Is he talking about Singapore?

This is an extract from An Interview With Dr Mahathir

Why Are Some Countries Rich and Others Poor?

INTERVIEWER: Big picture question: Why are some countries rich and some poor? What role do culture and legal institutions have?

DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD: Basically, it is culture. A country may be rich in resources, but if the people do not know how to exploit those resources, how to add value to those resources, then they are going to remain poor. And to add value to resources, there must be a government that is conscious of its duty to develop the country and that is knowledgeable about how to develop the country. A prerequisite would be a stable and peaceful condition within the country. No government can have a richer country if the country is continuously facing turmoil. So some countries have governments which are able to ensure peace and stability and to utilize human resources in order to enrich not only what it has in the country, but also to bring in the raw material in order to add value. That's how countries become rich. It's not due to having rich resources.
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Thanks to our government ability to utilize human resources that we are what we are today.