Lee Kuan Yew

Lee's government made Singapore's Housing and Development Board a central institution and backed the shift towards public home ownership from 1964. Allowing provident-fund savings to finance purchases in 1968 strengthened that model. The programme connected construction, land policy and household finance. Its flats were generally sold on long leases, so the achievement should be assessed through that tenure system and its eligibility rules rather than equated with unrestricted freehold ownership.