Martian2
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Lee Kuan Yew was a giant of the 20th century. He proved to the world that you can transform a third-world nation into a first-world nation within a few decades.
Today, according to IMF data, Singapore's ($56,113) nominal per-capita GDP is higher than the U.S. ($54,678).
We are all familiar with Singapore's incredible success story, because many of us watched Singapore's development over the years.
It is worth pointing out that Malaysia forced Singapore out of the Malaysian Federation in 1965. The problem back then is the same as the problem today. Malaysia is a racist country.
If Malaysia was not a racist country and anti-Chinese, Singapore would still be part of Malaysia. Furthermore, if Malaysians were willing to vote for a politician like Lee Kuan Yew based on merit then Lee Kuan Yew should have been the leader of Malaysia.
The story of Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore is also the story of Malaysia's lost opportunity to industrialize. Malaysia's first lost opportunity was in expelling Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew's genius was restricted to Singapore and could no longer be harnessed for the benefit of Malaysia.
The second missed opportunity was in Malaysia's recalcitrance and refusal to admit its error. By 1989, it was obvious to everyone that Singapore was on the fast-track to industrialization and Malaysia was not. In 1989, Singapore's nominal per-capita GDP was $10,711. Malaysia's was a meager $2,186.
Malaysia's pride in refusing to admit its error and its failure to woo Singapore back into the Malaysian Federation meant Malaysia was doomed to become a non-industrialized country.
Today, Malaysia ($11,062) is dependent on oil revenue and its nominal per-capita GDP is a small fraction of Singapore's ($56,113).
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Singapore is ranked fifth in the Nature Publishing Index for Asia-Pacific. Malaysia is ranked 11th.
Country rankings | Nature Publishing Index Asia-Pacific | Nature Publishing Group

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