Singapore Takeaways

Singapore is one of the most successful Country in the world today. This manuscript throws light on the various phases of evolution of Singapore as a nation. Unlike most of the Asian and African Countries, Singapore started its development phase way back in early twentieth century with the support of British. During the period 1946-65, Singapore emerged as a successful trading, financial, and transport centre of British Southeast Asia. The period 1965-72 of Singapore history was witnessed by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) led export-oriented industrialization. The choice of Singapore as a settlement of British was more the outcome of circumstance rather than that of design, whereas; Singapore becoming part of the British colony of the Straits Settlements in 1867 was more the outcome of design than of circumstance. Singapore's economy benefitted tremendously from the massive booms in Tin and Rubber that came successively following the spice trade boom. This sustained fortune came from being located within a region and a northern hinterland where such commodities were highly valued in the global economy. This region was also undergoing, major technological changes brought along with the advent of the Industrial Revolution. From being a minority when Singapore was founded as a British settlement in 1819, the Chinese became the majority within a few decades as traders came in from the rest of South East Asia where the Chinese had already settled for many years. The Japanese occupation of 1942-45 was one of the factor in the administrative separation of Singapore from 1946 onwards from the peninsula. World War II was the turning point for Singapore. After its end in 1945, Singapore became separate from the mainland, and from then, it obtained an identity for itself. The birth of Singapore as a nation can be said to date from 1945, although at that time it was still a colony of Great Britain. Singapore in the second half of 1960s was struggled with a series of environmental degradation scenarios which was linked to urbanization of its economy coupled with economic growth. The aggravated conditions existed and paved the way for air and water pollution, discharge of industrial hazards, serious dust and noise pollution. The pattern of transformation of Singapore from this dilapidated situation to an advanced economy where environment is given top priority is indeed a surprise fact which demands appreciation. This manuscript also presents the innovative approaches used by Singapore in Urban Transport management. At the same time, it also explores the transport history and land use management of one of the metropolitan city in India, Mumbai. This may help readers analyse the applicability of Singapore case study to India. A hypothetical proposal on transport restructuring in Mumbai city followed by an overview of transport infrastructure/existing transport policy in Mumbai is also presented. Singaporeans, in other words, could think of themselves as being responsible for their own affairs, in the 6 years 1959-1965 before she separated from Malaysia, first as a state under British protection during 1959-1963 and then as a largely autonomous state in the Federation of Malaya during 1963-1965, and the government under Lee Kuan Yew from 1959 onwards did go about organising Singapore properly. The views expressed in this book are author's personal views and in no way correspond to the views of the Government.