Small as it is, Singapore has generated many headlines that have caught the attention of the world's biggest movers and shakers, especially those in the arena of trade and finance. Much is made about the country's economic leap, achieved within a single generation of workers. As a result, many tales have been spun about the city-state and the system in which it functions. Repeated over the years, these stories have developed into veritables myths, the most popular ones being that the Singapore economy is the freest in the world, that its people are rich but uninterested in politics and that the legal system is the envy of the world.

A Nation Cheated explodes these myths. It delves into how the authoritarian system put together by Lee Kuan Yew has depoliticised and silenced an entire generation of citizens, breeding a climate of fear and uncertainty. The government capitalises on this political culture and uses it to ramp up economic gains at the expense of the people. This book exposes the weaknesses of such a system, and outlines the dangers that awaith the city-state.