1965. After the separation from Malaysia, the future was fraught with uncertainty.
1968. The British announced the full withdrawal of its troops. This impacted the Singapore economy by 20%.
I971. The economy was succeeding. Rent and prices of land had gone up. There was a shortage of workers.
And guess what? The complaints had started.
No wonder Mr Lee Kuan Yew had once described the Singaporean as the 'champion grumbler'.
In a speech on the occasion of the 8th anniversary of the Pek Kio Community Centre on 27 March 1971, Mr Lee said:
"We can afford to complain today only because we have worked so hard the last 5.1/2 years and are succeeding.....
"Memories are short. People rarely compare what they have with what they had. They compare what they have with what they think they should have."
He ended that speech with this:
As long as our economy is on the up, we can do all this, and more. Grumble, argue, press for better conditions, by all means. But never forget, our economy can be compared to a fine automatic watch, with delicately synchronised movements. Use a screw driver and a pair of pliers to pry it open and you destroy it. So see to it that no one is stupid or mad enough to meddle with our economy and our future.
Ref: http://www.nas.gov.sg/
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