Singapore’s success: A lesson Malaysia can no longer ignore

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I WAS reflecting on the Singapore’s success endeavours and it dawn upon me that this is a miracle for the trajectory of the nation to take this path not by mere luck but due to visionary leadership who were not willing to compromise or yield to any form of negative forces. They stood the ground even if their heads were to role.

When Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, few thought it would survive. It had no natural resources, little land, and deep racial and religious divisions. Yet, sixty years later, the island republic stands among the world’s most admired nations—clean, stable, prosperous, and united.

How did Singapore defy the odds? The answer is deceptively simple: it refused to be divided by race and religion.

At the moment of its birth, Singapore faced the same challenges that still haunt many plural societies—mistrust between communities, memories of riots, and competing claims of privilege. It could easily have fallen into the trap of communal politics, as so many nations did after independence but chose unity over division.

But its founding leaders chose a different path. They decided that the only way to survive was to build a nation where every citizen, regardless of race or faith, would be treated as equal. Lee Kuan Yew’s declaration still echoes through history:

“This is not a Chinese nation, not a Malay nation, not an Indian nation—this is Singapore.” That statement was more than idealism; it was a national survival strategy. This was a road not taken by many countries after independence.

Imagine for a moment if Singapore had gone the other way—if its leaders had catered to racial sentiments and allowed religious politics to shape policy.

There would have been no sense of common belonging, no shared language, no trust between communities. Housing estates would be segregated, schools divided, politics poisoned by sectarian rivalry.

Investors would have turned away, and national institutions would have collapsed under the weight of prejudice and patronage. The Singapore we admire today—disciplined, innovative, and globally respected—would simply not exist.

This is where Malaysia must pause and reflect. We, too, are blessed with diversity—a tapestry of Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans and many more—and we, too, inherited the wounds of colonial-era divisions.

Yet, unlike Singapore, Malaysia’s political system has remained anchored in racial identity. Decades of affirmative action, race-based parties, and communal rhetoric have left the nation trapped in an old narrative, one that divides more than it unites.

To be clear, the intention behind such policies was once noble: to correct economic imbalances and protect vulnerable groups. But over time, what began as protection has hardened into partition—of schools, of opportunities, and sometimes, of hearts.

The result is that Malaysia, rich in potential, too often finds itself held back not by lack of talent but by lack of trust which every nation need to earn from their citizens.

Singapore’s story teaches a hard truth: national success depends not on resources, but on unity. Its leaders built institutions that forced people to live, study, and work together—ethnic quotas in housing, bilingual education, and laws that kept religion out of politics. This is the real lesson Malaysia should emulate if it wants to become “tiger” of Asia.

These policies were not always popular, but they built something priceless—a sense that citizenship matters more than ethnicity.

Malaysia, too, can move in that direction if we dare to outgrow old fears and imagine a country where every Malaysian feels fully at home, not as a member of a race, but as a citizen of a shared destiny.

If Singapore had been divided by race and religion, it would have perished by race and religion. Its enduring success lies in the courage to rise above those divides which require courage not to mix racial and religious sentiments with politics.

Malaysia stands today at a similar crossroads. The world is changing fast, and the future belongs to nations that unite their people, not those that divide them. Unity is not a slogan. It is the only foundation on which a nation can stand tall.

It is time for Malaysia to rediscover that truth before division costs us what unity once could have built. If politicians are allowed to continually play identity politics, we will be moving south.

Let us hurry before it is too late. Let the politician be educated to stop identity politics antics which make them a liability to nation building. ‒ Oct 29, 2025

 

KT Maran
Seremban, Negri Sembilan

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.

 

Main image: Malay Mail/Raymond Manuel

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