Congratulations on your 50th!

SO, Golden Jubilee for Singapore as an independent nation. There will be accolades pouring in from around the world come August, so I'll get mine in now. The only shadow on the celebrations is that Lee Kuan Yew will not be there to see them, having done more than anybody to create the modern Republic.

Nobody gave the island much hope of survival, yet alone international success, in 1965. Singapore had just been chucked out of federation with Malaysia, cast adrift with almost no resources, except for geography, a natural harbour and a developed entrepot trade.

The indigenous population was under two million, most living in basic conditions. Unemployment was 14 per cent. Jurong was a swamp. And for the majority of readers, there was little communication - few telephon…