Singapore Diarist: Lion in a Jungle, by Howard Husock, makes the point that Singapore is surrounded by Muslim-dominated nations (Malaysia and Indonesia), has its own Muslim minority, and presents quite a target for anti-Western, anti-capitalist terrorists. It also makes some lighter points:
If Singapore is multiethnic, it is decidedly not “multicultural.” When the island became an independent nation in 1965, the ruling People’s Action Party made English the national language, even though few Singaporeans spoke English at home. Today, when I ask an American expatriate to describe the difference between Singapore and his former home of Los Angeles, his deadpan reply speaks volumes: “More people speak English here.”