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When you see Russia get into existential war over Ukraine, or Israel bomb Syria or India battle with Pakistan or Bangladesh, it is not because of some whim. It has a historical and geographical context. That is critical to understand for analyzing geopolitics.
Dive into the shadowy world of the Deep State—its hidden structures, powerful networks, and the far-reaching impact on global events and control.
When you analyze the last 60 years of the economic miracles of Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia versus the continued impoverished Indian economy, you get very interesting lessons. Can Indians have the wherewithal in them to do in one generation so that the coming generations may rise?
Government, any government is a game in power dynamics.
Some like to pretend that an oligarchy is a democracy. Like it has been in most of the Western countries including the US. A power controlled by a few (called "Managerial Class" by Vivek Ramaswamy) no matter who 'runs' the government.
Others have dictatorial regimes that have spectacularly transformed the society for the continued good of every person in the country.
Some monarchies have gone ahead to provide for unprecedented wealth for every citizen.
In the end, it is all a game of power.
Whether lobbyists dictate the politicians or chaebols rule the reigns or governments work with the industrialists, all moral rhetoric is just that - rhetoric.
What really matters is life.
Are we facilitating that for the masses or are we holding them hostage to the greed of a few?
We will use the case studies of Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia to understand the path forward for India.
Are we ready for a ruthless self-introspection?
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In 1960, Singapore faced a severe housing crisis, with approximately 75 percent of its 1.6 million population living in squatter settlements. These areas were characterized by overcrowded and unsafe living conditions, lacking basic amenities such as sanitation, utilities, and healthcare. The city was also divided into ethnic enclaves and ghettos, which contributed to frequent communal riots and social disharmony.
Singapore had attempted public housing as a project in 1930s with the establishment of Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) under the Singapore Improvement Ordinance in 1927.
Very interestingly, it was inspired by similar organizations in India.
However, the SIT did not succeed as much. To improve things, The Housing and Development Board (HDB) was created in Singapore on February 1, 1960. It was established to address the severe housing shortage and improve the living conditions of Singapore's population.
Liu Thai Ker was a newly minted architect with a Master's degree in City Planning from Yale University. He was working in the New York office of the architect I.M. Pei.
“After four years, I felt that America really did not need me, they had way too many architects,” he said. “So I started thinking about coming back.” He returned in 1969, accepting a job as head of the design and research unit at Singapore’s Housing and Development Board. One of his main jobs was to create “new towns,” or planned urban centers, for Singapore, even though no could explain how that would look. So he had to figure it out. With some research, he decided the new Singapore would include highly self-sufficient neighborhoods with schools, shops, outdoor food stalls and playgrounds. (Source: "The Architect Who Made Singapore’s Public Housing the Envy of the World" / New York Times)
Typical apartments in the US and Europe were dark and dingy living quarters with a central corridor running through and two of them facing each other. There was little light and it reeked of poverty in a certain way.
Liu wanted to do something different.
He wanted to ensure that people had a sense of community and not be strangers. On the advice of the sociologists, he went about ensuring 6-8 households per one corridor. Social interactions had to be encouraged.
Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew gave Liu a gigantic target - resettle everyone in slums by 1982.
Most of them were and still are in the HDB flats. Some of the Singaporeans also live in private homes and landed houses. Those are extremely expensive though.
By 2023, the HDB flats have sold for over $1 million.
Singaporeans have two main types of housing to choose from — public housing, most commonly referred to as Housing Development Board (HDB) flats, and private property. Most condos and landed houses are forms of private property. As the cost of living continues to soar on the back of inflationary pressure, property prices are on the rise, too. In 2023, 470 HDB flats were resold for over $1 million, which was another record-breaking year. When it comes to private housing, only the cheapest condos are priced at under $1 million. (Source: Average House Price in Singapore: HDB, Condo & Landed (2024) / Smartwealth)
The disparity between the HDB and private condos is quite high now.
But all this did not come easy.
It required acts, laws, and steps that created the basis for a Singapore that was free of tin slum squatters and transformed into a first-world urban wonder.
One of them was what at that time was called a draconian law. The Land Acquisition Act (LAA) of 1966. It gave sweeping powers to the government and the impact it had on private landowners was thought to be devastating.
The Land Acquisition Act (LAA) of 1966 played a crucial role in facilitating the clearance of squatter areas in Singapore. Here are the specific ways in which the LAA contributed to this process:
One of the biggest impacts of LAA was on the Hadrami Arab community. They were the wealthy landowners who owned substantial tracts of land in Singapore.
The compulsory acquisition of their land at below-market compensation led to a significant decline in their wealth and influence. This community, along with other affected landowners, viewed the Act as draconian and unfair.
One prominent Hadrami family, the Sallim Talib family, is estimated to have lost over S$2 billion due to the compulsory land acquisitions under the LAA.
At one time, they owned 75% of the land left by the British.
This did one major change in land ownership.
The Singaporean government became the largest landowner in Singapore by 1985.
The land is given for housing on a 99 year lease.
See the pdf for the note below.
This is the story of how Singapore was transformed within a matter of two decades.
Let us understand how the Singaporean economy transformed itself.
When Lee Kuan Yew became the leader of Singapore, its per capita income was roughly $400. Singapore’s GDP per capita is expected to reach $69,044.00 USD by the end of 2024.
A change of almost 175 times!
Is Singapore an exception?
No.
It was a rule.
Let us look at South Korea and Malaysia briefly.
The South Korean dictator under whom the country made significant progress from an underdeveloped to a developed country was Park Chung-hee.
He ruled South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979. Park Chung-hee's government implemented policies that led to rapid industrialization and economic growth, transforming South Korea into a major industrial power.
This period is often referred to as the "Miracle on the Han River."
Here is a quick recap of the last century when South Korea transformed into an Asian giant based on the information from this document - The Miracle with a Dark Side. Sharing the PDF for your research.
1910-1945: Korea was under Japanese colonial rule, which began with the annexation of Korea by Japan in 1910. This period was marked by Japanese dominance and efforts to integrate Korea into the Japanese empire, leading to significant social and economic changes. The Korean people experienced a decline in their standard of living and resented Japanese dominance, particularly as Japan mobilized Korean resources for its war efforts in the 1930s.
1945: Japan was defeated in World War II, leading to the liberation of Korea from Japanese rule. However, this event also marked the beginning of a power struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union over Korea, resulting in the division of the country along the 38th parallel into a communist North and a non-communist South.
1948: The Republic of Korea (South Korea) was established in the south, with Syngman Rhee as its first president. Rhee, who had spent much of his life in the United States, was supported by the United States and right-wing Koreans. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) was established in the north under Kim Il-sung, with support from the Soviet Union.
1950-1953: The Korean War broke out when North Korea invaded South Korea. The war involved not only the two Koreas but also the United Nations forces, primarily from the United States, supporting South Korea, and China supporting North Korea. The war ended in 1953 with an armistice, leaving the two Koreas divided and technically still at war.
1961: A military coup led by General Park Chung-hee overthrew the government of Syngman Rhee, who had become increasingly unpopular due to corruption and economic mismanagement. Park's regime marked the beginning of authoritarian military rule in South Korea.
1960s-1970s: Park Chung-hee initiated a series of economic reforms aimed at modernizing and industrializing South Korea. He established the Economic Planning Board (EPB) and introduced five-year plans for development. The government played a central role in the economy, promoting exports and investing heavily in infrastructure and industry. This period saw the rise of the chaebol, large family-owned conglomerates that became the backbone of the South Korean economy.
1970s: Despite economic growth, Park's rule became increasingly repressive, and he effectively suppressed democracy. The government's focus on heavy and chemical industries (HCI) led to a concentration of wealth in the hands of a few families and increased income inequality.
1979: Park Chung-hee was assassinated by one of his own intelligence agents, Kim Jae-gyu. This event marked the end of his authoritarian rule and the beginning of a transition to a more democratic government in South Korea.
Throughout this period, South Korea transformed from a poor, war-torn country to one of the world's fastest-growing economies, a process often referred to as the "Miracle on the Han River."
Despite the great economic transformation of South Korea, Park's regime was also criticized for the same reasons - authoritarian rule and human rights abuses.
On October 26, 1979, he was killed by his lifelong friend and the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency chief Kim Jae Kyu. That tragedy was referred to as "10.26" or the "10.26 incident" in South Korea.
One interesting theory was the CIA was involved in the killing of Park Chung-hee.
One theory posits that the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) orchestrated the assassination of South Korean President Park Chung-hee to thwart his efforts to develop a nuclear weapons program.
Park had initiated a clandestine nuclear project, known as "Project 890," in the early 1970s, which aimed to equip South Korea with nuclear capabilities.
This program was a significant concern for the United States, which feared the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region and the potential destabilization it could cause.
According to this theory, the CIA's involvement was motivated by the need to maintain control over nuclear proliferation and to ensure that South Korea remained within the bounds of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Diplomatic cables and historical accounts suggest that the CIA had extensive interactions with key South Korean officials, including Kim Jae-gyu, the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) who assassinated Park.
Kim had frequent meetings with Robert G. Brewster, the CIA chief in Seoul, and other American diplomats, including a meeting with U.S. Ambassador William H. Gleysteen just hours before the assassination.
Read this for more information.
Ambassador William H. Gleysteen admitted an "indirect involvement" in the assassination.
After Park's assassination, the United States quickly recognized the legitimacy of Chun Doo-hwan, who seized power in a military coup in December 1979. This recognition was reportedly contingent upon Chun's agreement to abandon Park's nuclear weapons program. Chun subsequently downsized the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and scrapped the residual nuclear weapons and missile programs, aligning South Korea's policies with U.S. non-proliferation objectives.
Malaysia was not ruled by a dictator during its transformation from an underdeveloped to a developing country.
The key figure associated with Malaysia's significant economic transformation is Mahathir Mohamad, who served as Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020.
Mahathir Mohamad implemented a series of economic policies and development plans, including the Look East Policy and Vision 2020, which aimed to make Malaysia a fully developed country by the year 2020. His leadership was marked by rapid industrialization, economic growth, and infrastructural development, which helped elevate Malaysia's status on the global stage.
While Mahathir Mohamad's leadership style was authoritative and he faced criticism for limiting political freedoms and suppressing dissent, he was not considered a dictator in the traditional sense. Malaysia remained a parliamentary democracy throughout his tenure.
His critics were very aggressive in how they characterized Mahathir's rule and his legacy.
Despite the phenomenal transformative growth!
In the "West-inspired" media, the phrases used for Southeast Asia and the arguments were not very different from what has been used in India recently - Democratic Backsliding and authoritarian rule.
Three different stories.
Same pattern.
Let us summarize the different areas in which these three economies did well due to executive action.
Malaysia:
South Korea:
Singapore:
Malaysia:
South Korea:
Singapore:
Malaysia:
South Korea:
Singapore:
Malaysia:
South Korea:
Singapore:
Malaysia:
South Korea:
Singapore:
What does this suggest for India?
How can India transform its own economy and society from a third world to the first world?
We have broken down the recommendations into Five different sections:
Also sharing the backup case studies from the three economies we have just studied.
You will see that the measures and policies underlined by the Modi government in the last two governments and the 2024 rule are very similar!
Recommendation: Implement a long-term, comprehensive urban planning strategy to guide sustainable development across cities and towns.
Details:
Backup:
Recommendation: Invest heavily in modern infrastructure, focusing on transportation, utilities, and digital connectivity.
Details:
Backup:
Recommendation: Promote economic diversification and industrialization to reduce reliance on agriculture and create a robust manufacturing and services sector.
Details:
Backup:
Recommendation: Prioritize environmental sustainability and implement green initiatives to improve the quality of life and promote sustainable development.
Details:
Backup:
Recommendation: Strengthen governance and implement robust anti-corruption measures to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective public service delivery.
Details:
Backup:
We have not brought in the example of China, which was an extreme form of the experiences in these three case studies that we have analyzed.
If all these changes are brought in India, it can transform from where it is to a first-world economy and society.
The question that we need to ask is this.
Yes, Human Rights and participatory democracy that is answerable to the Western Exceptionalists is the par for the course in "Rule-based Order".
But ask yourself a simple question.
Check the top economies of the world.
India's growth in comparison to Singapore's transformation is very illustrative. The growth in 60 years has been just 29 times!
So the question every Indian who aspires to live in Singapore or have a country like South Korea should ask is:
The last 70-odd years haves seen a very similar dictatorial rule by the Congress party where no dissent was allowed.
And despite that, India's progress has been absolutely pathetic and dismal. Rural Poverty and urban destitution remain the rule even now.
So they cannot claim that role any more.
They have lost that right!
On the other hand, during the rule by Modi, critics have had a field day in trying to bring him down. Not just the critics but even the judiciary has inserted itself as the overseer of the executive and legislative policies and legal actions.
Do the critics and judiciary lend themselves to a transformative experience in India that takes it to the level of Singapore and the other Asian neighbors?
If you want India to be Singapore or South Korea, can you endure a certain concentration of authority with a benevolent ruler so that your coming generations can have a better life?
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