If you’re talking about North American political leaders, they really can’t. LKY had a lot more power than anyone can have in most countries political systems. If you’re talking about political leaders in growing countries, a lot do take inspiration from him. Singapore had a lot of qualities to benefit from at the time that other countries don’t, though.
There is no city government, state/province. Just the parliament. PAP has had an overwhelming majority for Singapore's entire existence (helped by some rather dubious methods). If a law needs to be passed - it's passed. There is no real debate.
You need a police permit to protest in Singapore (except for Speaker's corner). Today, there is little culture of protest in Singapore. They've pretty much completely passed their reins of power to the government.
Singaporeans like to call the country Singapore Inc. And it's true. It's about as close to a business structure as one could imagine.
