The Not-So-Invisible Hand That Guides Singapore’s Growth
To the city-state’s outside admirers, it’s simply a beacon of free-markets. But to make the island into a nation, little has been left to chance
Rarely has a piece of antique office machinery been so venerated. The 1970s Hewlett-Packard calculator occupies a special place in Singapore storytelling. One of the first to roll off HP’s production line in the city-state, the number cruncher sits inside a glass case at the National Museum. The display is intended to showcase the republic’s openness to and prowess in attracting investment. It’s also an homage to the role state muscle played in attracting the likes of HP and assuring the company that Singapore was a place it could call home.
This is no ordinary exhibition. It’s part of a series of events to mark the centenary of the birth of Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister of Singapore, a man lionized for his role in crafting a prosperous society and laying out the welcome mat for business. The retrospective encourages Singaporeans to see their country as an entrepôt, with some justification. The port is one of the world’s busiest, Changi Airport is consistently ranked highly, and the government is spending tens of billions of dollars to upgrade them both. The commercial activity coursing across the island has helped make its gross domestic product per capita among the highest in the world: more than $80,000, a level inconceivable when Singapore split with Malaysia in 1965.