Suppressor

>be Lee Kuan Yew >born 1923 in Singapore >British colony >fourth-generation Chinese >family is wealthy, English-speaking >top of every class 1942: >Japanese invasion >Singapore falls in 7 days >the British surrender >"impregnable fortress" — a joke >you're 18 >watch your colonial masters kneel >learn something >white men are not gods >power is earned, not inherited occupation: >survive under Japanese rule >learn Japanese, work as a translator >see brutality, corruption, chaos >nearly get executed in a random roundup >luck saves you >or destiny >you don't forget what powerlessness feels like 1946: >war ends >go to Cambridge >study law >graduate with double starred first >top of your class >marry Kwa Geok Choo >she graduates top of hers too >power couple before the term exists 1950: >return to Singapore >become a lawyer >defend unions, fight the British >anti-colonial firebrand >the communists want you >you use them >they think they're using you >they're wrong 1954: >found the People's Action Party >coalition of English-educated moderates and Chinese communists >you need their grassroots >they need your respectability >temporary alliance >you both know it 1959: >PAP wins elections >you become Prime Minister >age 35 >Singapore is still British >poor, dirty, overcrowded >no resources, no industry >malaria in the swamps >you: "we'll fix this" 1963: >join Malaysia >Singapore becomes part of the federation >finally independent from Britain >but the marriage is bad from day one >race riots, political clashes >Malay leaders don't want a Chinese-majority city >threatening their power August 9, 1965: >kicked out of Malaysia >not independence, expulsion >you announce it on television >you cry >the only time anyone sees you cry >"for me, it is a moment of anguish" >you're now leader of a country nobody wanted >no army, no water, no hinterland >just a swamp and 2 million people >survival is not guaranteed the problem: >no natural resources >not even fresh water >surrounded by hostile neighbors >communists infiltrating >racial tensions everywhere >how do you build a nation from nothing? the solution: >human capital >if you have nothing, invest in people >education, discipline, meritocracy >English as the common language >no corruption, zero tolerance >pay officials well so they don't steal >punish harshly when they do >caning, hanging, no exceptions >rule of law or rule of the jungle >you choose law the economics: >invite multinationals >make Singapore the easiest place to do business >low taxes, stable government, no bullshit >build infrastructure relentlessly >airport, port, housing >public housing for everyone >home ownership creates stability >people don't riot when they own property the authoritarianism: >no free press >defamation suits against critics >opponents bankrupted, jailed, exiled >chewing gum banned >long hair on men, suspicious >you run a tight ship >too tight, critics say >but the ship doesn't sink 1970s-80s: >Singapore transforms >from third world to first >GDP per capita explodes >skyline rises >slums become towers >swamp becomes financial hub >everyone wants to know the secret >the secret is you 1990: >step down as Prime Minister >after 31 years >but you don't leave >become Senior Minister >then Minister Mentor >shadow over everything >until you die the results: >GDP per capita: higher than the US, UK, Japan >one of the least corrupt countries on earth >best airport, best airline, best port >from fishing village to global city >in one generation >your generation the criticism: >authoritarian >no real democracy >freedom of speech, limited >you respond: "I'm not interested in being loved. I'm interested in being effective." >Singapore proves you right >or proves nothing matters except results March 23, 2015: >die at 91 >a million people line the streets >in the rain >to watch your funeral procession >the father of a nation from Japanese occupation >to British colonialism >to Malaysian expulsion >to building a nation from scratch Lee Kuan Yew. the man who turned a swamp into a superpower. Singapore exists because you refused to let it fail.