Singapore had no natural resources, no fresh water and no land to spare when it was expelled from Malaysia in 1965, and within a single lifetime it became one of the richest nations on Earth
Singapore became an independent country on 9 August 1965 after a brief and bitter union with Malaysia. It entered that day with no hinterland, no industrial base, no significant natural resources and a water supply that depended heavily on agreements with the country it had just …