"betray a lack of knowledge of Singapore's early history, it fit my model quite well". My parents not only married in Singapore in the early 50s, I use to have a Singapore Permanent residency card. I definitely know more about Singapore's early history than you do. How much do you know about Singapore except for your occasional forays into Orchard road?

"It wasn't until the racial problems were addressed and Singapore became accepted as an independent nation that would actually stay together". This really betray your lack of knowledge of Singapore's early history. LOL. Singapore didn't really take off until 4 years after leaving the Malaysian federation in 1965, when the island's largest employer, the British army, left for good. LKY had to find other ways to sustain the economy. He saw how HKG was growing and he adopted the strategy of bringing foreign investors to set up factories and export. His strong arm tactics ensured factory workers toed the line and produce goods efficiently and cheaply. Foreign investors actually like strong stable countries rather than the unstable ones. And in Asia, the unstable ones are the the multi-party states like the Phillipines (where politics are run by thugs)and the stable dynamic ones like Vietnam. If Singapore hadn't left the federation, it would be mired in multi-party politics like UMNO against PAP and a then backward Singapore would not have succeeded.