Few interesting things : 1) Singapore was already the wealthiest SE Asian country in 1965 , but not by much. However we were a poor country. 500 USD per capita ranked us about 40th in the world behind Jamaica, Panama, South Africa, Hong Kong … 2) When Brunei became independent, they became the richest by dint of their oil reserves. Richest by a lot 3) Yet, Singapore , with zero natural resources, not only managed to catch up with Brunei, surpassed it in about 25 years , and then left it in the d