He went on to pursue a neutral foreign policy, careful not to upset the much more populous neighbors.

“I am not here to play somebody else’s game,” he once said. “I have a few million people’s lives to account for. And Singapore will survive.”

Survive it did, and prosper. Singapore often appears near the top of quality-of-life rankings in Asia.

If you’re interested in Singapore, a recent highly popular cartoon provides an alternative history of the city-state. And here are five places to visit.

Sara Aridi contributed reporting.

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