of China's economic reforms after Singapore? Singapore's approach seems to have worked for a country with comparable population to India since China is now 6x wealthier than India.
If reservation is removed
The country will be divided more than any other countries
It also helps that its essentially a city state
As every state should be
They still had their hands played well, because back then they depended very much on Malaysia for resources, who also didn't like Singapore very much
@@dhidhi1000 interesting concept 🤔
@@dhidhi1000how does that even make sense
Makes it harder as you have to imports all products to create manufacturing and feed the population
A humble and visionary person, building a nation ,put into governance that each of its people has the best of opportunities ,to learn ,to grow , and to
contribute in the journey of their
life.🙏
First of all, that's four items. Second of all, he placed education (investment in the people of Singapore) at the top of the list, since the people of Singapore were the only natural resource of Singapore. English as a national language was a derivative of that decision, not the other way around. But this is just a soundbite, in an interview, not a book or a thesis, so it is what it is, no harm.
Depends what you mean by 'natural resource', though, doesn’t it? Are people a 'natural resource'? Why not its location on one of the busiest shipping lanes, its extremely benign weather and geological stability?
@@ianstreet5724 i know its a popular opinion that singapore was only rich because of its port but its a lot more complex than that. When Malaysia kicked Singapore out, they did it believing that Singapore couldn't stand on its two feet, all it had was a port, food and water had to come from Malaysia/Indonesia. So they imagined that once Singapore's funds run dry, they would beg to be taken back into Malaysian federation.
But why is this relevant? You have a busy port, people come and go using your port, they come with a full load and expect to be leaving with stuff as well, but Malaysia intentionally heavily reduced their exports like rubber through Singapore's ports and were building their own ports. Meaning full cargo ships were often leaving Singapore's port empty, even refueling was an issue.
That's what we mean by no natural resources, Singapore didn't actually get rich from the port itself, they upskilled by being a manufacturing hub, importing in raw materials, refining it into something useful then exporting it back out. It secured partnerships with Brunei for their oil and built a huge refinery in Singapore to process it. It was the only country in the region with extremely high skilled and hardworking people in that region.
The fact that it survived despite the sabotage from their closest neighbors is a miracle, this isn't an exaggeration, check out how much they spend on defense
@daniel1233 No, it's definitely NOT a popular opinion; many of us Singaporeans delude ourselves that we are an exceptional population of talented strivers, without whom Singapore would have sunk without a trace and will attempt to argue this viewpoint ad nauseum.
However, there is a grain of truth in what you have written, I agree. All countries with more conventionally defined 'natural resources' need infrastructure to exploit those resources. Singapore had that infrastructure at independence - a well developed port, trained workers and an international human network of administrative relationships (shipping agents, international shipping lawyers and insurers etc) used to dealing with Singapore rather thsn any Malaysian port. Where do you think the 'extremely high skilled' Singaporeans came from? Those skills happened because of Singapore's lucky position as Britain's main SE Asian port and the administrative centre of the Malayan colonies. That kind of trading relationship doesn't evaporate overnight.
I definitively do not agree with your assertion that the 1965 population was uniquely hardworking or highly educated/motivated compared to any other immigrant population. Immigrants of the first and second generations of whatever ethnic background are self-selected to be more risk taking and industrious - I would hope you have the wit and initiative to look at the multiple historical examples of this. I will provide just a few examples - USA, Dubai, Israel.
@@ianstreet5724geography doesn't dictate prosperity. Otherwise Egypt would be prosperous too.
The fact remains that there was 50% projected unemployment after separation, with British withdrawal shuttering large parts of the economy. A port alone would not have been enough.
@PainRack 1) Geography does not dictate prosperity, it's true, but it provides enormous advantage. To claim otherwise is foolish.
2) Egypt has a gigantic hinterland of mostly desert, populated by a huge, economically unproductive rural poor population, present at a far greater proportion than postwar Singapore. Also, the British left far less infrastructure in place when Egypt declared independence, relative to Singapore at Singapore's independence. The Egyptians have had less competent political leadership, whilst living in a more militarily unstable part of the world.
I really like Singapore.
Every trip is always another kind of experience. God bless!
And Tony Blair did the opposite 😂
He did alright when you consider that England in general, and London in particular thrived under his leadership (the culmination of which was the Olympics of 2012), and that he had God forgot how many years of Thatcherism to redress. I'm not English or British, and let me tell you, what he accomplished was low-key envied around the world. His biggest blunder was following Bush in his quest to destroy Iraq, but who knows how much room to maneuver he had (nevertheless, he still gets blamed for it - and with reason: he was the one in charge).
@balisaani really??? are you living in a bubble of labour or what? He's failed to reform CAP budget to EU until 2006, thus triggered Brexit referendum. He's the opposite of LKY in many ways, from the Minimum wage policy and taxation regime.
@balisaani you're not british. that sums it up. He's so bad, even Queen Elizabeth didn't want to give him the Knighthood title just like his predecessor. Thatcherism is good, and the world is swinging back to it, F statism BS.
@@balisaani his minimum wage policy is such a failure, even Jacobin, a Communist magazine in europe deemed ot as such. Look at singapore with no minimum wage except for janitor and security personnel.
@@saltymonke3682you are either delusional or privileged😂.
He literally dropped all the left and right bullshit and made a suitable way for 21st UK. He should at least get some compliment for that.
However, invasion of Iraq was evil and disastrous nevertheless.
What he leaves out is what "zero tolerance" means in Singapore. That is the crucial variable in the equation.
It doesn't matter that Mr Blair is the person telling us about Lee Kuan Yew. It is about what Lee Kuan Yew did for Singapore that matters, not what the narrator did or didn't do.
My loathing for that man and what he did to my country has no bounds.
Thank you to our forefathers SIR Lee Kwan Yew , excellent leader, great efforts /contribution to Singapore 🇸🇬 Dearly missed him ! ❤
"No corruption in Singapore! Except, my son gets to be the next Prime Minister"
It's not like LHL was appointed by LKY lol, the public voted for him.
He never said it should be a democracy.
Lee Hsien Loong is as qualified a leader you can ger
The irony. Lee was an autocratic leader just what Blair and other psychos dream of being
The electoral system of Singapore ensures one party rule, so yeah the public voted for him but not cos they actually had a choice 😂
You forgot about air conditioning in a humid tropical country. Seemed trivial at the time but was actually genius.
And that is why Singapore was able to rise from a island backwater into one of the richest and technologically advanced nations in the world. Within half a century and with no natural resources to speak of. Lee Kuan Yew was a great man, and if the other world leaders had half of the steel that he had the world would be in a much better place.
@@gershomtan5879 Absolutely, though they had a good deep port and strategic location.
However LKW quickly grasped that above all Singapore needed political stability in order to develop economically, so provided that. And yes he was heavy handed sometimes but overall the benefits for Singaporeans far, far outweighed the costs.
@@dundas666 It was what it takes to bring about success in one's each unique ways and to make your strength very prominent.
It wasn’t an island backwater.
Tony Blair is a monster, but he isnt a dumb guy
LKY also jailed political opponents without a trial.
as he should.
Power hungry!!
He wants only his family greedy members to power the sg only is a lee business we are slave to make them rich
@killmaimburncan't exactly claim your country have democracy then can you
He jailed communist conspiracists who were systematically infiltrating civil and political institutions in an attempt to overthrow the government
He is a man I would forever respect. He used his life to develop Singapore from a mudflat to a metropolis. As a singaporean, I cant really express my gratitude to Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s sacrifice. He will forever be in us Singaporean’s hearts. May he rest in peace
And he made sure that all the important position are all filled by his most trusted.....his family
Yeah. That's nepotism and he only wanted three rules, so...
@@StCreed So many folks here are so naive is scary tbh. Swallowed everything hook, line and sinker.
Blair, having seen Singapore's success
1: Promote fractious policies amongst the British and multiculturalism amongst non British
2: import any old wanker from around the world, no questions asked
3: perfected the cronyism that already in part existed in a creaking, corrupt bureaucracy and political system.
Brilliant. Cheers Tone
Anytime someone listens to Tony for life advice, then you’re in bad shape.
A living war criminal whom robbed lives and money from the world .
The idea of paying politicians well so they are not corrupt does not work.
Although he made english priorities, he still makes mother tounge compulsory to be learned in schools.
The fact that it's tonny Blair talking about it makes me doubt every single thing he says
That's called a logical fallacy. The problem is all yours.
It's called knowing the facts but choosing to ignore them because of personal gain or ego.
Blair pretty much knew what to do but chose not to do it. He saw the success of Singapore and how it was achieved but chose to do the exact opposite. Which makes what he says actually factual.
Dude is a f'ing war criminal. With his weapons of mass destruction. Gtfo@@robertbones326
If only Blair had implemented anything as intelligent
Making people speak English, paying politicians well and allowing immigrants ? Are you saying Blair didn't do those things ?
We invented English, of course we speak it. Our politicians are well paid, yes, but there is not 0 tolerance, there is some sort of scandal or fuck up almost every week.
And as for "intellectual capital", yes we have many many immigrants, but not a majority of which I would call "high skilled" or "net contributor". Consider our nose well and truly rubbed in it.
@@xsuploaderwhy is allowing immigrants a good thing?
Me being singaporean while watching this:👁️🫦👁️…👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
No corruption in SG, but we got speakers of Parliament smooching lips and having affairs among other things
Oh no, the horror! It's a scandal, and juicy drama, but this is laughable if it's supposed to be an example of political dysfunction.
Its true tho, the reason congressmen and women in the U.S. are so easy to curruptable is because their govonrment salary is that of a highly experienced electrician at the low end.
That's not why your American Congressmen are corrupt. You don't screen them properly.
Kidzania was closed in Singapore because too few kids coming. Singapore has few kids
Getting a high salary is no fun.
The FUN is in getting a high illegitimate income on the side…which connotes a sense of power/authority.
Tony Blair did the opposite LOL
Give your argument not just a stupid statement
@@rolanddriverTony Blair began mass immigration which basically makes Singaporean politics impossible. How can you speak English if you never live among any English people.
@@WhatIsBaconit's called an education. Did you receive one?
@@matty7758I did but most of the Muslim slums in London were never taught English genius
Not just Singapore, other countries like: the Philippines, India…are also put English first (above their local languages), and how rich these countries are now??? One of the poorest in Asia.
They forgot Rule number 2 and 3.
Yea, its the amalgamation of carefully selected policies that worked hand in hand to uplift the country.
Spoken like a true person in denial, they usually find one thing from a bunch of stuff then latch onto it then say "oh, if this is not true then the rest of it is not true either", sounds alot like you, isn't it?
US Politicians:
Well paid
Huge perks
Still do insider trading
Still accept bribes
no punishment
A principled man can change the world
Singapore is not a beacon to look to
It is the best Beacon of which to look. If a nation were to study only two cases for development, they should study the industrialization of South Korea and the public policy and governance in Singapore.
The best beacon is Switzerland followed by Denmark 😎
@@rowlandpaes9213 lol, Switzerland and Denmark beacons for which other countries to look to, in what world! Denmark is a welfare state reliant on its access to markets in capital from the rest of Europe, and 30% of its population is on welfare and another 30% rely on the government for employment. Not to mention it basically has only three major corporations that pay all of the taxes that support the rest of its teetering economy. Switzerland, aside from the fact that it's Confederation organization does not work without a long history of compromise and cooperation behind it, not to mention that the Swiss did have a major civil war, is not a functional model unless you think you can duplicate being a bank haven over night. Singapore status is a bank Haven came well after its development and proven track record of stability and efficient government.
@@andrefalksmen1264and what is a bank haven? For corrupted officials, rich businessman and corporations to hide their money, from authorities. That's why Singapore is around.
@@thevindictive6145 a bank Haven is a jurisdiction that deals with Financial products outside of its domestic currency and primarily Services foreign nationals. Now if you're angry that money grubbing wasteful jurisdictions cannot get their hands on every last crumb of wealth from productive citizens to support waste, that's your problem. However, the fact that Singapore is a banking Haven shows the level of trust and confidence that people have in its system of government and the officials of that government. Which once again shows us it is the model which ought to be followed.
Tony blair talking about no corruption. Lmaooooo ok tony ok
I’m in Singapore right now. Never will be back. Can’t chew gum, can’t vape, everything’s a fine here. Strictest country I’ve ever been to, and the people have to work 12 hour days to try and afford the ridiculous prices here. My advice? If you want to visit Southeast Asia, go to Vietnam, Thailand, literally anywhere but here is more fun and worth it.
You can chew gums, just that you can’t sell it or spit it on the ground. Also vaping is bad
I don't know whether public officials being well paid is enough to hold off corruption. Greed is never satisfied.
I'd rather have a semi corrupt government than someone who gets paid millions then pretends to be on the side of the people but don't serve the people at all.
Very well said!
Apart from his own family corruption, which is total.
Isn't it wrong the politicians get paid ridiculous amount. Are they supposed to serve the people not themselves? If corruption is such an issue they shouldn't even consider serving the people... What nonsense
only in your dreams, need to be realistic. The temptation of abusing power for your own good is always present whether the pay is high or low, but the presence of high wages AND a strict law against corruption makes doing so doesn't look so enticing. If you are asking the politicians to be serving the people first and not themselves, thats such a utopian ideal, which doesn't last over 1 year max, all dictators start like that, example Suharto
@@Kiki-lp6sr Two things LKY did when he first assumed power was to ensure civil servants were reasonably paid, and ruthlessly prosecuted his own party members when they were found to be corrupt.
You are right that in an ideal world our representatives should be honest and not need to be paid much, however LKW was in the business of building a country and knew what he had to do given human nature.
You want people who make decisions on a huge organisation to be paid minimum wage? Not even the Bolsheviks went so far.
Lenin said they need to pay politicians and civil servants the same as other educated workers. That's a nice bottom line.
Do you want your best people to lead the country, or do you want them to sell you more financial products? That's actually one thing happening now in the West: most math and physics talents are hired by banks to optimize trading software. This brings little value to society.
You may be fine with that because it's not politics, but that just shows your ignorance on what politics actually is and means.
@@StCreed oh yes me ignorant. Oh noooooo. But what makes them qualified to run a country to begin with. Do they have prior experience? Phycologist physics blah blah blah. At the end of the day we know they're corrupt. Even with a million dollar salary you wanna say their hands are clean? It's about serving the people. Even if you make half a million you're saying its still good enough still? I'm not even talking about minimum wage wtf. Why the absorbent amount. Getting paid that much makes them the best politicians or something? There's still homelessness. People unable to retire at age 70. So clearly their policies and wage mean fk at all when the people still struggle. Prices of homes sky rocketing and you say it's justifiable to prevent corruption. Birth rates declining because it's too darn expensive so clearly.... Fking clearly the country isn't that great... If money is the motivation then clearly it's not the job for you
You forgot to mention the modified Land Value Tax that Singapore uses that is responsible for the efficiency with which Singapore uses the space it has while simultaneously being one of the per capita wealthiest and most technologically advanced countries in the world with relatively low wealth inequality along with anti-protectionist policies that prioritize free trade and minimize trade barriers and tariffs.
All hail Henry George
And singapore is an overpopulated, concrete disaster.
LKY stands with the best leaders. Many cant come near.
1. Build a shipping port
2. Build a casino
3. Allow money laundering
As a Singaporean I'm happy that Singapore is well known by other people and Americans ❤️ may Lee kuan yew rest in peace he made Singapore green clean and amazing
He is the most intelligent leader I ever heard speak.
This man has been very smart and loyal to his country!! Very few people really get to power loving his people and what is best for them.👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
There is no end to greed but when you pay rightfully you earn the right to question.
His economic genius is also visible in how he managed the small land: 1) SG is a financial hub now - finances come and go through banks, or stored there as digital accounts, but not take a place; 2) logistics - great cargo port, cargo comes and goes, generally not occupying much place; 3) tourism - people come and go; 4) great Changi airport - same
idea… So the thing is - everything is moving, money are produced, but small territory of Singapore is not suffering from it. That was a great less visible choice.
A corrupt politician smiling as he talks of a no corruption government could tell he was holding back the laughter inside
how true. I'm a true-blue Singaporean. Working in the UK, and love to hear how the people in the UK love & respect LKY/ Singapore ! We all still regard him as the true Father of our land.
If you get a chance - GO to Singapore.
Lee missed the most important one, make sure some guy called Tony Blair not the prime minister of GB