When misson was a child in the fifties, more than two thirds of singaporeans lived in campongs. In 19 66, it passed a law that allowed the state to requisition land if it deemed it in the public interest. There are tales of farmers herding their pigs up the stairs to their new government flats. But gradually, people got on board with this programme.
Trade is down, red tape is up, details of regulatory harmony are still being hammered out. Britain may be less divided about it, but the benefits of the divorce are still to be seized. For the clinically vulnerable, covid restrictions go beyond government mandates; our correspondent shares a personal view. And a visit to mainland Singapore’s last rural village.
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