Rajaratnam's Vision for Singapore as a Global City

Singapore Perspective 2022 video: 

How did Singapore, the "Accidental Country" become the Nation that it is today?

COMMENT: How the 1967 Six-Day War influenced Singapore’s early nation-building

Vernon Lee

5 June 2017


Fifty years ago today, on 5 June 1967, a war began to rage in the Middle East that would go on to have a seismic impact on global politics to this day. Almost 8,000 kilometres away, the prime minister of a newly independent nation in Asia was keenly monitoring the progress of the Six-Day War, fought between Israel and five Arab countries.

12 Iconic Singapore Markets & Hawker Centres That Are No Longer Around

24 Mar 2022

Sheri Goh

Singapore markets & hawker centres of the past

If you ask any Singaporean which markets and hawker centres are the best, they’ll likely recommend Newton Food Centre, Chomp Chomp and Old Airport Road, or Maxwell Food Centre if they work in the CBD.

We take a nostalgic trip to Singapore markets and hawker centres that are no longer around – way before you belanjah-ed your friends to a meal of char kway teow or chicken rice at the air-conditioned food courts that have found their way into every mall. 

The Ukraine Situation - sort of like Konfrontasi.

When Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak (and also Brunei, but they later withdrew) wanted to join the Federation of Malaya in the early 1960s, Indonesia was against the proposal. And when the Federation added these 3 states in 1963, Indonesia initiated Konfrontasi. 

Have you ever asked, "why Konfrontasi?" WTF does Singapore joining the Federation of Malaya got to do with Indonesia, right? 

Because Sukarno (then president of Indonesia) had a vision of a Greater Indonesia, one similar to the old empire (Majapahit, I think). Similarly, Putin has ambition (or vision, or delusion) of the old Soviet Union where Ukraine is "My Kraine".

So now Ukraine (like Singapore in early 1960s) wants to join NATO (analogous to Federation of Malaya), possibly eventually, joining the EU, but that's another story. Russia (analogous to Indonesia during Konfrontasi) wants Ukraine for herself, and objects. And the threatened invasion is similar to Konfrontasi, except Russia has quite a bit more capacity to prosecute a war than Indonesia in the 1960s. So if Russia objects militarily, it would be a lot more than a few saboteurs sent to Ukraine.

Why Konfrontasi?

[Edited, 1/4/2022]

If you search "Why did Konfrontasi happened?" you will get some "official" answers.

If you are like me, you would be dissatisfied with the answers. 

Officially, this is Singapore's sanitised history:

Konfrontasi (or Confrontation, 1963–1966) was Indonesia’s response to the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, arising from the British decolonisation process in Southeast Asia. Konfrontasi involved armed incursions, bomb attacks and other subversive acts aimed at destabilising the states that were to be included in the Federation, namely, Singapore, Malaya, Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo (now known as Sabah).
When the concept of Malaysia was first mooted publicly by Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman in May 1961, the Indonesian government initially did not raise any objections. It began to express opposition to the Malaysia proposal shortly after the Brunei Revolt of December 1962.

You may be satisfied with the above. Or you might dig deeper. Like what were the basis of Indonesian objection or opposition to the formation of the Federation? Further along, you read:

Indonesia criticised the Malaysia plan as a British “neo-colonialist project” and a threat to their country’s security. 

Which is diplomat-speak for "because I don't like!"

Chinese in Singapore: How they got here

 This video "How Colonial Singapore got to be so Chinese" narrates the arrival of the Chinese in Colonial Singapore.

The Fall of Singapore (in video) - Feb 1942.

 When others have done better research and work than me, I put their works here for those interested.

Here are two videos, on the Fall of Singapore, and the Surrender of Singapore

The Fall of Singapore:

Churchill wanted "no thought of surrender until protracted fighting among the ruins of Singapore City" (at 2:18 of the video), which is kinda callous. And would have taken a horrendous toll on Singapore and the residents.