AdSponsored0:00
Continue watching?
Resume from 00:00
00:00 / 00:00
Sleep timer ended
⏪ 10s
⏩ 10s
288.4K views
4mo ago
🌐 Help build my new Geography Community with 30 Days Free: https://www.thebight.co/p/welcome-to-the-bight -- Historically, countries looking to expand their foo…
...more
100 Comments
The albatross files just proven that singapore left the federation itself with deals made with the federal government and was not expelled like stated in the video.
the japanese occupation was not called sook ching. sook ching is the name for the massacre of chinese men who were not actively aiding the japanese occupiers.
Singapore is the richest country gdp per capita in Asia and I also live in Singapore 🇸🇬
God created this mess, don't blame the country and its people 😂 but SG shd be more innovative than continue reclaim the sea, no cemetery, no landed housing, stop importing human😂
Why sand? Surely that would get washed away. Why not rock?
The Singaporean independence wasnt a racial issue, it was contrary; while Malaysian politics with heavy preference for the bumiputra, PAP competed on federal elections with "Malaysian Malaysia", which they find an extremely dangerous idea. If PAP had been successful Malaysia now might have been very different...
Botol kicap can help sinkapork
it now land of oreigners with less than 50% are native locals (why less than 50% because the native locals they inclusive of naturalised foreign-born citizens). anyway the native locals numbers are slowly declining.
I am an American citizen who has lived in Singapore for 40 years; married to a Singapore-citizen. This video is useful and interesting but wrong about how Singapore parted company with Malaysia in 1965. I recommend you review the Project Albatross exhibit which opened to Singapore's public early this/2026 year. Singapore engineered its rejection from the Malaysian federation - a bit like Br'er Rabbit engineering his own exile into the Briar Patch.
Fun fact: There's a road in Singapore called Beach Road, because back in the day it was literally running along the beach. Now, after land reclamation efforts, it sits about 2.5 kilometers inland.
Had Singapore not been kicked out of Malaysia just imagine how strong Malaysia would be today instead of the floundering morass of corruption, political filth and racial and religious tensions it is.
Imagine Thailand and Malaysia, with the help of China, cut a channel across the northern part of the Malay peninsula to allow ships to bypass Singapore.
Hopefully they appreciate the 5 pieces of sand i got from my trip to japan😊
When Mr Deng Xiopeng visited Singapore in November 1978, he showed his amazement on how Singapore has been transformed in such a short time. LKY replied him saying if sons of peasant who came from China can do it, China can do even better with all the talent she possessed back home if China is govern well. Look at how China transform since that last meeting with LKY.
👍
Like Dubrovnik
History shows it doesn’t end well..
First line on your video commentary — "Historically, countries looking to expand their footprint on the world map had to resort to conquest. They built armies, crossed borders, and fought bitter, costly wars just for a few extra square miles of territory." Historically? Nah. The US is doing that right now—every day they claim that they have 'won' the war. Well, at least, that's what they want us to believe.
Singapore is like one dot on the worlds map but over 60 smaller islands around it do you know that smallest known country is sealand which is an artificial fising port in the middle of the sea
I am surprised that they haven’t tried purchasing the neighbouring islands etc
Depend on itself? Singapore's success is based upon three factors outside Singapore's control.<br><br>1) UK built Singapore into a major trading hub.<br><br>2) The USA liberated Singapore from Japan.<br> 3) Chinese misconduct led foreign companies to leave Hong Kong and move to Singapore.
Singapore, dumped by its neighbour and lived to regret it till eternity.
thank you for sharing this
LKY and all the Singapore founders were absolute GOATs.
Britain didn't 'colonise' Singapore, they created it.
Unlimited wealth??? That’s not true
I’m watching this on ND
Glad to hear you went to Singapore last year. I love the place. It’s a miracle how Lee Kwan Yew and his key people had the skills and vision to transform this swamp into a very inviting and rich city/ state of 6 million people.
No one is proclaiming Singapore as a model democracy. But I think there is a mistake of trying to classify everyone with only two words. It is not at all like most dictatorships. Firstly constitutionally it is democratic. And holds regular fair elections, in which the vast majority of Singaporeans voluntarily continue to vote year after year for the same party. This party is more heavy-handed than many liberal democracies but it is not heavy-handed in the way that most dictatorships are. It restricts and pressures the free press, but certainly doesn't crush it the way that most dictatorships do. I think it's press probably as good as America's. Flawed but not fatally so. And in an internet age this will not protect a bad dictatorship. The thing that Singapore does really really really well is it governs well and has really really low corruption. No dictatorship comes even close. Even most democracies are more corrupt than Singapore. The people's action party has not stayed in power through force, and only a tiny amount of their success can be attributed to the influence over the media or weaponization of the judicial system. Most of it has come about by being a more attractive government than the opposition. A big part of that comes down to the personal integrity, enormous popularity, and remarkable vision of Lee Kwan Yew who was prime minister for 31 years, and continued to serve the government in some role until his death in 2015.
Prior to WW2, Singapore was the second biggest port on the entire world by tonnage, with the worlds largest drydock. Following WW2, Singapore was the primary entrepot for Malaysian tin and rubber. Britain laid the foundation that independent Singapore improved upon.
Buying??? Singapore is literally called 'commie-lite' in the 90s because they're famous for having those 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 years plan commies love enacting. Everything they're doing now has been planned in advance starting from 1 to 2 decades ago, your moronic clickbait video just shows you're yapping off head canon.
Maybe because it can ?
Please stop using the word "literally". It is one of the most misused and overused word in English.
Interesting fact: Singapore Changi Airport is built on largely reclaimed land. I remember as a child I used to go swimming in the sea where the present Changi Airport is.
Geoff, you've been there and that's great. However, you failed to mention 2 key facts... 1) where do they get their fresh water from and 2) what sewage system do they have.
Why Singapore let Money scammers go?<br><br>Bcos these criminals control Cambodia sand.<br><br>Cambodian sand needed for land reclaimation.<br><br>True or false?<br><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Singapore_money_laundering_case">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Singapore_money_laundering_case</a>
does this have an impact on the delineation of their territorial waters?
You describe my country as having "extreme political control" and "authoritarian". The vast majority of Singaporeans have voted in the same government and political party since 1965. We'd rather have the stability and ability to plan 5, 10, 20 or even 50 years into the future with the firm steady hand of an "authoritarian'' government. Contrast this to the U.S., where every 4 to 8 years it's two steps forward one step back. We Singaporeans say thanks but no thanks to America's version of plutocracy. On a side note -this is also the reason why authoritarian socialist China has been able to catch up economically, militarily, green energy, STEM, biotech, AI and space technology. In some areas China is ahead. I guess having extreme political control or being authoritarian has its perks!
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krtmtpGsfAQ&t=470">7:50</a> "The fires of anti-colonialism and nationalims were sweeping the globe". It's important to realize that these forces were happening in the US also with the civil rights movement. I only point this out bc people think that MLK and black civil rights came out of nowhere. No, this was an international movement that overthrew western, white power (and Japanese). I think in many ways a Lee Kuan Yew Black leader would have been better for Black Americans than MLK.
Nice timing. I visited Singapore from June 14-19, 2026.
It should be ,because for its better future.
Singapore since beginning already ahead of other state/area of Malaysia. That island never a swamp to begin with. Yes i can agree it might have lack of resource on its own, but prior separation from Malaysia, Singapore had been given more attention for development due to its strategic location. Put aside what version of history and reason that Malaysian or Singaporean.
Do be careful about the one party state media censor thing. That is definitely not the whole truth. Lee Kuan Yew's stance on media is very clear: if you dare to publish it, you better be prepared to defend your words in court. The government also reserves the right to demand that you also print their reply. Other than that, it is quite common to hear people talk badly about the government in public in Singapore. Source: I am a Singaporean.
Willing seller.....willing buyer. The seller/ neighbors greedy for money and the buyer willing to pay, made it possible for Singapore. Later these neighbors made noise and banned selling to Singapore. Singapore is fine,... And just look for elsewhere and other willing sellers.
A well researched and updated work. The recent Long Island Project was announced not too long ago... Climate Change will affect Singapore and it will be a 50years on going project to prevent flooding in the years to come. Peace to all...
Since you have falsely accused SIN of stealing land from it's neighbor through reclaimation,, as I had explained earlier, one can conclude that you are a foreign agent, real or AI generated, out to destroy SIN, We should inform the authorities to do something about this disinformation campaign
Bonus points for pronouncing Bk Timah perfectly! And welcome back anytime!
Somewhat similar to the Netherlands, which has been reclaiming land for years.
They’re starting the land reclamation works for Long Island at the end of this year
Sook Ching wasn't the name for the 3-year, 8-month Japanese Occupation. It was a specific operations rounding up mainly young Chinese men suspected of sympathising /supporting China. They were rounded up and trucked to Changi Beach and machine-gunned down. Many members of my family clan were killed during the occupation, in particular during the initial assault from the north.
lmao. I wish people would watch the government documentaries and visit the exhibitions detailing what really happened instead of drivel like this video.
"highly segregated melting pot"
Singapore sucks
segregated melting, just like some kind of ice
I am singaporean I know about all of this 😂
Why does the Western Lens seem fascinated over what Singapore does geographically? It is not a gift from God, nothing new, every country can do alike. They decided to do it this way, others a different way, in the end all same result - larger land mass. So......
It’s not the first time this has been done. Most of the south eastern portions of Singapore was “reclaimed” you’ll find beach house that used to be right on the sea front decades ago a few kilometres inland. Hence why those areas are especially prone to rising sea levels.
Singapore is an authoritarian police state. During the covid period, citizens were forced to take minimum 3 C19 shots. Missing even 1 shot means you're not allowed to work, not allowed into public venues such as shopping malls, not allowed into places of worship, etc. People who were injured from the shots were silenced, families who lost loved ones from it weren't compensated. Welcome to Singapore, a George Orwell docile society.
The new land reclamation projects, at Tuas for the Mega Port, and the Long Island project, will NOT be simply dumping sand in the sea until the land is formed. Singapore will be using caissons - huge concrete blocks, tens of metres high - which will be placed on the sea floor (prepared/levelled), and then the hollow caissons will be filled, and these will be the foundation/basis for reclamation.
Interesting
I thought he was saying peninsula with a southern accent
“Essentially a dictatorship” is puerile nonsense. People vote in real elections that aren’t fraudulent or corrupt, so it’s an actual democracy.<br><br>San Francisco has been Democrat for longer than Singapore has been a country. Is SF a dictatorship?<br><br>Berkeley? Ok maybe the People’s Republic of Berkeley is a commie dictatorship.<br><br>One-party strangleholds in municipal politics is a regular feature of American and western politics in general.<br><br>Singapore is a city state, so it’s par for the course, besides which, it’s been a far more successful beacon of good governance than your average Democrat-controlled city council. So unlike YOUR one-party cities the incumbents in Singapore actually get re-elected on merit.
Singapore is also one of the biggest supporters of Israel
'buying it's neighbours geography' is misleading way of describing what we do, as we reclaim land within our territorial boundary. We're buying sand from foreign entities who are willing to sell. Problems arrive when these entities violate their local laws and enter into corrupt agreements with their local officials, harvesting sand from unauthorised areas, leading to erosion of beaches etc.
Maybe I missed it, my understanding is that Singapore has developed gigantic concrete caissons. These act as submerged, interlocking retaining walls that hold back the sea and allow the enclosed space to be anchored with sand significantly reducing the amount of sand required.
Only the last 5 minutes is geography, the rest is boring repeated history.
As an American I tip my hat to Lee Kuan Yew. Arguably one of the most brilliant statesman of the modern era. He inherited a country that has no business existing and he and his colleagues ruthlessly made it “crazy rich”.
It's not dredged sand, it's prime river sand. Reason is dredged sand cannot reliably be used for reclaiming.
I'm Singaporean and this is my first time hearing about the long island mega project. Fascinating stuff
A key thing that built Singaporean wealth was the HDB “Housing Development Board”. Singaporeans were able to use their “social security” contributions to buy a condo. If you could own an asset like that, then you could build your wealth on the 15% and plus growth in the value of that “flat” every year. a huge middle and then wealthy class was build due to property ownership. I lived in Singapore twice and appreciate that Lee Kuan Yew was a “benevolent dictator” that helped many many Singaporeans build up their family’s wealth. He ran the country like a business…. But he allowed paths for many people to become wealthy. Now Singapore has the most millionaires “per capital” than any other country. But some are “land rich but cash poor” meaning they are a millionaire because of their condo / flat, but they may not have an abundance of cash day-to-day.
A key point is that Lee Kuan Yew negotiated that Singapores be “expelled” once he realized as ethnic Chinese Malaysian/Singaporean, he would never be made the Prome Minister of all Malaysia. So he felt he should pull Singapore back out of Malaysia. I call Lee Kuan Yew the most benevolent dictator there has ever been. Once he withdrew from Malaysia he did really build the wealth of Singapore… but also he was prideful and was also “showing Malaysia what they rejected” in not making him the leader of all Malaysia. 🤨😳🫡👍
It’s not buying when it’s already yours.
😅
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krtmtpGsfAQ&t=480">8:00</a> to give you more context what we learn about history in singapore, the british thought their gonna attack by ship so they put majority of their troops at one point,then the japanese attack through bicycles from the other sides so yk why we lost 🤣🤣
Singapore is one of the few benevolent dictatorships in the world.
I like you Geoff and I like your channel. But this is completely misleading, to the point of your being a bad actor. You’re making it into a race war …….it was NOT. It was utterly the majority Islamic Malaysia against the multi cultural Singapore. Singapore wanted to be part of…… there was parades and protests attacked by Muslim objectors Your ignoring so much because you dont want to poke the Muslim bear……. This is bad work
Bro never heard of the Dutch.
Singapore is surrounded by jealous neighbouring countries with corrupted officials 😂<br>Australia is a great continent and Singapore is grateful of Australia to provide training bases for Singapore armed forces like airforce, navy and land forces for artillery training etc.
First
This is teaching me more than my History teacher
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krtmtpGsfAQ&t=814">13:34</a> "Singapore is acutely vulnerable to 'Climate Change™'" 🤣🤣🤣<br>GF'd! 🙄
Singapore is destroying the eco-system in the areas. That truly evil! Why is the Wester Green NGOs does not object?
alexander the great did that to reach an island and changed its geography too
Malaysia really thought that Singapore would just wither and die once they cut them off, and that maybe the culturally Chinese and Tamil populations that the Malay found so problematic would go back to their respective ancestral lands. Instead Singapore stood up on its own, and grew mighty in its diversity.
Thank you for this video.
Here's a fun fact: Sir Stamford Raffles was a prominent Freemason who pretty much built up the foundation of a port city contrary to what state propaganda always echo, that "Lee kwan yew built singapore into a metropolis from a swampy fishing village" LMAO. Go google images of Singapore in 1945...
Fun fact : <br>Before he worked on the Singapore project (ie leasing off the island long-term from the sultans, as a trading port for British East India Co.), Raffles was then stationed in Bogor, Indonesia and was also instrumental in the team that "re-discovered" the then hidden/forested/long deserted Borobodur temple complex.<br>Super-smart dude, for real 👍🏼.
Good content. But please stop moving your hands so much when you talk it’s quite artificial.
I have lived in Singapore since Jun 2000 and have seen a tremendous build up of the city country such as infrastructure like new LRT lines, new MRT lines, many new condo and HDB developments, more expressways, new water treatment plants, 3 new terminals at Changi Airport, many new hospitals and other medical facilities just to name a few huge projects. PAP has been the main political party for over 60 yrs and there are opposition parties that stand for elections. Singapore has grown over the years and is clean. Although Singapore is safe, there are signs posted😂 around Singapore that say "Low crime doesn't mean No crime". Thanks for your video.
Actually, new information has been released that says that Singapore leaving Malaysia was actually mutual
Is this video about Singapore’s geography or history <br>This guy:yes
“Historically countries to expand their footprint on the map had to resort to conquest”, while zooming out from the Netherlands.<br>Yes, we conquested!<br>The sea.<br>Just like Singapore is doing.
Singapore did not just buy sand and drop it in, there is lots of engineering work put into it to ensure it will last.
As a Singaporean, I felt that it is a very good video! The southern tip of Malaysia peninsula looked like a snake opening it's mouth wanting to swallow Singapore
Singapore is a true tale of a country that was able to essentially invent (not re-invent) itself and pull itself up by its bootstraps. It may not be a "liberal" democracy in our sense, but it is worthy of true admiration, and emulation in many areas of policy and delivery.
Sg was never a forgotten fishing village.. we were known for international sea port before Sir Raffles came to SG. We had also state-of-the‐art port even back then.. pls don't misinterpret this portion
Your history is outdated. Singapore was not kicked out or expelled - read the recently declassified Albatross Files.
Even the brilliance of LKY did not help him initially to see the possibility of an independent SG. It was Dr Goh Keng Swee's decisive foresight that brought about a fait accompli for LKY into accepting what was really inevitable. Dr Goh Keng Swee was also the economic architect of post independence SG. Many of the critical govt institutions in place today is Dr Goh's creation. Even SG's Israel-inspired conscription military concept was pushed for by Dr Goh who courted Israel as ally and had them help trained the SAF soldiers when SAF was still in its infancy - an idea that LKY initially was reluctant to go along due to its racial sensitivities.
I live in that country
🌐 Help build my new Geography Community with 30 Days Free: <a href="https://www.thebight.co/p/welcome-to-the-bight">https://www.thebight.co/p/welcome-to-the-bight</a>
From this channel
