The rapid rise of economies in Asia over the past few decades has been phenomenal. According to

Singapore is also known as Lion City. This Lion City was established as a British dependency in 1918 and it had been built up into one of the world’s busiest ports today. In 1819, Singapore was established by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and Singapore has declared as a free port, with free duties charged. This policy had drawn traders from far and bend her into one of the Asia’s busiest ports. When World War II broke out, Singapore was attended as a formidable British base; with several naval defenses guarding against assault by sea. Still, to this surprise, the Japanese choose to cross Malaya by bicycle instead. Despite with all the efforts to hold the Japanese, only less than a week fighting, Singapore had surrendered in 1942. The Japan occupation lasted for three years and eight months with the return of the British in 1945. After the war, Singapore became a British colony. Singapore had joined Malaysia for a short period in 1963 when the British left, Singapore left Malaysia and became independent on 9 August 1965. Since that, Singapore’s economy successful in the subsequent forty years and become one of the four East Asian

Singapore soon became a major stopping point for traffic going to or from China” (world history book). Other kingdoms continued to evolve in Southeast Asia such as the kingdom of Burma, Thailand, and the Philippines. The Philippines has more than seven thousand islands that contain a wide diversity of landscape. Singapore was a developed city-state. “Malaysia was a prosperous nation on the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on the mainland of Southeast Asia” (Marshall Cavendish 1156).

This approach is derived from a similarly paradoxical situation, that of Singapore's evolution as a nation. Singapore's history from the formation of the Federation of Malaysia through merger with Malaya, to independence in 1965, up till the present day, is a tale of triumph over tribulations. The two years as part of Malaysia were especially traumatic, complete with heated political campaigns and two racial riots. Yet these were not as distressful as the separation of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965, which in effect compelled Singapore to eke out a living on its own. Just as doubt is supposedly an impediment to successful persuasion, so Singapore's vulnerabilities and limitations as a small state were thought to stand in the way of its progress. Yet these anticipated dangers served as a rallying point around which the leaders of the country linked arms with the people. This sense of vulnerability not only guided the leadership in policy-making, it impressed upon the people that they had a point to prove to detractors who had doubted the viability of the nation. Judging by the role which uncertainty

For instances, Singapore is East Asia’s economic powerhouse. Singapore accumulates 55,182.48 in gross domestic product for the year 2013, that is slightly more than the United States brought in 2013. Their economy is mainly supported by shipping out machinery, goods, chemicals and mineral fuels, etc. Singapore gets many visitors due to its impressive machinery and transport systems that have been improving

During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan. It gained independence from the UK in 1963 by federating with other former British territories to form Malaysia, but separated two years later over ideological differences, becoming a sovereign nation in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its

When the war ended, Singapore reverted to British control, with increasing levels of self-government being granted, culminating in Singapore 's merger with the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963. However, social unrest and disputes between Singapore 's ruling People 's Action Party and Malaysia 's Alliance Party resulted in Singapore 's separation from Malaysia. Singapore became an independent republic on 9 August 1965. Facing severe unemployment and a housing crisis, Singapore embarked on a modernization program beginning in the late 1960s through the 1970s that focused on establishing a manufacturing industry, developing large public housing estates and investing heavily on public education. Since independence, Singapore 's economy has grown by an average of nine percent each year. By the 1990s, the country had become one of the world 's most prosperous nations, with a highly developed free market economy, strong international trading links, and the highest per capita gross domestic product in Asia outside of Japan.

Japan started taking steps towards economic growth around 1868 with the Meiji Restoration; but they did not really begin to make leaps and bounds toward a market economy until after their independence in 1951 where they developed quickly through industrialization. Japan was “the first non-western country to join the ranks of the advanced nations, but it also has outperformed most of them” (Sato 1989). Carl Mosk has a great model for this rapid economic growth that will be discussed in depth in this paper. South Korea also achieved amazing economic growth which is now aptly named the Miracle on the Han River. This is the story of how they came back from the destruction caused by the

The Fall of Singapore was considered one of the greatest defeats in the history of the British Army. It was also considered Britain 's worst defeat in World War Two. The Japanese had already taken many other countries in the Asia-Pacific region during the war but Singapore was one of the worse. This report will explain the reasons and events that led to the fall of Singapore and how it affected people around the world.

The society that these individuals lived in had a significant impact on their education. During colonial rule, many indigenous Malays and the majority of the non-English speaking communities of Singapore suffered various forms of oppression. The independence of Malaya was thus seen as an opportunity for the diverse ethnic groups to break free from this. The slogan Merdeka, which means “independence” in the Malay language, epitomises the rise of anti-colonial and nationalist sentiments. Independence in this context refers to the collective Malayan states and Singapore. Despite being under colonial rule for a significant period of time, a strong society existed. There was a strong notion that the three main ethnic groups of Singapore would come together to build a nation-state together. Posters could be seen everywhere promoting the study of the national language – Malay. English was not accepted by the masses back in the past, as they perceived it as the language of the colony. Malay in essence, was as a tool to unite people from the various ethnic groups; to enable the common people to come together to build a better

Singapore is an island that lies just off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. Its strategic location on major sea lanes has provided the country with an economic importance in Southeast Asia. Singapore is often considered as a base for global enterprises looking to expand into Asia and Asian enterprises looking for global connectivity. Located at the heart of Asia, Singapore is sitting at the centre of business opportunities. Having the four key attributes - Trust, Knowledge, Connected and Life, Singapore is being positioned as an ideal city to Work, Live and Play. Singapore was ranked first in Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey 2009.

The Republic of Singapore celebrated its 42 years of independence in year 2007. Situated at the southern tip of Malaysia, Singapore currently holds a population of 4.68 million as of June 2007. At 704.0km2, it is ranked 4th in the world for its population density. During the past four decades, the economy as measured by real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), multiplied by over 20 times (Ghesquiere, 2007, p.11). As a small and extremely open economy, Singapore long term survival is very much dependent on the ability to maintain its viable position and remain afloat in the sea of global competition (Mun Heng et al, 1998, p.14).

Economically, Singapore has a very unreachable and unbelievable status. Unreachable because it has a highly developed market-based economy. It is one of the major traders in the world. Their GDP are largely based on their exports. Because of its low tax rates, work force, and business-friendly environment, and its being a free-market economy, Singapore has attracted many foreign investors. Thus, leading it to be one of the very prosperous country in the world. It is also unbelievable because for a country that is so small, all of these were made possible.

According to Duara, "From a historian's perspective, decolonization was one of the most important developments of the twentieth century because it turned the world into the stage of history. " Therefore, it is of no surprise that much historical research has been devoted to this phenomenon; and the various nuances among the decolonization processes undergone by the various Southeast Asian countries have been of interest. For the purpose of this essay, I shall define ‘decolonization' as "the process whereby colonial powers transferred institutional and legal control over their territories and dependencies to indigenously based, formally sovereign, nation-states ". Singapore's ‘neighbours' in Southeast Asia are namely: Laos, Vietnam,

However, in the 1940 's, the Japanese came and overran Malaysia. They treated the Indians and Chinese very badly. There was a lot of conflict and violence from that point up until 1957 when they became the Federation of Malaysia (Lambert). That lasted for only a couple of years when they formally became a solidified country called Malaysia.

Malaysia sought its independence in 1957 though faced with many trials and tribulations. In 1957, Malaysia faced the problem of consolidating a nation with a multiracial society characterised by socio-economic and cultural differences. Furthermore, the emergency period lasting until 1960 posed a threat that called for bravery, fortitude and sacrifice on the part of all Malaysians to overcome. The birth of Malaysia in 1963 brought in another period of national integration troubled with various external threats and challenges. Then in 1969, Malaysia faced an outburst of racial conflict that showed clearly an area of weakness which undermined the very foundations of the nation.