The island nation has, since its founding in 1965, become a beacon of stability and economic progress, if not exactly of liberty or democracy. Should we emulate its example? Simon Wilson reports
What’s happened?
While Britain may be about to get its sixth prime minister since 2016, Lawrence Wong, a 51-year-old US-trained economist, was last month sworn in as Singapore’s fourth prime minister since 1965, when the city-state separated from Malaysia and became independent. Wong had been finance minister since 2021, and succeeded Lee Hsien Loong, who had led the island nation since 2004. Wong’s succession was carefully choreographed by the ruling People’s Action party, which has governed Singapore since 1959. He’s the first PM to be born after independence, and (unlike his predecessor) is not part of the political dynasty founded by Lee Kuan Yew – the founding father of modern Singapore, who served as PM from 1959 to 1990.
What did Lee Kuan Yew achieve?
He turned a colonial outpost with seething racial politics into a gleaming metropolis with a rapidly growing economy. Since Lee’s time, and over the past two decades led by his son, Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore has continued on its dramatic trajectory. It now boasts GDP per capita of an “astonishing” $88,000 – more than the US (about $82,000), and far in excess of the island’s former colonial master the UK (about $49,000). Lee’s formula for transforming Singapore was based on openness to trade, geopolitical neutrality, the forging of a national identity based on multiracial civic nationalism, anti-corruption and meritocracy; and a strong role for long-term social and economic planning. At the same time, Lee’s vision left scant room for political dissent or free speech. Today, Singapore remains a managed quasi-democracy, with multi-party elections but only ever one winner.
So it’s about strong leadership?
Yes, and also about culture: productivity and growth are seen as matters of existential importance in Singapore, says James Vitali of Policy Exchange. Singapore is a small island whose population even today is less than six million – making it an attractive place for investment was “not merely a matter of national pride but of survival, given the much larger Malaysian and Indonesian nations” right next door. As Vitali recounts in an essay on Engelsberg Ideas, these ideas have deep cultural roots: on a recent visit to
