Aussie man who’s been observing Singapore for 33 years says his country can learn from SG’s success

SINGAPORE: A man from Australia has received considerable attention online due to a video where he compares his home country quite unfavourably with Singapore.

On the @mrjohn_2025 Instagram account, the man begins by asking, “What the **** went wrong with Australia?” adding that in 1965, it had been thriving, while Singapore had been a “****hole.”

He was posting in honour of Singapore’s 60th birthday earlier this month, which he celebrated by having lunch with a Singaporean friend from the 90s.

Mr John noted that he has seen Singapore “soar past Australia” for 33 years, before going on to list the Little Red Dot’s achievements: “near-zero crime, almost 90 per cent home ownership, high incomes, sensible taxation, massive sovereign wealth fund.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mr John (@mrjohn_2025)

In Australia, in comparison, manufacturing is “dead,” he said, adding that housing has become unaffordable and poverty and crime rates are rising.

He also lamented that there are fewer opportunities for the working class than there were before.

In the caption to his post, he also noted that Singapore’s GDP per capita has grown from $516 in 1965 to $84,734 today, adding that it is number one in Asian quality of living.

“Australia can learn from this success,” he added.

In comments to Mr John’s post, Instagram users endeavoured to explain why Australia seems to lag behind Singapore.

“It’s called good governance. Something that is sadly lacking in Australia,” wrote one.

Another wrote that Singapore is an independent country and Australia is “still singing God save the king. That’s what’s wrong.”

“3 Random facts: Singapore has a higher percentage of immigrants than Australia. Has compulsory military, and they use caning as a form of disciplinary action,” an IG user noted.

Another simply posted a GIF of a smiling Lee Kuan Yew, the city-state’s first Prime Minister, who is widely credited for its success today.

“I’m in Singapore right now, and as an Aussie, I’m in awe,” another chimed in.

Others, however, appeared to see no point in such comparisons. For example, an Australian commenter noted, “Singapore outruns us on some economic stats because it’s a micro-state with no federalism, no agriculture, no mining regulation, no sprawling infrastructure to fund.”

“Singapore is 1 country, 1 city, and the citizens are taxed at much higher rates than in Australia. Australia is a massive country with multiple cities and towns and infrastructure to maintain,” another pointed out. /TISG

Read also: DBS sets bold target to double down on Australian loans within 5 years