"Eyes Wide Open" by Frederic Raphael 1999 176pg.

  26/6/24  The film director Stanley Kubrick

This  an utterly fascinating chronicle of a brilliant writer's experience with a director who didn't seem to care about writers. 

Stanley Kubrick was the reclusive genius of film, an American who had chosen Britain as a base from which to create his masterpieces. Frederic Raphael was an Oscar winning screenwriter, novelist.   He also wrote biographical studies of Somerset Maughan and Lord Byron.

Stanley Kubrick impressed him as the leading living director and Paths of Glory was one movie that astounded him.

Spartacus was based on a novel by Howard Fast and Dalton Trumbo  worked on the script despite being  blacklisted by Mc Cathy.

When a scriptwriter is reluctant to do a job his price can rise till the produces hopes are irresistible. The writers money comes in slices on delivery of the first draft the second and then the  "polish"

Kubrick had been  a ranking chess player, this is a game of bloodless sadism and schemed execution.

A man who displaces himself to visit another is conceding his superiority.

Raphael was born in Chicago and went to school in NY

1862 to 1931 Arthur Schnitzler from Leopoldville Vienne and was Jewish. The movie is based on his novella the Dream Story. This had to be transferred to current New York from Vienna then.  This story was impregnated with Jewishness. This story lacked any neat explanation, because to explain a dream is to rationalize it. Vienne was under the Austro-Hungarian Empire and because of Franz Josef's longevity it gave his monarchy the illusion of permanence.

Kubrick like good directors wants from the script only the competences that he can't supply himself. " I have been selected to be his outside caterer but it is still his party." Raphael would only start writing once he had the contract. Usually he was prepared to write novels and stories without a though to payment.

In Paths of Glory Stanley wanted the 3 condemned soldiers reprieved. However thanks to actor Kirk Douglas the original pitiless ending was restored and it became an uncompromising success.

Peter Sellers was one of Kubrick favorites male stars but he had no preference for females stars. The contract had forbidden Raphael to do any other work while on this. He objected as book reviewing was relaxing and kept him sane.

Kubrick never showed his hand to Raphael of what exactly he wanted. Kubrick wanted to strike into undiscovered territory but must be sure it contains gold.  Only once the scriptwriter 's work is finished does the production begin. Nobody knows what Kubrick looks like.

It is the producer /directors job to encourage the troops. Sex and war in the ancient world shared the same vocabulary. Stanley is a sedentary wandering Jew rootless in his own defenses.

1501 Oct 31st the Dukes of Valentino threw a notorious sex party in the Vatican which Pope Alexander VI attended. Called the Bouquet of Chestnuts. Cesare Borgia arranged a banquet. (controversial  ?)  

Kubrick do not really know what kind of story he was intending to tell . What interested him was the atmosphere of eroticisms and distinct sexuality of conjugal love.

He read up about orgies in Rome because wealthy Romans did as the pleased all the time. By the 1980 prostitution had become part of the entertainment business.

1964 Dr. Strangelove was the best starring Peter Sellers. But they almost refused to show it at cinemas. Peter Sellers had been a radio actor and it was remarked that he is so ugly that he is lucky there is a medium where he cant be seen acting in public.

It is absurd to try understand Kubrick without reckoning on Jewishness as a fundamental aspect of his mentality if not of his work in general. He said he was not really Jewish but happened to have 2 Jewish parents. He exposed many aspects of ugly human behavior but never confronted anti-Semitism. Judaism has laws but no timetable for salvation.

 Love was never his theme but desire not least for money went right back to his earliest work. He was not exempt from travails and unsurprisingly he too endured rejections and humiliations. Kubrick may be a genius but fears to look a fool. He had many disappointment and nursed many projects that never got legs.

1956 Killings was Kubrick's  first movie to excite critical and professional attention.

The screen writer has duties without responsibilities. Kubrick welcomed Raphael's conversation as well as his dialogue. He never wanted a partner but rather a skilled mechanic who can crank out the dross that he will later turn to gold. Slowly Raphael realized that not only did he want no jokes he was not eager that the characters. Kubrick regarded Raphael as a means to an end. wanted  a particular personality, and was not going to do the stuff that was markedly characteristic of Raphael's. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman would be cast by Warmers as the leads in the movie they were married at the time. 

Woody Allen once said that show business is a business other wise it would be call show-show..

Raphael was asked for rewrites not because there was something wrong  because Kubrick had time and looked forward to something better. Directors can never believe that there are people who find it easier to invent things than to steal them Note the OJ Simpson trail was taking place at this time 1995 onwards.

A tyrant is a man so threatened by apprehensions of being overthrown that he must reduce everyone to impotence and repudiates all advice. Kubrick deals with the collapse of safeguards against unjust violence and unpunished cruelty as seen in Path's of Glory. Life is about power not sincerity 

1971 Clockwork Orange based on the novel  by  Antony Burgess of 1962-  the cure for evil is itself evil. All human attempts to control the devil are conducive to greater cruelties. and nastier devils.

Eyes Wide Shut finally started shooting in Nov. 1996 2 years after Raphael had started on the first draft. Kubrick had been trying to find a way to transfer this Schnitzler story to the screen for 25 years.  

1957 Kubrick made the movie Paths of Glory on WW1 it was made in Germany near Dachau as it was cheaper to do it there at that time. German police were recruited to do it. Battlefield's are not fun to film in.

1987 The full Metal Jacket was filmed in England a story that took place in Vietnam.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blowing the bloody doors of and th lessons of life, by Michael Cane 2016 285pg

Autobiography. 28/10/19

He was a self made person and had the loving support of his mother and later wife. He was brought up in the area of Elephant and Castle where you join a gang for protection not to attack others. He was married young and had a daughter by his first wife. He later Shakira in married him in 1973 because she saw the way he treated his mother. His father was a porter at the market and uneducated. When he was with celebrity actors his mother pointed out one who met every body but did not come to meet the old women. Zulu 1964 was his first movie. "Alfie" gave him a unique personality. He says he always made sure to arrive on time and know his lines. Marylin Munro never arrived on time or knew her lines but people were prepared to pay to see her. He says that records are kept on who delays production, so if you cause a delay it won't be easy to get your next job. John Huston was the greatest director. Only in the 60s did opening come to him as the class system was starting to break down even though he could play any accent. From 1958 till the present "King of thieves" he met every important actor and many of them died young from drinking or drugs. He says "The First Marigold Hotel" was a success as it addressed the baby boomer generation and their old age issues. He concludes that the 60s was an important period. 

------------------------  

 

 

Embracing defeat Japan in the Wake of WW2 by John W Dower. 2000

Only on period immediately after the war.  13/6/24

1941 Dec The war started , with Pearl Harbour

1945 August 15 Hirohito broadcast over the radio the first time ever to tell the people that they had lost the war. People crowded around the common village radio to hear this.  

The war against America  had lasted 3 years 8 month followed by 6 years and 8 months occupation. Hirohito was kept  innocent  and this led to complication as all under him were accused of war crimes.

When Hirohito spoke on the radio it was the first  time the public heard his voice and he spoke a classical Japanese that the working man could not quite understand. It was only later on Sept 2rd that the capitulation was signed on the Missouri  which was Truman's state. The original 31 star US flag used by Mathew Perry was on display as well as the White house flag from when FDR had declared war in Dec 1941.

All the allies were present and the Japanese signed , Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu for the representatives of civilians and one who Chief of the Army General Staff, General Yoshijirō Umezu, represented the army. He had lost a leg in battle and appeared how Japan was at that moment  The Royal house did not sign. Then there were  a 450 aircraft  from the aircraft carriers that flew over and in the bay wee hundreds of US naval ships at a time when hardly any Japanese ships were left.

When the troops entered Japan they did not know how Japan kept fighting as the country was denuded of all resources. The military in charge meantime well selling all they could find in the stores on the black market.

The Japanese army estimated that they had lost 1.7 million troops,4.5 million servicemen returned home sick and seriously malnourished 300,000 eventually got disability pensions. Four fifths of Japans shipping and a third of her industrial capacity was destroyed. Japan had lost a third of her wealth and half of her potential income, living standards were 35% of their prewar level. 65% of all residences were destroyed and 30 % of the population were homeless. Most trains were still running with little rolling stock.

6.5 million Japanese were abroad when Japan capitulated of them 3.5million were soldiers. The Americans gave Liberty ships to repatriate them. Some were kept on by the British and American to help rebuild their colonies assuming that they would recover them. In Manchuria many were conscripted into the armies of the civil war mostly the communists. The Soviets kept many POWs till 1950, and put them in educational programs supporting the communist doctrine. 

There were 2.5 Korean in Japan, forced  there as workers for the war effort. 640,000 remained in Japan the rest were repatriated to Southern Korea. Returning soldiers did not always get a hero's welcome and many could not find their homes and families in the ruins at home. In Manchuria many families straggles to find a way home and lost each other and children and their were many orphans looking to get home. Some families left children with Chinese as they could not carry them.

With capitulation looting started on a grand scale of army supplies. Soldiers lynched hated officer. 

Some soldiers arrived home after a few years to discover that they were registered as dead and their wives had remarried. Destitute wives who stopped receiving husband pensions, orphans homeless children fending for themselves in streets.

Japan now underwent a Revolution from Above .The first general election took place in April 1946 with universal suffrage and it produced a reactionary cabinet under conservative Yoshida Shigeru. He resigned a day after MacArthur brought about his civil- liberties directive. Even the communist party supported MacArthur's reforms of this bloodless revolution. America had cut the chains of ordinary Japanese and granted them civil liberties,  and took the crushing burden of the old zaibatsu oligopolies off the workers backs. The Americans wanted to root out the feudalistic family system that rendered women legally inferior.  Somebody pointed our that Japan had undergone a revolution without help of our own hands. The educational system was also changed.

The occupation of Japan was not really by the allies but the US entirely with MacArthur's monopoly of power.  The War Crimes tribunal may have had  Allied input with the president of the tribunal an Australian, but this was an American show.
If Japan had capitulated earlier they were offered a conditional capitulation but after the Potsdam Agreement August 1945 only a unconditional surrender was available. In Germany which was part of Europe, Nazism was considered an evil that had to be eradicated but the military culture of Japan had to be dealt with by completely changing the whole society.. It was not diseased branches of a tree but the whole tree needed replacing .

The military establishment was completely abolished. All political prisoner were freed. The elites in the Diet were shocked at the changes.

Japan had been at war since 1931 when they attacked China. For a long time the population were getting insufficient food and people had been advised on the radio to add sawdust to dumpling they eat, to eat, the public were advised to eat  empty silkworm cocoons, and eat all sorts of creatures  When the war ended the situation became worse as they were no longer getting any supplies from China where there had been Japanese colonies.

During the war years crime had almost vanished but with the post war situation and the returning defeated army it became rampant. Prostitution became a big problem and children solicited soldiers telling them come with me to my sister. There was even a gang of women robbers.

Alcoholism became a big problem with illicit brews causing blindness and death. With hunger came diseases which included everything from polio to rampant tuberculosis.

Inflation became rampant and the bringing about of the new Yen was supposed to help stop this. However the treasury had new expenses they had to pay to repatriate the overseas citizens and armies and discovered they had to pay for the army  of occupation, People who had saved during the war ran to withdraw deposits previously blocked and they needed the money to buy food on the black market. When the Emperor announced capitulation the remaining monies in the treasury was distributed to high up officials and was totally corrupt.

Even with children playing you now saw a change instead of acting kamakazi pilots or soldiers fighting for the Emperor, they made paper hats like GIs and when cheap models of US jeeps were marketed they sold in thousands.

Programs were set up by a women's magazine to match men to women, but there was such a shortage of men that many women had to get used to the idea of being single.

All sorts of industrial goods found their way onto the black market and the lower Diet house, reluctantly gave permission to investigate this, as many official were involved.  It was looted materials from the war end, some was stockpiles from the home defense that was ready to keep fighting when the war ended. It took till about 1950 till the black market prices dropped to closer to the normal price. Then as Japan was cut off from her former colonies she had not foreign trade and Japanese were not  allowed to travel abroad till the occupation ended. She also had no normal trade and diplomatic relations.

     

$ The Lost Colonial Boy by Alan Gill 2021 214 pg and Singapore to Freedom

 A journey through life of drama and adventure in England and Malaya  11/5/24

Between 1940 and 1950 his father lived in Africa India Burma and Malaya where he was with his father, during the police operation against the communist insurgents.

His mother Maud Gill had come from a coal  mining village in Durham, and at the age of 38 found herself in Malaya. His father had won the opportunity to go to the Naval Academy and made a military career.

Aircraftsman Shaw is better known as Lawrence of Arabia.

His paternal grandmother in1878  Tynmouth Northallerton , North Yorkshire. Her home was always clean as "Cleanliness was respectability"

The symbol of England was the lion and the meaning of Singapora in Sanskrit is Lion City. When the war ended the father remained on his duties in Africa, India and Burma. Now his was in Malaya fighting the communists.  The Malay Emergency was never called a war because of Insurance reasons.

Alans mother, he and older sister Jean set out on the Empire Windrush. This was a captured German ship and later it took Caribbean immigrants to England in 1948.They travelled via Gibraltar , Malta , Port Said where they refueled and he had a view of the pyramids then   Suez , Aden, Bombay (Mumbai named after the goddess Mumbadevi) Colombo and the Malacca Straits between Sumatra and Malaya  to Singapore, (still a Crown Colony) Malaya would become his home for 8 years. 1947 till 1960 the Malay Emergency 

They lived on the Kelantan River in the north east of Malaya at the home of Bill Bang a rubber planter in a teak house He had been there since the 1920s. He had converted to Islam and was a Haji  He spoke Malay and Tamil fluently as well as some French and Chinese. There were hunter gatherer natives who used blowpipes and darts. They still hunted tigers only when they were a danger to the people.

1941 November. Malay volunteer groups helped the British they were the first to let them know that the Japanese were about to land at Kota Bjaru. The Japanese came south along the East Coast. Bill Bang was a thorn to  Japanese till he was put into the Changi jail. When Japan capitulated the Japanese officer took his life in the bushido tradition and Bill had his sword as a trophy. Bill never married and remained on the rubber estate.

His father Charles Gill received his officers commission while fighting in Burma, something rare. Burma saw the most hellish fighting conditions and wounded men could not easily be taken out of the combat zones.

1951 The Gill family were based in Port Dickson , Negeri Sembilan, Malaya. They lived in a big house on a hill  that belonged to a wealthy merchant and had been sequestered by the Japanese Army. Nearby was he town of Malacca a trading  port that had that had been a powerhouse of trade for over 600 years to the Ming Dynasty with Arabs, Indians, Persians and later the Portuguese. 

The communist terrorist offensive wore down and independence was on the horizon and the British back, they moved to the island of Penang. In the eight years as a kid Alan got to know the cultures of the Malays , Chinese , East Indian and the Indigenous people. This was a country rich in natural resources rubber and tin but also coal, iron, bauxite and manganese.  

1,900 Malay and Commonwealth troops and and 9,000 communist troops lost their lives.

Field Marshall William Slim 1891 to 1970. knew his father from the Burma and recruited him for Malaya. 

Many soldiers were brought to the Gill  home to relax and many were traumatized, dealing with this was not well established like today.

At the age of 11 he was sent to boarding school in England while his sister lived in Malaysia and Singapore for the next 45 years. Penang Island was known as the Pearl of the orient. His mother had learned cooking from a Chinese  maid who had worked for a French embassy family. This cooking was adapted to the conditions and cultures of Penang. In Malaya when food was hard to find at the coast their was fish to be eaten. Of his family he was the one who had mastered the Malay language the best, as he mixed easily with the local children.

Lady Isabel Gurney the wife of the British High Commissioner of Malaya visited their house in  Port Dickson a few times part of showing the flag.  In 1951 Sir Henry Gurney the High Commissioner was assassinated on his way to Fraser's Hill in their black Rolls Royce ambushed by communist terrorists, In 2014 when Alan  visited Penang  at Government House the old black Rolls Royce  with bullet holes was standing there as a tourist interest object. 

In England when he and his older brother went to boarding school in Redcar North Yorkshire. It was the Sir William Turner grammar school. Red Barns had been the stately home in 1860s of Sir Hugh Bell a big industrialist. His wife died and he married Florence Oliffe a writer on social issues.  Gertrude Bell Sir Williams daughter went onto Oxford and was the first women to obtain a first class degree in History. She had a love for languages and spoke French, German, Italian but also studied Arabic , Turkish, Persian. She became the de facto leader of Middle East delegation with the title Oriental Secretary and worked for Churchill and TE Lawrence. Lawrence was the only one who was her equal.  She left quite a footprint in Turkish Empire, Iraq , Jordan , Palestine. She died in 1926 in Bagdad. The Iraqi Museum has a wing named after her. Faisal Ibn Hussein, King of Iraq was introduced to her by TE Lawrence. where he treated her like a queen.

 Alans sister Jeans mother in law Kathleen Fraser of later known as Kathleen Brown. Her husband had worked for the Indian civil service. Kathleen and one of her sisters were born in Mombasa, Kenya Kathleen had been a suffragette under Emile Pankhurst. She was arrested for brawling and spent 6 weeks in solitary confinement. She was in Prison 3 times. They later realized that despite her ability Kathleen was deaf. The Suffragette colours of green purple and white were seen everywhere.

1918 Nov. The Representation of People Act gave women the same voting rights as men.

Returning after the war to Malaya a country where the economy was almost non existent. Everything had come to a halt. Malay , Ghurka and British Regiments returned and the Australian Airforce. The Malay Communist party adept to jungle warfare. His sister Jean worked as a secretary for the Regimental Adjutants' office and had to sign the official secrets act.  When she went out with a boyfriend she needed a chaperone and he had that position. They took photos with a box Brownie a camera that came out in 1900 but was still popular in the 1950s This camera first put photography in the hand of amateurs. His sister  Jean lived in Malaysia and Singapore for the next 45 years.

Tunka Abdul Raman was Malaysia's first head of government and he had occasionally visited their house and while  a young boy Alan had met him.

Later Alan was in Trinidad , Dr Eric Williams born in Port of Spain Trinidad. He spent 6 years in Oxford University and ruled Trinidad from 1962 to 1981 taking it into independence. He was considered "Father of the Nation"

Even during the war no matter where they were Africa, India , Burma and Malaya they received regular shipment of books and he learn to love reading. Someone read to him every night.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Singapore to Freedom   The vivid WW2 escape across South East Asia by Oswald Gilmour  1943  245pg    17/6/24

1926 He got to Singapore at the time the  place generally unknown in Europe it is a degree north of the equator. It has an average day and night temperature of 30C.

1941 The population was 750,000 and 60% were Chinese with Malays and India's and 10,000 Europeans.

During the months proceeding the Japanese invasion, after work he would spend 3 hours training 4 days a week with the co called Volunteer forces. Men over 40 did training for the Volunteer Police Reserve or the Fire Brigade. The production of tin and rubber was important raw materials especially once the war began and many of the European staff left for the war in Europe leaving more work to those who stayed. There was no compulsory  service for Asiatic, however they has Volunteer forces and those who fought as guerillas all Asiatic.

British troops were there and when not training had lots of time as apposed to civilians who had 2 jobs.

Civilians who came to these colonies earned well , as an inducement as they had to face unknown conditions break away from their friends and families and sent their children back to England at the age of 8 and only saw them a few months in the holidays. Many wives spent long tours of health back home in England. Only the well educated and picked men were suitable for this kind of life in these lands.

The war had been going in Europe for 2 years already but most goods were still available in the colonies but at higher prices because of taxes. Petrol was rationed and there were no use of cars for joyriding. Air raid precautions and anti gas material had been set up.  Stocks of food and other essential had ben set up and the arrival of HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse in Malay water made them feel secure. People had been advised by the government to grow vegetables in their gardens for the war but this was not easy in these foreign conditions.

Oswald worked as Deputy Municipal Engineer but roads had never been properly constructed to be able to get to the hidden ammunition stores hidden amongst the rubber trees. They heard that a large Japanese convey had entered the Gulf of Siam. British ships should have gone to challenge this.

Fort Canning was the military headquarters. There was an air raid and he was in charge of the Rescue , Demolitions, Debris and repair Parties, to extricate buried persons and clear the streets. 140 people were killed in this air raid. A total blackout was immediately enforced. After Dec 8th 1941 most shops closed down. There was not restriction on women leaving the Colony and on the first attack most wives and children were sent away, but up to the near end they were required to pay their own passage ,this should have been done earlier. People started blacking out houses and digging trenches. They painted white lines in centres of the streets and whitewashed tree trunks along the roadsides.  The British Government had been a reluctant to spend money before the war, now too late funds were available.

Where their were work teams after bombing they had to arrange food as there were no longer venders selling food. At night fires and lights were forbidden. Trenches were build on any place that planes could land but these became mosquito breeders and had to be closed.

As the Japanese advanced south Penang was evacuated and people heard unpleasant stories. They dreaded moonlight  night as they brought the bombers. Initially these raids were confined to military objects.  There were antiaircraft batteries and a few Brewster Buffalos planes for defense. A few Hurricane Planes arrived.

Kuala Lumpur and the Muar river were taken by the enemy. The enemy were always infiltrating behind the lines preparing the way, while British troops retreated to establish new lines. British troops were new to the country and did not recognize the difference between Japanese, Chinese , Malays and Indians.

Sir Shenton Thomas was the Colony Governor and said Singapore must not fall but he and General Percival were left to nurse Malaya in its death struggles.

1942 Jan 30 the Japanese were nearing the Johore Straits, which was 3 quarter of a mile from Singapore, and there was a lull while they were preparing to attack. He had heard about the atrocities that took place in Hong Kong. Most of the leadership thought this was exaggerated. Troops and civilians were retreating to Singapore. His friend Sid Kelley worked for the Water Dept. and kept te pumps and water pipes going.

The work of  unloading ships was being don by British and Indian troops as there was no labour around. RAF . staff were being evacuated to Dutch East Indies airports.  £36 million of  oil tanks had been sabotaged so that the enemy could not get it a a cloud of black smoke covered the bay. Important machinery was also being destroyed. General Wavell had flown into Singapore for a few hours and left. Workers were all being given advance payments to empty the money from the banks. Drinks and spirits was poured down the drain as reports showed that the atrocities were caused in HK by drunk Japanese.

He friend Sid and he were given permission to leave and the ships had both uniformed and civilians as well  as women and children. Pompong was and island where they were supposed to pick up survivors of a bombed ship but then they were bombed and abandoned ship. Pompong was a tiny empty island with few fruits or things to eat. Medical supplies were taken off lifeboats. Thee were a number  of doctors.

If an airman is lost in the jungle he must look for down hill and the rivers will lead to the sea. The existence of a small water spring saved their lives. There were no mosquitoes luckily. Small craft went by and the Japanese policy was not to  attack native or fishing craft.  Batavia ,( Jakarta today) was being bombed.

1942  15th Feb Singapore fell , thus Japan controlled territory both north and south of where they were.

They were taken in a small boat to Sinajang where people survived on coconuts and fishing but they area  hadn't received supplies from Singapore and the natives were reluctant to sell anything. Any wound or cut did not  heal under the conditions. They found a launch and it was manned by a party of soldiers who escaped Singapore and got to Dabo. The Dutch were doing a scorched earth before the Japanese arrived.

They had to get to Sumatra and cross it to the Western side. So the were looking for the Indragirl River which would take them into Sumatra. (This happened to be the best place to land as realized afterwards)   The jungle was usually thickest at the edge of an opening. There was an efficient organization here helping refugees. Once Malaya had fallen into enemy hand the Dutch government was reluctant to take Straits currency. .

The Japanese were now approaching from both north and South Sumatra. They hired someone with a car to take them. The Dutch did not try to evacuate their national from NEI as the Netherland was occupied 2 years previously. In Pandeng the British vice consul was handling evacuation of British arriving.

The NEI had no colour bar to marriage which was a different order from British colonies and some soldiers were not polite about this.

They were billeted with a Dutch family that spoke no English so the communicated in Malay. The ship to take them from Pandeng was small and some were hesitant to go. They wee lucky because cloudy weather sheltered them from the Japanese planes, the waited at some island as the captain wanted to go through the Siberat Straits at night..  We were the last launch to get away. Bad weather helps avoid the possibilities of an attack. We reached Columbo, Ceylon.

During the campaign on the peninsula many troops got cut off from their units and found launces and row-boats and pushed out westwards. Those not lost at sea landed on Sumatra, a few managed to get to Java but the more fortunate got to Australia, India or Ceylon.

Borneo and the Celebes had been in Japanese hand for some time. Anyone who landed in north or south Sumatra walked into captivity and at the  time the battle for Java was on, slowed down the full occupation of Sumatra.

 About 8000 men and about 300 women remained behind.

1900 Oswald Gilmour born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland , was a civil engineer, after the war he returned to Singapore to reset up the Malay planning unit and later returned and worked back in England and died at Harlow  Essex 1978

$ Lion City: Singapore and the invention of modern Asia Jeevan Vasagar 2021 214pg

How did Singapore become such a wealthy successful state?             5/6/24

This is an ironfisted wonderland with a chewing gum ban , caning for vandals, hanging of drug trafficker's

It is modern that driverless cars are being tested there. It is on the global circuit of bankers lawyer IT contractors drawing capital and white collar talent from the US. It is cited as a role model for free enterprise and the world has adopted Singaporean style math teaching. 

Sheltered from unreliable results of untrammeled democracy could throw up. The democracy is in a framework of restrictions of free speech. But in this narrow political space it has achieved first world prosperity.

1992 Chewing gum importations were stopped as putting in the doors of the trains stopped doors closing and trains couldn't go.

1959 Lee Kuan Yew The first Prime Minister was a Cambridge educated barrister while it was still a British Colony. It was part of the federation of Malaysia till 1963. In 1965 it broke away and was very vulnerable as it lacked natural resources and  relied on Malaysian water. It was a Chinese majority with a Malay and Indian minorities. By the time Lee died in 2021 Singapore was one of the richest nations in the world.

1819 Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles recognized the virtues of the location and it became the linchpin of the British opium trade between the Bengal and Bihar poppy fields and China.

1869 The Suez Canal opened with  99 steamers call the port, a year later the figure increased to 541.

1901 population of 200,000, more than 9000 died  malaria. Was the main cause but tuberculosis and beri beri and easily curable disease. The system of night soil was only done away with in 1978

1963 Independence from Britain and part of Malaya

1965 the unemployment was 9 % and a few years later the UK  closed military bases  here, making 40,000 more  unemployed. Officials acquired a reputation of honesty and investment poured in. Singapore launched into exports while much of the rest of Asia was closed for business under Communist rules.  Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan  were trailing for globalization. There were the 4 Asian Tiger till 1990 and they were trail blazers for globalization Women were given greater equality.

The country averaged a 9% annual growth.. With affluence women clambered for greater say. From an economy on par with Jordan in 1965 today Singapore has outstripped Japan. There is no unemployment and there is a state build home for everyone, and the education system is the best in the world.

1990 Lee stepped down but carried on in the role of mentor.

IN 1984 he said human rights are not bankable. Outsider quickly discover how little freedom there is in Singapore. Ministers hold degrees from the worlds finest universities Harvard, Cambridge , Yale. The city had no time for nostalgia and shrines and colonial area cottages were ripped down for high-rise's. Different Chinese dialects were junked to make way for Mandarin. 

Malays are mostly Muslim , Indians mostly Hindu while White and Chinese are Buddhist Christian and Taoists.

Before the Suez Canal most shipping passed further south. Personal safety which is miserable in developing countries is good here and violent crime is a rarity.

They children spend long hours studying under tutors after a school day. Fathers spend long hours at work and an Eat With Your Family day was introduced in 2003. Government policy is improving peoples lives while rooting out corruption. It is authoritarians with Gucci handbags.

Productivity is boosted through technical advances and improved management practices, also by more people going to school and then universities.

2011  elections showed that the voices of the people had broken through the system and so migration was curtailed. Top income tax rate is 22% but will rise in the future. The ethnic Chinese grasp of Mandarin means that the island is placed to exploit Chinese trade. Singapore keeps economic links to China while independent and neutral.

2 centuries ago there were1000  people on the Mangrove swamps with jungles and tiger today it has 5 million, 4 million of whom are permanent residents..

A statue is 150 years old. On the plinth is written in English Chinese Malay and Tamil "On this historic site Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles first  landed  in Singapore on 28th Jan1819 and with genius and perception changed the destiny of Singapore from an obscure fishing village to a seaport and modern metropolis. Unlike other colonies on independence here the name of the European founder is a mark of prestige and the colonial buildings at the heart of the city have been preserved.

 Under Canning Hill where the first colonial governors resided is the remains of a royal palace, from700 year old settlement..

The Dutch were the dominant European power controlling the trade of nutmeg and cloves from the Moluccas. Their biggest possession was Java where the peasants grew coffee pepper, rice and indigo. Raffels learned the Malay language and history and expanded British trade. He was 14 when he joined the service of the East India Company at 23 he earned an appointment in Penang.

1811The Dutch Capital here was called Batavia (Jakarta today) Java was seized by the British and Raffles tried to reform the agriculture there and ending forced labour for public works.

1816 Java was returned to the Dutch following the Napoleon wars. 1817 he was awarded a knighthood from the Prince Regent. Between India and China is the Straights of Malacca and he was given the job of finding territory free to Dutch control to act as a British base.

1819 he arrived to find a feud between half brothers Hussein and Abdul Rahman. He took advantage of this and signed a treaty with the elder brother giving the EAC the right to establish and outpost and paid the sultan a annual stipend.. He raised the Union Jack and left Farquhar in charge.(loc 339)  British ship guaranteed security and it became a free port no taxes were paid by ships and this brought early prosperity that attracted Asian entrepreneurs. When Raffles returned 1822 he objected to the gambling dens, slavery and monopoly rights. He gave money for a new school for the sons of the regional elites. It was traditional for the captains of ships to give gifts to the Malay Chiefs , Raffles saw that as bad for a free port 

1824 Singapore in it entirety was ceded to the EAC It had 11 Chinese men for 1 women and many women were trafficked to Singapore. Opium had provided half the administration revenue. 

1877 Rubber was introduced by the British who shipped seedling from Kew gardens and grown in Malaya and tin was mined there for canning also oil was developed. Workers were brought from China and India.

1890 A German and Scottish businessman set up a smelting industry and by 1912 this smelted 66% of Malaya tin

1897 Shell set up oils storage on  Pulau Bukom island.

1904 A Chinese entrepreneur bought a piece of jungle and from his Fujian province workers and planted pineapples and rubber.

1912 The corrupt  Qing dynasty was overthrown in China. This was supported by Tan and Chinese businessmen who financed Chinese education schools in Singapore and a Chinese language daily. Most affluent Chinese of all races attended English language schools, many to be able to work in the Colonial civil service.

1917 Both Firestone and Goodyear set up subsidiaries to buy rubber.

1941 the first 16 story Cathey Building was build.

1959 SinWar

1942 Feb Japanese Occupation to 1945 Sept. and made the area part of the Co-Prosperity Sphere. Schools taught Japanese. Before the war consumers had been boycotting Japanese goods and supported the Chinese war effort. The British had set up Singapore as a naval base to defend the Empires Pacific Rim. The worlds largest dry dock the King George VI was set up in 1938. Chinese leaders helped the British and volunteers Dalforce  force was set up under Police Chief John Dalley. Many of these escaped to the Malayan jungles and became guerillas. Some joined a Communist group. Japanese extorted millions and printed banana currency that devalued. There were food shortages and people set up vegetable gardens.

Lee obtained a Japanese language proficiency certificate in August 1942 and worked in a friend's company and then the Kumiai, which controlled essential items. He got a job with the Japanese propaganda department (Hōdōbu) in late 1943 and worked for the Japanese occupation force as an English specialist.

Lee Kuan Yew was 18 years old and saw how raw power could totally control a society by fear.

Subhas Chandra Bose and Burma's independence leader the father of Aung Sang su Ki both supported the Japanese. The Indian Nationalist Army was recruited and fought alongside Japan.

Every person Chinese in particular was screened and all suspected of being anti-Japanese, and were transported away and murdered. 

Over 40,000 died in the war.  

1945 Sept 1945 Lord Mountbatten accepted the surrender of the Japanese here. After the war you had a English speaking middle class of white collar workers. Communism had a powerful appear amongst Chinese in South East Asia. and in 1948 predominantly Ethnic Chinese launched a revolt against British rule. 3 European manager of rubber plantations were murdered and Britain declared a state of emergency in Malaya. The Communist party was banned in Singapore.

1957 Malaya had become independent led by PM prince Abdul Rahman and by 1960 the communist insurgency was crushed. Malaya was predominantly rural Malay while Singapore was a Chinese majority and more urban. The wealthiest in Malaya were Chinese tycoons.gapore became self governing British providing defense. The fortunes of the country were tied to commodity prices.

1961 the refinery that opened up was the biggest in the world. Dutch economist Albert Winsemius, who was chief economic advisor for two decades of miraculous growth from 1961 to 1983. He advised him to get rid of any communists and keep the statue of Raffles in its place.

1962 Mass graves of the of victims of the Sook Ching  massacres' were unearthed in 14 places across the island resulting in a rally and demands for compensation at a time when Lee was looking for Japanese investment.

This blood debt claim was settled in 1966 .when Elsaku Sato referred to the war as unhappy incidents. Japan became a major investor.

Singapore homes have build in bomb shelters, and the country has a high level of military alertness. the view is that" if you cant defend it it is not yours"

1965 Singapore became independent from Malaya which supplied most of the countries drinking water. Singapore was a statelet of 2 million. 

Today Most people live in public housing a single person has to wait till the age of 35 to apply. Thousands of graves were exhumed to make way for development. They are fastidious about public cleanliness, litter droppers are sent to clean the streets as 'Corrective Work Orders' Singapore is the first place in the world with driverless taxis, hoping this will reduce car ownership.

They are worried about climate change, their area heats up double the global average and a campaign was conducted to plant trees, and try to replace vegetation lost to construction They have set a goal to be a zero waste society and burn trash to generate energy. All urban planning takes climate change into account.  New building are designed to catch the cooling wind. They are heading to being a cashless society. There are drones to detect puddles to deal with mosquitoes on roofs.   A new airport will have it runway 5.5 meters above sea level, to deal with future sea rise. The city has to adapt to survive.                                            Their is a British security law that allows detention for 2 years without being brought to trial. If you appose the state you might end up sacrificing your youth. They were worried about the violent communism of the 60s. Singapore has steadily become a more repressive society. 1966  Vandalism Act a law introduced canning for graffiti. Hundreds for books have been banned. Libel laws are used and it is the writer who has to prove his facts are true. There is a restriction of sale of foreign press. The Straits Times is the mouthpiece of the government. This is a progressive society but hardly an open one. Food appears to be the safest topic of conversation.

Note 1979 When the Shah faced problems he was urged to yield by the US. instead of dealing with the situation firmly.   1986  Marcos was deposed and this was encouraged by the Catholic Church.   

For water they are reliant on  Malaya's goodwill.  Harvesting rainwater has been set up and extensive recycling established.  

2001 The Speakers Corner was opened to relieved some of the pressure. To talk you have to register with the police and race and religion are forbidden. Gays are tolerated to show it is a cosmopolitan society to encourage investment.

Covid 19 The society showed it could deal with this quickly and as a model role, as it had had experience with the SARS virus, of 2002. However the migrant workers  in dormitories were neglected which showed a weak link in defenses. There are 5.7 million population and there are 1.4 million foreign workers. Spitting in public is illigal.as the original purpose of this was to curb cholera and typhoid. The Health System is amongst the best in the world. and infant mortality is lower than in Britain. Citizens are encouraged  to snitch on rulebreakers.  Societies who value community over individuals are better placed to deal with emergencies.

No-one owes Singapore a living . Along with the politics education was the most important thing for Singapore's success. Initially school with to improve production and factory workers, to increase proficiency in English and math's. Education was a  preserve of the affluent and two fifths of the population was illiterate. A system was  build in the belief that every child was capable of learning. State run schools are in English medium, and no English schools were phased out in the 1980s The single version of Mandarin Chinese was adopted in 1979..

The Anglo Chinese School established in 1886 by the Methodist church  grooms sons of the business elites.

Today the Raffles Institute students are the elitist. At schools children are taught citizenship and why nations rise and fall. The see examples of consequences of  racial and religious tensions abroad.

Singapore is not a country of second chance so not suitable for Start Ups they are rather a copy and past society.

Internet Little attempt is made to block political  content on line. Filtering content is restricted to pornography, sales of banned drugs and religious extremism.

2011 the general election showed that the public were critical of in influx of foreign workers and overcrowding of busses and trains which had failed to keep pace with the population growth. So even though the PFP got 60% it was down from previously and the authorities listened.  to the citizens. However in 2013 they began to exert a firmer grip of online information. Fake News Law of 2019 Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation..

Questions are being asked why poverty especially amongst the elderly persists while Singapore is one of the worlds richest countries.

We are a small and multiracial society and can easily be overwhelmed by larger adversaries taking advantage of our fault lines.. The internet opened channels in which a rebellious roar became audible.

Families played a central role in Asian commercial development, and placing a family member in positions of authority is better than a stranger. Usually the eldest son inherits, rather than dividing the corporate empire.

Singapore defied the economic orthodoxy of the West, which stated the state has no business in running companies. It is unlike Hong Kong where tycoons dominate the political system.

1980 an effort was made into high tech and it is a big exporter of high tech goods. Singapore is a copy and paste society and not innovative.

 It has a big banking and currency trading centre, and it is a big centre of investments for Kuwait and UAE's  surpluses. Heirs of business dynasties usually head to US business schools.

1995 Nick Leeson based in Singapore  caused the downfall of Baring bank 

A new generation of mainland Chinese enterprises are making Singapore their home.

When superpowers collide smaller countries need to pick sides. The rights of an individuals are below that of society and state.

All male citizens do 2 years service in the army from the age of 18 and this acts as a binding of the segments of the society, by nature this emphasizes community over the individual.

Singapore is a difficult place for artist but the government gives  them some help.

2005 Singapore was losing appeal as a tourist destination casinos were allowed and it is geared towards tourist, local have to pay $150 to enter, it is not allowed to advertise locally.

 Epilogue

1932 The writer's father was born in north of Sri Lanka the British Colony of Ceylon and his grandfathers occupation is listed as a stall vendor, and they were Tamil speaking. His half sister was married to a Singaporean Tamil speaker and worked for the municipality.  His father had arrived in London in 1960. His mother was raised in Malaysia studied biochemistry in India and was in London to do post graduate training, and connected via a far flung relative. In Britain they were a minority in a minority.

1983 to 2009  Sri Lanka was in a civil war, so he could not visit there as a kid. Singapore was a hard place for a journalist as people were conditioned to obedience.

A taxi driver complained of the hard life he had but blamed himself for not getting a better education.

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself " G.B. Shaw.  Thus all progress depends on the unreasonable.

________________________________________________________________________________

The Charismatic Leader Lee Kuan Yew and the Rise of Singapore as an Asian Tiger by Wiroon Tanthapanichakoon 2015 61pg

Singapore is a nation in progress and it is reclaiming land to increase its land mass. It has joined some islands to its landmass, 10% of which is allocated to public parks.

1819 It started with the southern part of the island as a trading post, by  1826 the whole island was under the British India company .By 1836 it became the regional headquarters. With the opening of the rubber industry.  A large naval base was born to stave off the Japanese.

David Marshal won the first general election in. Singapore was now independent  except for defense.

1959 The Peoples Action Party took over then.

1923 Lee was born. He was a 4th generation Chinese. He studies at the Raffles institute.

When the war started he was supposed to go to university. After the war he started at the London school of economics and continued at Cambridge. In his life he had sang 4 national anthem. Under colonial Britain God Save the Queen. Kimigayo under Japan, Negera Ku under Malaysia and finally Majulan Singapura

1950 Lee married Kwa Geok Choo and they spoke English to each other.

1951 he worked as a lawyer and became legal advisor for students and trade unions.

1957  In politics in the PAP the left wing communists were getting strong and they authorized the arrest of communists en mass., and Lee regained the post of secretary general.

Malaysia Tunka Abdul Rahman was chief minister from 1957 the Prime Minster till 1963. There was a standoff  with Malaysia and Singapore felt it had no loyalty to the  Malaysian Central Government 

1965 agreement of separation, because Singapore was mostly urban and Chinese while Malaysia was dominantly rural, Singapore needed water from Malaysia. Britain under Harold Wilson under the former colonial power was shocked. At the age of 32 Lee studied Chinese. Under the Japanese occupation he learned Japanese.

Singapore joined the Commonwealth and spearhead ASEAN Association of South East Asians nations. Singapore became a member of United Nations.

 Singapore became one of the worlds busiest ports and the 4th biggest financial centre, and also became a manufacturer.

Lee had a knack for pragmatic long term economic and social measures. He made English the language of the country.  He got the Bible Society to stop publishing material on religion in Malay..

He was worried that high % of graduate women were single and set up an organization to get graduates to socialize and find partners.  Reservoirs were set up and they did not want to rely on Malaysia for water, a program to bring about innovation to solve this proble was set up.

1990 Lee handed over leadership to Gob Chok Tong.and in 1992 gave him the title of PAPs secretary general.

2004 a campaign was set up to encourage Singaporen to change their Chinese from differnet dialects to Mandarin which is the standard language of China.

2006 Lee Hslen Leong  Lee's oldest son became PM

 Later in 2011 set up funds to bring bilingualism about.

2024 Lawrence Wong became PM

Private Life   He was the epitome of rationality  and a faithful husband and many Singaporean men could have learned from his traits. His son was the same. He enjoyed the advice of his wife who was an economist and they shared a joint bank account. 

They tried to reduce income inequalities especially by making education and health available to all.

The dark side of Lee was that he had opponent arrested and their are many examples of families and professions ruined as a result. Critics  argued that the rule of law could not be detached from economic growth.

Model of a world leader Deng Xiaoping sent thousands of Chines officials to learn to emulate the economic growth white subtilty suppressing dissenting voices. This also had an influence on Russia. Lee also worked hard to create a unique identity for Singaporeans under multiculturalism.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fall of Singapore the undefeatable British Fortress conquered. by Mei Mei Chun Moy 2017 103pg 14/5/24

This was considered the  worst defeat of the British Army by Churchill.

The call of Asia for the Asian's was a betrayal by Japan because of the atrocities committed by the Japanese army. The details and images were forgotten compared to the Holocaust which is embedded in European collective memory.

1644 From then China had been ruled by the Qing Empire and as a result of internal rebellions and external wars the Quing Empire fell in 1911. While China struggled to hold itself together. Japan had contact with the west starting with the Dutch for trade.  Japan opened herself up and embraced ideas of technology of the outsiders. This was the Meij Restoration which developed her economy, industry and military. 

1819 Singapore had been an insignificant part of the Sultanate of Jahor.  Stamford Raffles saw Singapore in the mouth of the Malacca Straits a perfect port location for the Chinese and Indian trade.

1826 This was part of the British East India Trading company but now was declared a British Colony. Raffles had enlightened ideas and eliminated slavery. 

1832 Singapore became capital of the Straits settlement.

1869 Suez Canal opened increasing the value of Singapore's port for trading.

1894/1895 First Sino Japan War.

1900 Singapore Strategy. This would become a major military base, with a large garrison. 

1904/1905 Russo Japan-War. Japan won and  proved she was the important Asian power.

1905 Japan now ruled Formosa (Taiwan) the Liaodong province and Korea.

1919 Versailles Treaty transferred the German Shandong concession in China to Japan.

1931 Japan attacked Manchuria initially for acquiring resources later to gain economic power. The renamed it Manchukuo.

1934 The Long March consolidated Mao Zedong as leader of the Communists.

1937/1945 Second Sino/Japan War. The Chinese Communist and Nationalist under Chang Kei Shek were fight each other instead of the Japanese.

1938 the British Changi naval base was completed.

1941 April Soviet sign non aggression pact with Japan and Germany.

1941 Dec7th Pearl Harbour. 3 days later HMS Repulse and Prince of Wales were sunk off the Malayan coast. The British navy would never again be a great power. Japanese started bombing Singapore's 2 air bases Seletar and Tengah.

Japan's 25 Army landed at Kota Bharu on the Malaya coast the came from Indo China. Penang was taken and the Kuala Lumpar. Volunteer gueralla forces the Dalforce under senior police  officer John Dalley. These were mostly Chinese.

1942 Feb Singapore fell to the Japanese.

130,000 Allied troops under General Percival were taken into captivity.

Under Japans General Yamashita this campaign was planned to take 100 day but they completed it in 70.

First Japan occupied the French Indo China and then started moving southwards on land with 3 divisions. The British had not planned for them to attack that way and as British troops retreated the destroyed about 250 bridges. The Japanese advanced on bicycles an enormous fleet of bicycles outflanking defending troops by sea. With bicycles were able to ford  the rivers.

The had the British codes and heard the British complaining how weak they were. The British troops were mostly not prepared for the climate and wrongly trained.  British ships came to support them without aircraft protection were torpedo bombed from the sky. This was the first time that Capital ships were destroyed from the air.

Kuala Lumpar was captured and 80,000 extra troops fled south to Singapore.

The British destroyed the causeway to Singapore but very little had been done to fortify the north of the island.

The water reservoirs were on the mainland and the Japanese cut off the water.  The Japanese were also running out of supplies when the British capitulated.

After capitulation British troops tried to escape by sea but were captured by Japanese. The Japanese began the Sook Ching purges of Chinese who might be disloyal to them and Communists killing 40,000 At the time 77% of Singaporean civilians were Chinese. Japanese began looting and raping. This all carried on until capitulation.

Many of the troops in captivity died of neglect and starvation,

The British politicians had been pushing for disarmament and had cut much funding for the army before the war. 

Japan now tried to Japanize Singapore with Japanese being taught at schools, tried eliminating western influences of music, film and theater. Celebrated the Emperors birthday and the yen became the currency. These countries were to be liberated from European imperialism. However the Japanese had no aptitude for governing. There was an enormous shortage of food as the Singapore soil was unsuitable for cultivation as most food was imported. People were encourage to go to Malaya where they had family.

At war's end the people welcomed the return of British troops. The British realized they couldn't return to pre war conditions.

1946 The British Administration governed Malaya and now Singapore as a separate colony. The Malayan Union was set up and this paved the way for Malayan states to self govern. The communist organization led successful strikes to campaign for higher wages. There was a post war scarcity of everything and food rationing. This was a period of social and economic recovery and the British were called "Black Market Administration"

The leading Japanese officers were charged for the Sook Ching Massacres' which was mostly against Chinese and it was nicknamed the " Chinese Massacre Trial" and in the end a total of 79 were executed, for crimes on Malayan soil. In 1993 Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa officially apologized for the inhuman acts.

1965 Singapore became and independent republic, but the Japanese occupation continues to have an impact as a painful part of the history.

Singapore History Time line

1811  Java was seized by the British from the Dutch and Raffles tried to reform the agriculture there

1816 Java was returned to the Dutch following the Napoleon wars

1819 Sir Thomas Stanford Raffle arrived in Singapore

1824 Singapore in it entirety was ceded to the EIC British East India company

1832 Singapore became capital of the Straits settlement. Penang also important.

1869 The Suez Canal opened 

1877 Rubber was introduced by the British

1890 A German and Scottish businessman set up a smelting industry

1894/1895 First Sino Japan War

 1904/1905 Russo Japan-War.

1912 The corrupt  Qing dynasty was overthrown in China.

1917 Both Firestone and Goodyear set up subsidiaries to buy rubber.

1923 Lee was born to English speaking Chinese parents.

1938.The worlds largest dry dock the King George VI was set up in Singapore

1941 April Soviet sign non aggression pact with Japan and Germany

1941 Dec7th Pearl Harbour.

1942 Feb 8 to 15th Singapore capitulates to  Japanese Occupation   

1941 Dec 25th Japan occupies Hong Kong after 18days fighting followed by atrocities.

1942 March 28th Japanese occupy Sumatra, leaving no escape for soldiers leaving Malaysia

1945 Sept 1945 Lord Mountbatten accepted the surrender of the Japanese here.

1946 The British Administration governed Malaya and now Singapore as a separate colony.

. 1947 till 1960   8 years of the Malay Emergency. Ghurka and British Regiments and the Australian Airforce. 

  In 1951 Sir Henry Gurney the High Commissioner was assassinated 

1954 Lee (aged 31) co-founded and led Peoples’ Action Party (PAP)

1957 Malaya had become independent led by PM prince Abdul Rahman

1959 PAP with Lee as Prime Minister elected on a platform supporting merger with Malaysia.

1962 Mass graves of the of victims of the Sook Ching  massacres' were unearthed

1963 Singapore declares independence from Britain with Lee Kuan Yew The first Prime Minister under PAP and  merger with Malaysia

1965 Singapore expelled from Malaysia, established as an independent nation with a population of 2 million. English declared official language with Malay and Chinese as secondary languages.

 1966  Vandalism Act a law introduced canning for graffiti

 1987 All School subjects taught only in English

1991 Lee stepped down but carried on in the role of mentor.  handed over leadership to Gob Chok Tong.

1992 Chewing gum imports were stopped 

2001 The Singapore Speakers Corner was opened to relieved some of the political pressure.

2002 SARS virus,

2005 Singapore   casinos allowed to attract tourists.

2006 Lee Hslen Leong  Lee's oldest son became PM

2015  Lee died aged 91

 2024 Lawrence Wong became PM