On 9 August 1965, Singapore was kicked out of the Federation of Malaysia and forced to declare independence. This is the case in newly independent Singapore, with a total population of 2 million, 75% of whom are Chinese. Neighboring countries are unfriendly to Chinese or engage in hateful behavior. To make matters worse, Singapore's GDP per capita was only $450 per capita at the time, and even fresh water was imported.
Lee Kuan Yew also mentioned his distress in his memoirs: "Some countries were originally independent, some countries won independence, and Singapore's independence was forced. I didn't expect that at the age of 42, I would have to take on such a responsibility. "Independently assuming the responsibility of taking care of the livelihoods of 2 million people in Singapore, we were ordered to leave Malaysia and go our own way, with a bright future and no way forward."
After World War II, Singapore, as an entrepot trade center, had a single economic structure and no so-called industrial base. The situation worsened after the withdrawal of British troops. But life had to go on, not to mention that Lee Kuan Yew still had great ambitions. However, we found that the first decision made by the Lee Kuan Yew government was to make English the Chinese and abolish Chinese.
It is still difficult for many to understand that more than 70% of Singaporeans are Chinese. Isn't it better to rule with Chinese? Lee Kuan Yew did not think so at all, and for a long time Lee Kuan Yew did not give an explanation for the abolition of the Chinese, and this year Lee Kuan Yew wrote "Lee Kuan Yew Views the World", which Lee Kuan Yew finally explained.
It turned out that soon after Singapore's independence, representatives of the local Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a lobbying for Lee Kuan Yew to make Chinese a Chinese in Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew spoke to delegates in a very tough tone, "You must defeat me, otherwise Mandarin will never become Singapore's Chinese." "English is one of Lee Kuan Yew's embraces of the West.
Lee Kuan Yew said: "Fortunately, in the past, the British ruled Singapore and left English behind. If Singapore were to be ruled by France like Vietnam, we would have to forget French and learn English to connect with the world. The transition was very painful and difficult. We have chosen to use English as our first language in order to be more competitive on the international stage. ”
Lee Kuan Yew was well aware that Singapore's small size and lack of natural resources made attracting foreign investment a top priority. Lee Kuan Yew became a "super salesman". He went to the United States to lobby big companies to settle in industrial parks. At the same time, Lee Kuan Yew attaches great importance to recruiting young talents returning from studying abroad. In order to learn advanced knowledge and experience from abroad, Lee Kuan Yew set up a large scholarship to select outstanding young people to study in developed countries every year.
Lee Kuan Yew's efforts paid off, and Singapore's development gradually entered the fast lane of the "Singapore model" he pioneered. When Lee Kuan Yew left office in 1990, Singapore's GDP per capita was US$14,504, more than 30 times higher than when it became independent in 1965, making it a truly developed country.