By the way, the term 'private' in the context of Malaysia is interesting. A lot of the 'private' infrastructure was built and is run by Ranong Group, which is pretty much run by the same people who run UMNO - the ruling Malay Party. So it's not private enterprise in the sense that Americans, Aussies, etc would understand it...

Singapore seems to be a "paternalistic democracy"... citizens vote, there is an opposition and they don't seem to sit in jail... but there are restrictions on freedoms, and the government does have a LOT of power to curtail individual rights should it choose to exercise same.

Maybe part of why it seems to work is that it's on the scale of a city-state... if you like a manageable size.

Just notes from an outside observer...

Agree completely. One needs to point out why an argument is simplistic... thought I'd done that... If I didn't sufficiently then mia culpa...

Singapore does have restrictions of non-citizens taking lease-holds (which most property is). I'm pretty sure foreigners can own free-hold but happy to be corrected.

It's interesting that a Malaysian is calling Singapore racist. When I lived in KL in the '90s only Malays could own property and every business had to be majority Malay owned. Chinese and Indian cities of Malaysia has substantially different (lesser) rights than Malay citizens. It was clear racial-based legal differentiation (just without the bleeding-heart protests that were aimed at S. Africa...) Don't know if any of that has changed since, but I gather not much...

By the way, I'm not saying Singapore is perfect by any means... it is clean, it runs well, it is open for business, it has LOTS of ex-pats... it's paternalistic, there are pretty strict rules (yes, even against chewing gum) and controls on free speech...

What I'm really interested in is the balance. And I have to say everyone... this is my first foray in this community and I LOVE the standard of responses. Thank you everyone for your contributions and thoughts.

The biggest and best thing we can do is continue to engage in constructive dialogue and help refine and spread our ideas about freedom and self-determination :-) (end of rant...)

Oh! Go post this on http://www.patheos.com/blogs/daylightath...
In the comments....they're flim flamming around all over.

ah, gulch antics. how I love them

given the way statistics slide....

Piss Poor Planning

peer to peer?

"parody" Hahaha. Nice pun.

purchasing power parody
what's it cost to buy a certain basket of goods in each place. more accurate than the vagaries of exchange rates

k what is PPP?

In PPP they rank ahead of Mexico and just behind Chile

Here's some interesting stuff on Malaysia. Last time I was in Kuala Lumpur, they had four railroads, three of them private. The North-South Freeway as privately built and operated as a toll road with high tech toll plazas. You buy a bumper sticker and the toll reader scans and deducts the toll. You don't have to stop and make change. Ports and airports are private. Private buses and lots of cheap cabs. Continuous, break neck growth. Everybody has 2-3 cars, cable TV, and a satellite dish, lap tops and cell phones. The largest shopping malls in the world are in Malaysia. One in 20 are expats. Mostly Scots, English, Australians and Japanese. In the super market near me, about every third person in line at check out was Aussie. Some fall in love wit the place, some whites don't and rush back home. James Clavel loved the place. Besides where else can you date a Chinese Executive Lady who works for the Noble House? The Malaysians generally don't regard the USA as either the land of the free, or the home of the brave anymore, and from what I've learned from other Orientals, most in the Far East share that opinion. In fact, I've heard my share of ethnic jokes on those topics. The USA tends to be seen as a good example of how not to live and do things.

thanks for the input lost. but 1 in 20 are expats? that's a big number

Can you have guns there?

Er you might check out the following:

"The government in Singapore has broad powers to limit citizens' rights and to inhibit political opposition.[1] In 2009, Singapore was ranked 133rd out of 175 nations by Reporters Without Borders in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index. Freedom in the World 2006 ranked Singapore 5 out of 7 for political freedom, and 4 out of 7 for civil liberties (where 1 is the most free), with an overall ranking of "partly free" " at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_righ....

then we can revisit the subject

thanks lost. I am only commenting about hearsay. can Malaysians own property and businesses in Singapore? I have business associates who lived in Singapore for many years. these were some of their impressions. Obviously, the economy is highly dynamic and de facto economically free. They're ranked second in the world. How expensive is it to live there?

Sorry to disappoint you folks but Singapore is a democracy, not a dictatorship. It has a much higher standard of living than the USA, especially California. It is also bigger than some of you seem to think. It is a large island and many smaller islands. Claustrophobia? Hardly. Cross the causeway and head north. Lots of open land in Malaysia which is likely the least densely populated nation in all Asia. Or take the Eastern & Oriental Express up to Bangkok. The E&O is the most luxurious private train in the world, plus you get a personal stewardess. These comments here reflect a LOT of ignorance.

I have lived and worked in Malaysia. Married to Malaysian. Malaysians constantly spend the nite in Singapore. My family and in-laws have many times.Twenty per cent of Singaporeans are Malays. Try to tell them from the other Malays. Good luck.

what about the racism? you haven't spoken to that. Malaysians aren't allowed to own companies. or even spend the night in the city I've been told.

A benevolent dictatorship is nonetheless a dictatorship. A slave no matter how well educated, fed, clothed, and housed is still a slave. As others on this post have pointed out, the US Government ought to protect us from external enemies, internal criminals, and provide a system of courts to adjudicate criminal charges and civil disputes. Period.

In Singapore, are you a citizen or an employee? If a citizen, then the prosperity is eventually doomed because innovation will become a challenge to the rulers. If an employee, then one must work within the terms of one's employer, and everything is up to them as to success or failure.
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they have strong IP protection. so invention finds them