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Singapore Government and Politics
![[GIF]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/singapore/sg04_00a.gif)
Lee Kuan Yew, prime minister of Singapore, 1989-90
AFTER TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE, Singapore
enjoyed a
reputation for political stability and honest, effective
government. Probably the world's only ex-colony to have
independence forced upon it, Singapore responded to its
unanticipated expulsion from Malaysia in August 1965 by
concentrating on economic development and by fostering a
sense of
nationhood. Though the survival of the miniature state was
in doubt
for a time, it not only survived but also managed to
achieve the
highest standard of living in Southeast Asia. The country
also
enjoyed a rare political continuity; its ruling party and
prime
minister triumphed in every election from 1959 to 1988.
Singapore's
government had an international reputation for effective
administration and for ingenious and successful economic
policies.
It was also known for its authoritarian style of
governance and
limited tolerance for opposition or criticism, qualities
the
government deemed necessary to ensure survival in a
hostile world
and which its domestic and foreign critics claimed
indicated a
refusal to consider the opinions of its citizens or anyone
outside
the closed circle of the aging leadership. In the early
1990s, the
leadership would face the issues of political succession
and of
modifying the relationship between the state and the
increasingly
prosperous and well-educated society it had created.
Data as of December 1989
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