Aug 1992
On the 9th of August 1965, the Republic of Singapore was born. By an accident of history, the city became a nation. The birth was conceived in the most difficult of circumstances and its entry into the international community of nations was surrounded with uncertainty and some despondency.
[…] Before long, the British were pulling their military forces out East of Suez. We were on our own. It was do or die. Small as we are, we have to build up the SAF to defend ourselves and, without a large hinterland, live by our wits and export to the world. We are a city that has to strive to be a nation.
But Singapore survived and prospered.
It was by our sweat, by the unwavering commitment of the people, and by the wise and fearless leadership of the PAP that we, as a society, pulled through.
In the sixties, Singapore was so poor that Asia Scene, a travel magazine, once remarked, ‘they live in utter filth and poverty… their poverty is phenomenal. One must see it with one’s own eyes to believe it.”
Today, The New Yorker, a Western liberal magazine, not the kind to normally sing praises, conceded that “…Singapore has virtually no poverty, no homelessness, no begging, and a little crime.”
We are well-respected around the world. Singaporeans walk tall.
This success story of Singapore, which now has one of the highest standards of living in Asia, needs to be told again and again. Many forget that Singapore could have easily gone the way of most post-colonial nations, suffering untold poverty, utter chaos and unending despair.
Some will attribute Singapore’s success to a number of factors. Our people, hardworking and resourceful, and our strategic location, at the great crossroads of the world’s major sea lanes, are two factors that come to mind. But the critical factor behind Singapore’s success is the vision and the leadership of the PAP.
However, as the baton passes from the older Singaporeans to a new generation of Singaporeans, the traumas of birth and a difficult journey of the last 27 years are receding all too quickly into the background.
Our success is not preordained. And there are new problems to contend with as well as new mountains to conquer. Will there be continuing success and material progress?
Singapore is a rather vulnerable economic greenhouse. Admittedly, we cannot influence the economic weather outside the greenhouse. But we flourish by keeping our labour-management-government mix in optimum conditions inside the greenhouse, to catch the best economic weather outside.
Ours is not the economic forest of Europe or the United States, which can withstand the devastation of political hurricanes. Instead, while these countries, with their enormous resources, have somewhat survived, they have certainly taken a heavy beating in the standards of living.
The continuing success of Singapore depends on the people’s support for the PAP. Majulah Singapura!
