Singapore celebrates 50th anniversary of independence

A more secular trend is emerging in Singaporean politics that has consequences for maintenance of its governing model.

Lee, a British-trained lawyer, came to power in 1959 as prime minister when Britain granted the island a degree of self rule and stayed as premier until 1990. And it’s the only country to incorporate green building requirements into its legislation.

It was the culmination of more than seven months of celebratory activities that began with the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown on 31 December a year ago. “What we have is special and precious, and must never be taken for granted”. One venue for celebration will be the Singapore Botanic Gardens where I have walked around each time I come here. It is all spruced up for a 3 day-carnival providing video games and conventional snacks.

Fifty years is not long in the history of nations.

But the city is celebrating its anniversary without its founding father.

“Singaporeans would have made more progress if there had been more freedom, more ideas, more voices to address the country’s challenges”, she said.

They will also have dinner at Esplanade’s rooftop restaurant and top their experience with tickets to the National Day Parade.

Singapore places emphasis on self-sufficiency in basic needs, like water.

Enjoying unrivaled economic success, Singapore is standing out in a region struggling with poverty and political instability.

Singapore’s low birth rate, coupled with its rapidly greying population, prompted the government to liberalize immigration policy in the mid-2000s, with the population surging from 4.17 million in 2004 to 5.47 million last year – 40% of them foreigners.

Not since the ancient era of city-states has a leader such as Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew exerted such a disproportionate influence on the global stage, especially about good governance and the relationship between democracy and development. There were tears in his eyes.

Fireworks explode during a Golden Jubilee celebration parade rehearsal in Singapore August 1, 2015. The Singaporeans will celebrate rain or shine.

“It was my mother’s support all these years that allowed my siblings and I to pursue our musical interests”.

Singapore was forced into independence in 1965 after being expelled from Malaysia. And the city-state has a lot of achievements to be proud of.

It will hope the boost of the anniversary and recognition of the legacy of Lee Kuan Yew will help it at the next election.

This marked the first time Singaporeans are able to hear Mr Lee read the Proclamation. But Singapore continues to lag behind its peers in innovation. Realizing that small states can not afford to make enemies, it managed its relationships adroitly.

Singapore’s leaders surely realize that they can not manufacture entrepreneurs. To accommodate the ethnic groups in the country – which include Chinese, Malays and Indians – the country has four official languages: English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil.

A project carried out by the Institute of Policy Studies looking at how Singapore might be governed in 2022 raised three key questions.

Ninth, Singapore avoided populist measures.