How One Party Created The Singapore Economy

If there is anything perfect about Singapore, it is its government.

Narrated by slipstreamer
Video Edited by Iyanbriandi

Timestamp(s):
0:00 The Economic Miracle
1:12 Lee Kuan Yew
2:25 Corruption
4:21 Economic Model
6:48 Copy-Cat Model

Brought to you by the Behind Asian Team.

[BehindAsia]

Singapore just seems to have perfected everything within its economy and society. What do you think is its flaws? Let us know down below!

[veekwok]

There are some fundamental principles on how a successful country is run, same for an organization. These video already mentioned them, zero corruption, meritocracy, rule of law, market openness, etc. China had learn from Singapore during Deng XiaoPing's rule, implemented a successful economic zone, Shenzhen and duplicate the successful formula to other major cities in China. They had sent thousands of officers to learn from Singapore. Rwanda is another example of an African country that wanted to emulate the Singapore model and has succeeded in a big way. Every country is unique in its own way and thus cannot copy wholesale what Singapore has done to succeed but basic principles of good governance remain the same.

[limhock]

Without PAP, SG will not be as what it is today.

[Ramy-qltr]

The Old Guards were of excellent character yet humble.

[kennylee]

Singapore is a blessed country, we have LKY and his foundation of building Singapore is so solid until now.

[JIANGTG]

1. One party or multiple parties is definitely not an issue
2. The key factors for any country's outstanding success are effective and clean governance, far-sighted and pragmatic strategy, passion for the well-being of people, dedicated heart and selflessness, etc ..
3 . Another one party system which is highly successful is China ...

[KB-lvvo]

Yes exactly. Politicians need to be paid well. Why? They can easily be corrupted due to the power of their position. A high salary and living very comfortably. In addition, corruption comes with a harsh sentence. No logical person would want to do anything funny when they are fed well. To all those people in Singapore saying they have too high a salary, blah blah blah, is just redeye. Look at what corruption did to Sri lanka or malaysia. One bankrupt one bad economy. It’s all for the bigger goal. So that we can focus on what really matters and not run in circles. So dun be an idiot and complain endlessly abt all these things. Mind over matter 🤡

[ShamuAdism]

let me help u, in layman term LKY is Wise not just smart BUT Wise, his wisdom is what enable him to pick the right teams

[CrescimentoInclusivo]

Deng changed course following Singapore. Size does not matter. Intellectual will does.

[ifuknjk]

one party rule since 1965 works ; conversely in malaysia one party BN?UNMO does not work... WHY ????... it depends on the leader... sg had lee kuan yew..malaysia had mahathir...;incorruptable lee kuna yew dedicated his whole life for the citizens with his team n built sg wat it is today...; malaysia had many pm whose claim to fame is BRIBERY N Malay first policy n career politicians... looking for a fast ringget....

[tanjames]

If you have a excellent father who take the best care for the children, why change?
A drunk and violent step-father will destroy the family overnight.

[gabrielgoh]

First, Singapore is an Island-City-State. It ONLY has urban areas/population to worry about. Policies for urban areas covers 100% of the people. In other countries, there is the urban/rural distinction, and different consideration for both. Let's have a "foreign" example - say gun control. In the city, no guns allowed, because the police are around, and they should be the only ones armed. But in the semi-wild rural areas where there may be dangerous animals (or people), guns may be allowed. There may be many other subtle (or not so subtle) differences between urban and rural areas where policies that work in one, won't work in the other.
Second, Singapore did not start out paying their ministers high salaries. In the early years, ministers were paid rather low. Lee Kuan Yew himself when arguing for higher salaries for Ministers revealed that he was in fact, "a kept man" - depending on the income of his wife, a lawyer, to allow him to be PM for a modest salary. The high salaries were NOT simply to combat corruption. Currently, a minister's salary is about $1m a year (varies with bonus). BUT a successful Senior Counsel (lawyer) can make $5m a year easily! So our current law minister, K. Shanmugam, declined to be Minister for many years (over 10 years) while he was in parliament as an MP. Because as a simple MP, he can continue to be a Sr Counsel, pulling in $5m a year - paying for his children's education. etc. So when his children's education were done, he finally agreed to take a pay cut and become a minister for $1m a year. The point of the high salaries for Ministers is that the govt needs to be run by competent people. And if you want competent people, you need to pay them the salaries they can command. But the reality is that really capable people (like Shanmugam) are able to make much more in their careers outside the government. So the really capable people are still taking a pay cut to be in the government. Also, the way democracy is practised elsewhere, a high salary for Ministers would just be a windfall for whatever party wins the election. The PAP has been in power for almost 60 years, and they have a process to select and invite people into the party, and they screen those who can be ministers, and they groom them for leadership, so they are not just a fishmonger or schoolteacher suddenly thrust into leadership/ministership and have a windfall million $ salary.
Third, yes you need to eliminate corruption, and do it honestly. "Weaponising" anti-corruption efforts to eliminate your political rivals is.... corrupt. Singapore never did that. (LKY famously said, the way to fight corruption is to first arrest your friends. They will know what they did wrong. Or something to that effect.)
Fourth, Work for the people sincerely. Work step by step. Do what you can, and what you can afford. Use whatever works, and drop whatever does not work. So eliminate corruption. House the people if that is what they need. Educate your people, especially the children so their future would be brighter. Teach them what will make their lives better (not what they want or what their parents want, like religious studies). Provide healthcare. Basic care and what your budget can afford. Take care of sanitation needs. Provide toilets. Provide public health programmes. Check on street hawkers, reduce outbreaks of cholera, tuberculosis, food-borne diseases, etc. There is no magic bullet. There are a lot of problems requiring a lot of solutions. Work at each of them one by one. Yes, your health inspectors etc, may be bribed to look the other way. That is why you need to eradicate corruption, first and foremost.

[crosbyong]

IMO, each country has their own set of unique strengths, weaknesses, cultural, socioeconomic history and challenges. There’s no one formula that is completely applicable for all and guarantees the same outcomes. However, we can and should glean from each other good helpful principles that we could apply a bespoke version for their respective nation.

[hsheuw]

I looked closely at 2:04 mark and notice that late Dutch economist Albertus Winsemius wasn't shown there. I hope you can edit this video to take into account of his immense contribution to Singapore. I found it seriously ironic that a Dutchman can turn Singapore to highly prosperous nation. And Yet, Indonesia which is its former colony still languishes as a developing nation. Dutch colonial rule was of course highly exploitative and can't be condoned no matter what. That doesn't mean it's all bad though. Had the Indonesians been smart to enough to keep a few remnants of it like: whatever method the Dutch employed to protect Jakarta from waterborne disaster, Jakarta wouldn't have been this ravaged by flood.

[bernkoh]

I also very respect Xi run their huge country "China"

[leelilian]

It's proven n keep going... Cheers!

[ganboonmeng]

It founding fathers of Singapore were young brillant and not corrupted by hving to fight the gease pole of established political system..

[johnwee]

HK is just slightly bigger than Singapore but its public housing project is not successful

[lngkfan]

A study of how the US national debt surpasses 30 trillion may give a clue to the many changes, causes and happenings which have taken place around the world. After all, the current 31 trillion debt is not/unable to be cleared, maybe the alternative is to create more fiat to maintain/service it. Ideally, hegemonic power is a prerequisite for maintaining the status quo. Underneath the hegemonic power you have friends, puppets, allies, proxies etc. which are fiat fuelled. Thus, where/how a huge sum of fiat is going or landing is obviously clear.
Nothing on earth is perfect nor absolute.

[jameslim]

The real reason is because the system is more autocratic than democratic and the people had no choice but to work and save hard as everyone else in the country is.