Singapore's modern history begins with its independence. It quickly drafted a Constitution, which called for a nine-member cabinet, drawn from the 51-member legislature, and a Prime Minister. An additional stipulation was that there had to be a Malay Head of State in the predominately Chinese population. In the first election, the PAP, or People's Action Party, won 43 seats in the legislature and its leader, Lee Kuan Yew, became Prime Minister. Sir William Goode, the former Governor, received the Malay position of Head of State.

In 1961, Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman of Malay, proposed a closer cooperation between some of the Southeast Asian countries. Lee Kuan Yew supported this plan to have a central government that controlled defense, foreign affairs, and internal security. Backing for the merger was provided by a public referendum an

All indications point to Singapore's continued success. With a motivated, educated workforce and fantastic location for trade, expectations are high for this small island nation. The government has made quality decisions for the benefit of the people in the past and these past decisions have given Singapore the means to thrive in an ever-changing economy.

Despite the overwhelming support for the merger, two years later, on August 9, 1965, Singapore withdrew from Malaysia. On September 21 of the same year, Singapore became a member of the United Nations. It also was joined into the Commonwealth of Nations on October 15. Singapore continued with the radical political changes and formed a republic on December 22 with Yusof bin Ishak as the first President. This struggling country with a myriad of races had now to restructure its economy and focus on its unsurpassed trading potential.

Singapore has remained a trading nation since its formation. Even before that, though, since the 12th century, Singapore has relied on being a trading hub. All the themes through Singapore's modern history are related to trade. Over the years, economic growth has shifted to different areas, but all focus on economically surviving with minimal resources. The only resource Singapore had was its workforce, so the first plans were to develop it. In the late 1960s, Singapore used its low-cost workforce to develop industry. Since then, the workforce has become highly educated, but slightly more costly. By the 1970s and 80s, Singapore tried to supplement the manufacturing economy and also become a service center. Next, Singapore's interest was transferred to high-technology manufacturing and business services. Developing into a base for international trade firms supplemented Singapore's economy. By that time, after all the econom

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