A visionary leader who saw Singapore rise from a former colonial outpost to a global economic powerhouse, Lee Kuan Yew passed away Monday, leaving behind a legacy that will be hard to emulate.
A lawyer by training, Lee entered politics in pre-independent Singapore and became its first prime minister in 1959, a post he would hold for some three decades. When the Republic of Singapore was founded in 1965, it was a country without natural resources, including water, which it obtained mostly from Malaysia through a pipeline, and very limited military capability. It was also a multiracial state that saw race riots break out on the streets only a year earlier.
Today, the tiny city state is a major international commercial hub, with the world’s fourth-largest financial center and one of the five busiest ports. As of 2014, its per capita GDP stood at $55,000, a huge step forward from under $500 in 1960.
It is one of the original four Asian tiger economies, which included Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Its unemployment stands at a mere 2 percent, an envy of many governments. Singapore also boasts one of the most efficient and clean civil services in the world.
Singapore’s stunning achievements are largely a result of its visionary founding leader. A country without any resources, Lee emphasized education to create a highly skilled workforce. In order to create an efficient bureaucracy untainted by corruption, Lee recruited the best talents for the civil service, paying better than the private sector. Public housing schemes ensured that people had affordable housing in a country that has very limited land. The country is home to numerous multinational firms in diverse sectors, a result of its business-friendly policies and low tax rates. The World Bank rates Singapore as the easiest place on the planet to do business.
President Park Geun-hye, who will attend Lee’s state funeral in Singapore, will find many similarities between Korea and Singapore. The authoritarian regime of Park’s father, Park Chung-hee, is credited with having kick-started the modernization of Korea with a state-led economy. Singapore’s development is also described as authoritarian capitalism.
The two countries also share similar problems. Having made tremendous economic strides, both countries have significant income inequality problems, and while they have highly educated women, they are beset with low birth rates.
There are also lessons that Korea can learn from Singapore’s experience. Korea can learn about eradicating corruption, a problem that persists much to the detriment of the country. It can also learn about how Singapore successfully introduced integrated resorts despite initial concerns about its possible social ills.
