If you can recall last year (through the thick sentimental fog that is SG50), the rhetoric that Singapore was a small fishing village in 1965 gets thrown around a lot.
Though untrue, it does fit better in an engineered narrative designed to invoke stronger feelings of patriotism. The “50 years ago, Singapore was just a fishing village until Lee Kuan Yew liberated the nation” spiel sounds inspiring of course, and the impression may have stuck — especially among young Singaporeans who don’t know better.
“Over 100 years ago, this was a mudflat, swamp. Today, this is a modern city.” -Lee Kuan Yew in 1965, referring to…
Posted by Wake Up, Singapore on Saturday, 7 March 2015
Filmmaker and political activist Martyn See however produced a perfect analogy of Singapore’s skewered history, listing all the modern achievements accomplished by the nation… before everything gets reverted back to “Singapore is a fishing village” in 1965.
A history of Singapore.1821 : Singapore General Hospital is established.1824 : The first English-language newspaper…
Posted by Martyn See on Wednesday, 6 April 2016
