7 ms·

Funny to see this on the first page of HN (I'm Maltese, although living in the US now). Lots of truth in what he said... Malta has not done badly at all since

• thriftwy 3y ago
  Then again, I don't think Malta has as many low paid temp workers as these ones Singapore imports from India, etc. Also the residences are likely not that tiny.
  • throw_pm23 3y ago
    Yea, I'd prefer living in Malta to Singapore every day. Though I'd probably prefer today's Singapore to the one before Yew's times.
    • thriftwy 3y ago
      The one before Yew's times was still a British colony port overlooking a critical shipping route. I'm not sure how such arrangement may not result in significant economic development. Hong Kong didn't have Yew but it had significant quality of development.
      • rayiner 3y ago
        Bangladesh is also on critical trade routes. The Port of Chittagong is one of the few things from Asia on Greek maps from the 2nd century: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Chittagong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Chittagong. Chalking up Singapore’s success to geography is probably missing the point.
        • gamex79 3y ago
          Singaporean here. What would you say is the point? My own tldr is that we severely lacked in a number of areas:land mass, natural resources, a defensible position, a meaningful economy. Geography was pretty much the only thing we had going for us. That and amazing leadership.
          • rayiner 3y ago
            I mean to say Singapore’s success isn’t some inevitability due to its geography (which is an idea that gets trotted around). Lots of countries have something going for it they could capitalize on—most of them fail to do so. I think Singapore could’ve stagnated without good leadership and also a populace that was ready to rise to the occasion.
            • thriftwy 3y ago
              I would say the opposite - most of countries are more or less on the development level that their culture and geographic location permits, few countries are significantly below this level and fewer still are significantly above this level. Singapore is exactly where it should be, given its culture, legacy, location, and the fact that it is a city-state. It would still be Singapore under your average ruler (of Chinese culture, not African). It has awesome hand so it does not take much skill to play it. I could not repeat enough the argument of city-states being different, and usually very rich, so that's what I'm going to do. You should never compare Singapore's GDP growth with any country which has, well, countryside. Still, Taiwan will give Singapore a run on its money while not even being a recognized country.
              • kawaiikouhai 3y ago
                These are very broad generalizations you're claiming with no evidence. > Most of countries are more or less on the development level that their culture and geographic location permits. So, given this assertion, no developing country should ever hope to join the ranks of a developed nation? Unless they change cultural variables or conquer new lands. Yet we see this playing out in Europe and East Asia and now Africa and India. > Taiwan will give Singapore a run on its money Singapore's GDP per capita is $70,000 while Taiwan's capital city sits at $35,000. Please cite your sources
      • boeingUH60 3y ago
        Many countries have key shipping routes and other geographical advantages, but corruption and stupid leaders/populace prevent them from succeeding.
    • resolutebat 3y ago
      In Chinese names the surname goes first, so it's Lee's times.
      • eynsham 3y ago
        Well, Lee Kuan Yew’s surname is indeed Lee, but Chinese names are sometimes written with the surname at the end in other languages: thus C.K. Tang, Wen Ho Lee, and so on. And, indeed, if one were also discussing the times of Lee Hsien Loong, it would be perfectly reasonable to write of ‘Kuan Yew’s times’. But people writing of ‘Yew’s times[sic]’ do betray how little they’ve read about Singapore.
        • delta_p_delta_x 3y ago
          > Chinese names are sometimes written with the surname at the end in other languages, thus C.K. Tang, Wen Ho Lee This is an Anglicisation through and through. In Mandarin Chinese and most Chinese dialects (and Korean, for the record), the surname comes first. XI Jinping MAO Tse-tung LEE Kuan Yew TSAI Ying-Wen HUANG Jen-Hsun KIM Jong-un BAN Ki-moon If the person has a European first name, then it comes before the surname—Lisa Su, for instance. Lee Kuan Yew himself went by 'Harry Lee Kuan Yew' before he went into politics and he dropped the 'Harry'.
          • eynsham 3y ago
            > sometimes…in other languages
          • cafard 3y ago
            Do we have these discussions about Victor Orban?
        • deleted 3y ago
          [deleted]
    • Al-Khwarizmi 3y ago
      I haven't visited Malta but Singapore would be one of my top choices if I had to migrate somewhere (if not the top). Big city but you can go anywhere at any time and feel extremely safe. Impressive public transport. Amazing food, probably the best among countries I've visited. Everyone speaks English but you can enjoy a mix of Chinese, Malay, Indian cultures. The people tend to be quite nice. Good economy. Feeling of growth, rather than decadence like in much of the West, every time I go there seem to be several new MRT lines. Sane politics (see public housing, etc.) Plenty of places to visit, activities and things to do. It's not perfect, maybe a bit too hot and I don't like their long working hours and exploiting of maids, but in my view it's top notch. On March I'll go to Malta, let's see how I compares, but I doubt I'll like it more (no offense to Malta, as I said, the think is that I really have a good concept of Singapore).
      • zarzavat 3y ago
        Having to be completely obedient to the state wears on the soul. All migrants experience this to a certain extent in any country but in Singapore it’s turned up to 11. The fruits of capitalistic success might be enjoyable for a while, but it’s a shallow existence. I think that Singapore is enjoyable in small doses.
        • shotnothing 3y ago
          > Having to be completely obedient to the state wears on the soul I think this is very overstated, people break laws and talk shit all the time. Just don't do drugs and be an asshole and you should be fine, many laws are not enforced
          • refurb 3y ago
            While this is true - that many laws are broken, with the government looking the other way, or citizens just keeping their mouths shut - the statements made by Singapore's leadership sends a chill down my spine. Just recently they made unilateral (clearly, because PAP controls Parliament and has since the country's founding) changes to the law that police don't need a warrant to search someone if there is a "reasonable suspicion the person may destroy evidence prior to a warrant". Not to mention there is no "right to remain silent" or "right to lawyer" (before making a statement), etc, etc. But what really caught my notice was the quote from the Minister of Justice - “There is no downside to this amendment because if they search and they find the evidence, or if they do not find the evidence, no one is worse off." To me that is wild. Invasion of privacy of an innocent individual and "no one is worse off". There isn't even an attempt to talk about trade offs - "yes, this is in invasion of privacy, but we're carefully balancing it against the need for an effective police force". Just straight up "searching the private space of an innocent individual is insignificant". That said, there is overwhelming support for this kind of law in Singapore. There was a recent poll that asked something like "Do you agree with this statement: It is better that there is stability than democratic rights." and 70-80% of Singaporeans said "yes". So "meh?". I may recoil at the very premise of the system, but Singaporeans seem to like it.
  • 55555 3y ago
    They could import them from north Africa if they wanted.
    • deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    • 7734128 3y ago
      Or even without wanting to.
  • kredd 3y ago
    ~100k foreign temp workers in Malta to support the labour, about 20% of the population.
    • maltesegirl 3y ago
      The culture surrounding temp work couldn't be more different, however. Singapore is an extremely classist and racist place. Malta is probably the least racist country in the EU/Europe. I have toured the whole of Europe for work and it amazes me how accommodating we are to temp workers over here. Many of them speak neither of our two main languages (Maltese and English) and we employ them anyway. You can even get people in customer facing positions who can only communicate with hand gestures due to their lack of language skills and that's fine by us. That would be unthinkable in any other country that I have ever lived in. It's probably because we Maltese have a history of being temp workers ourselves all over the Anglo sphere. Moreover we are a very entrepreneurial people who value substance over trivialities. Also worth noting that despite having a huge proportion of foreigners we have not experienced any significant criminal elements stemming from these demographics. Probably because unlike in places like Germany and Sweden, we give our foreign residents hope in the form of jobs, instead of keeping them jailed in beurocracy limbo. And you won't find any Maltese bitching about foreigners not integrating, as you will find in all classes of society in places like Sweden and Germany. It's immaterial to us, and we are smart enough to realize that that is not the source of the trouble that those countries are facing. For all its problem this is one aspect where I believe my country shines in comparison to others.