Differences Between Singapore And Singapore

Singapore started out as a British colony in 1819, primarily as a “British commercial base”, at the advent of the European discovery of an Oriental maritime trade route. Singapore started out as a British colony in 1819, primarily as a “British commercial base”, at the advent of the European discovery of an Oriental maritime trade route. With the formation of the East India Companies, the doors of the East were opened for European superpowers such as the British and the Dutch, and Singapore was put under the control of the Company. When the East Indian Companies collapsed, the territory was merged with Pulau Penang and Melaka, and formed the Straits Settlements, which was directly under the Colonial Office in London (Lee, 1990). In 1959, Lee
Lee Kuan Yew (2000) believed that “a competitive, winner-takes all society, like colonial Hong Kong in the 1960s would not be acceptable in Singapore”, mainly because Singapore had free elections while Hong Kong in the 1960s did not. He believed that the best way towards economic progress was to “give every citizen a stake in the country and its future”, making every individual responsible for whatever is happening in society (ibid, pp. 116). The city-state went through several setbacks such as the different riots, particularly the riots regarding the races in the city-state, as well as the disagreements on beliefs and ideologies between Singapore and Malaysia. The racial riots between the Malays and Chinese in both Singapore and Malaysia led to both anger and alarm in both states, with Razak depending on Singapore to keep the Chinese at bay (ibid, pp. 263-266). After its issues with Malaysia, Singapore went on and founded the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) with Malaysia, The Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. Challenges plagued the five nation-states, such as communist insurgencies, territorial disputes, and terrorism and transnational crime (Weatherbee, 2010). Despite its shaky start, however, the organisation was able to develop itself as a catalyst for regional cooperation (Yew, 2000, pp.
It is said that Singapore’s most influential leaders come from the PAP, such as Lee Kuan Yew and his son, Lee Hsien Loong. The “collective leadership” espoused by the PAP gave way for the smooth transitioning of Singaporean society, most especially in the realm of socioeconomic development. The party was formed in 1954 “as a consciously radical and anti-colonial coalition of moderate democratic socialists and left-win communist forces”, and the leadership was held by Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Keng Swee, Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, Toh Chin Chye, and Kenneth Byrne (Chee, 1990). The main tenets and arguments of the PAP were the concepts of multiracialism, multilingualism, and multiculturalism. In 1959, when Singapore was still a part of the Federation of Malaya, it won its first landslide victory by winning majority of the seats, and Lee Kuan Yew won as the country’s first Prime Minister (ibid, pp. 71-74). Since then, it has consistently won majority of the seats in its free