#1 He was trying to avoid another race riot. Forced mixing of Malays and Chinese was supposed to prevent that (even today there are strict rules on % of races in HDBs).

#2 is another way of saying "those fucking commies".

It would be equally politically practical to have a similar program in most countries but we don't. Indeed many (especially younger people) are screaming for a program like this. Yet public housing programs tend to be watered down and dismantled instead.

LKY lacking in ideology (other than fervent anticommunism) isnt especially interesting. It's very normal for people to chase power without much in the way of ideology. Boris Johnson is similarly lacking in ideology but the last thing he'd do is build some council houses.

What IS interesting is how the material circumstances of Singapore managed to keep him on a tight leash.