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Republic of Singapore
新加坡共和国
Republik Singapura
சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு

Flag Coat of Arms (Flag) (Coat of Arms)
National motto: Majulah Singapura (Malay: Onward, Singapore)
Official languages	English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay and Tamil
National language	Malay
Capital	Singapore
Head of State	Sellapan Rama NATHAN
Head of Government	Lee Hsien Loong
Area  - Total  - % water	697.1 km² 1.444%
Population  - Total (July 2004 est.)  - Density	Ranked 114th 4,353,893 6,004/km²
GDP (2003)  - Total  - Total  - GDP/head  - GDP/head	56th, 37th, 25th, 21st US$112 billion (PPP) $91 billion (Nominal) $25,200 (PPP) $23,999 (Nominal)
Independence  - Date	From Malaysia August 9, 1965
Currency	Singapore Dollar (S$, SGD)
Time zone	UTC +8
National anthem	Majulah Singapura
Internet TLD	.sg
Calling code	65 (02 when dialling from Malaysia)

The Republic of Singapore (Chinese 新加坡共和国, pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Gònghéguó; Malay Republik Singapura; Tamil சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு, Cingkappūr Kudiyarasu), is an island city-state in Southeast Asia, at latitude 1°17'35"N longitude 103°51'20"E, situated on the southern tip of Malay Peninsula, south of the state of Johor of Peninsular Malaysia and north of the Indonesian islands of Riau.

Established as a prominent trading port by the British in the early 19th century, Singapore became a centre of British influence throughout the region of Southeast Asia. Upon achieving independence from Malaysia in 1965, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew advanced Singapore from a third world to first world nation. Singapore follows the Westminster system style of governance closely, although a figurehead president, instead of a king, is the head of state. Singapore is known for its tough stance on corruption, and, as one of the East Asian Tigers, an economic powerhouse. However, it also maintains strict laws and punishments covering even minor offenses such as littering.

In spite of practices that have led some to label it a "nanny state", Singapore is a popular tourist destination in Southeast Asia. National service is compulsory, and Singapore maintains as many as 225,000 reservists even though it has never been engaged in military conflict. However, Singapore has had a thorny relationship with neighbour Malaysia, tussling over issues such as the sale of water, land reclamation and maritime boundaries. In recent times, though, the once-chilly relationship appears to have thawed slightly with the appointment of new prime ministers in both countries.

History

Main article: History of Singapore

The history of Singapore begins with the earliest references to the island in Chinese texts from the 3rd century. The island served as an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire and was originally given the Javanese name Temasek. Temasek rose to become a significant trading city in its heyday, but later declined in significance - little is to be found of old Temasek in Singapore other than archaeological evidence.

The current name of the city derives from the Sanskrit Singapura (Lion City); this name became common by the late 14th century. The origin of this name follows the following legend: A Javanese Prince Sang Nila Utama sailed out to sea with his men to explore some islands. He stopped at one of the Riau islands, where he had a feast by the generous queen of the island. He went hunting, and tried to run after the deer they had seen. Sang Nila Utama climbed a big rock to see where the deer went and he happened to look across the sea. He spotted an island, and its sandy shore was pure white. His men had told him that was the island of Temasek, and Sang Nila Utama wanted to visit it. They set sail for Temasek after thanking the queen for her kindness. A storm broke out all of a sudden while they were at sea and the ship was tossed about. Sang Nila Utama decided to listen to the advice of one of his men to throw his crown into the sea. Miraculously, the storm immediately died down and was calm again. Sang Nila Utama landed on the island and saw a beast with a black head, red tawny body and white breast, which ran away at the sight of the men. When asked what it was, an old man told Sang Nila Utama that it was a lion, although lions do not belong to Asia at all. Many believed that it was a tiger instead. Sang Nila Utama thought this was a sign of good fortune thus deciding to stay on and become the king of Temasek. He then renamed it Singapura. Sang Nila Utama was the first king of Singapore and he ruled for 48 years.

The 15th and 16th century Sultanate of Johore included Singapore. During the Malay-Portugal wars, Singapura was burned down by Portugese forces in 1617. The city was officially abandoned; the island remained inhabited by small bands of fishermen and pirates.

In 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, an official with the British East India Company, established Singapore as a trade post and settlement, having made a treaty with the Sultan of Johor, the effective ruler of the island of Singapore then. After some conflict over the territory between the Dutch and the British, the Dutch withdrew objections to Great Britain's founding of Singapore as a trade city in Southeast Asia in August 1824. After undergoing a number of territorial incarnations, Singapore was made a crown colony in 1867.

Singapore prospered as a trading port. Entrepot trade grew, no doubt helped by Singapore's strategic location at an important trade route along the Straits of Malacca, later to become one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. However, the British gave themselves important positions and even if some of the locals are more competent than them, they were only fated to be small merchants or a coolie. This was one of the factors that pushed people to seek independance after the Japanese invasion, among other things. You will read about this later.

During World War II, Japanese forces invaded Malaya and pushed southwards towards Singapore. The British and Allied forces were forced to retreat towards Singapore with the Japanese in pursuit. Despite having numerical superiority, the British and Allied troops were less well trained and they did not have the best eqipment from Britain that the Japanese enjoyed after successful raids on the Royal Air Force base in Singapore and the destruction of the battleships, the "Prince of Wales" and the "Repulse". The Japanese landed in Singapore on February 7, 1942. On February 15, 1942, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, commander of British forces in Singapore surrendered to the Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita. The Japanese held Singapore until September 1945.

Singapore became a self-governing crown colony in 1959. Singapore joined Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak as part of the Federation of Malaysia between 1963 and 1965. It however, withdrew from Malaysia, becoming a sovereign nation on August 9, 1965 due to ethnic factors. During the years of merger, racial tensions had grown within Singapore, culminating in numerous riots and curfews, notably the clash that took place on Prophet Mohammed's birthday, between the Malay and Chinese races. Furthermore, with Singapore within the federation, there existed the possibility that ethnic Chinese would gain control of the political system of Malaysia undermining the racial balance of power within Malaysia in which ethnic Chinese dominated the economy while ethnic Malay dominated the political system.

Malaysia and Singapore, therefore, both decided that separation was for the best. Singapore rapidly formed its own armed forces as Britain withdrew troops from Singapore in October 1971. Lee Kuan Yew wrote in his memoirs of his feelings of insecurity regarding the country's safety, writing that Singapore was "a Chinese island in a Malay sea", referring to Singapore's position at the tip of Malaysia. He also lamented the partial loss of the Malaysian hinterland.

Lee Kuan Yew was Singapore's first Prime Minister, governing Singapore from 1959 to 1990. His main priority then was to raise Singapore from the ashes after the World War II and develop it to compete in the global market, which was extremely hard, given the economic and political state of Singapore after the war. He stepped down 1n 1990.

His successor, Goh Chok Tong, took office as the second Prime Minister, while Lee Kuan Yew became Senior Minister. Goh Chok Tong was faced with the problems of sustaining Singapore's growth and further promoting it as a business hub. He also saw the country through crises such as the 1997 Asian economic crisis and SARS in 2003.

On August 12, 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, took over as the third Prime Minister of Singapore. In turn, Goh Chok Tong became Senior Minister while Lee Kuan Yew took on the newly created portfolio of Minister Mentor.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Singapore

Singapore's main territory is a diamond-shaped island which is connected to the city of Johor Bahru in the state of Johor, Malaysia by a man-made causeway to the north. There is also a bridge (Tuas Second Link) in the western part of Singapore connecting to Johor. Singapore also has dozens of smaller islands, of which Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the larger ones. The highest point of Singapore is Bukit Timah, with a height of 164m or 538 feet.

When Singapore was first colonized by the British, the city of Singapore was situated on the southern coast, around the mouth of the Singapore River. This area remains the downtown core of Singapore. The rest of the island was farmland and jungle. However, since the 1960s the government has constructed many new towns in other areas, so that today the island is nearly entirely built-up, with only a few exceptions. In addition, Singapore has reclaimed land with earth obtained from its own hills, the seabed, and neighbouring countries. As a result, Singapore's land area grew from 581.5km² in the 1960s to 697.1km² today, and may grow by another 100km² by 2030.

Since Singapore lacks natural freshwater rivers and lakes, the primary source of domestic water is rainfall. The average annual rainfall in Singapore is around 237 cm. Since demand for fresh water outpaces supply, Singapore imports most of its fresh water from Malaysia; to lessen its reliance on imports, Singapore has built reservoirs to collect rainwater and recycled water facilities. In addition, Singapore is building desalination facilities.

Since Singapore is basically a city-state, there are no further administrative divisions. Singapore does however have community development councils and town councils that handle local matters.

Climate

Singapore's climate is tropical ("tropical rainforest climate" under Köppen climate classification), with no distinct seasons. Because of its geographical location and maritime exposure, its climate is characterised by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity and abundant rainfall. Temperature as a diurnal range of a minimum 23-26ºC and a maximum of 31-34ºC. Relative humidity has a diurnal range in the high 90's in the early morning to around 60 % in the mid-afternoon. During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100 %.

The climate of Singapore can be divided into two major moonsoons, the Northeast Monsoon (December to early March) and the Southwest Monsoon season (June to September). Both are separated by two relatively short inter-monsoon periods. (These seasons are usually found in more academic contexts and are not generally familiar to laypeople in Singapore.) During the Northeast Monsoon season, northeast winds prevail, sometimes reaching 20 km/h. Cloudy conditions in December and January with frequent afternoon showers. Spells of widespread moderate to heavy rain occur lasting from 1 to 3 days at a stretch. Relatively drier in February till early March. Also generally windy with wind speeds sometimes reaching 30 to 40 km/h in the months of January and February. During the Southeast Monsoon season, southeast/southwest winds prevail. Isolated to scattered showers occur in the late morning and early afternoon. Early morning "Sumatra" squall lines are common.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Singapore

Apart from the much smaller Monaco, Singapore is the most densely populated independent country in the world. 85% of Singaporeans live in public housing provided by the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

Singapore's population is diverse. The Chinese, who constituted the majorty of the island population since the colonial days, account for 76.8% of Singaporeans. Malay, who are the indigenous native group of the country, constitute 13.9%, though this number includes many Malay ethnic groups from other parts of the Malay archipelago including the Javanese, Bugis, Baweans and Minangs. Indians are the second largest minorty ethnic group at 7.9% which consisted of several groups - Tamils, who form the largest Indian group and others such as Malayalees, Punjabis and Bengalis. The rest are made up of smaller groups such as Arab Singaporeans and Eurasian Singaporeans.

The government of Singapore has been careful to maintain ethnic harmony after racial riots erupted in the 1960s. Racial harmony has been emphasized in all aspects of society, including education, military and housing. So far the policy has been successful, and there has been no signs of ethnic unrest since the early 1970s. Issues exist such as bans on fundamentalist evangelical Christian activities and the Islamic headscarf in public schools (without a reciprocal ban on other religious symbols).

The official languages are English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay and Tamil. English has been promoted as the country's lingua franca since independence, and it is spoken by the majority of the population. Malay remains Singapore's national language for historical reasons and it is used in the national anthem.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Singapore

Singapore is a small and relatively modern amalgam of semi-indigenous Malay population with the majority Chinese and the minority Indian and Arab migrants. There appears little in the way of specifically Singaporean culture, as there is little intermarriage, although there is a community of Peranakan or "Straits Chinese", of mixed Chinese and Malay descent. There is also a steadily increasing Eurasian community. The major public holidays in Singapore reflect this diversity, including the religious holidays of various denominations.

Officially, the English used is modelled on British English (spelling and grammar), with some American English influences. The local colloquial dialect of English is known formally as Singapore Colloquial English (though it is more commonly called "Singlish"), and has many creole-like characteristics, having incorporated much vocabulary and grammar from various dialects of Chinese, Malay, and Indian languages. Singlish is basically identical to Manglish (the English dialect of Malaysia), and is the usual language on the streets, but is frowned upon in official contexts, and this matter has been brought up in recent years in the Parliament and the ruling party.

Singapore also has several ethnic neighborhoods, including a "Little India" and a "Chinatown", formed by the Raffles Plan of Singapore to segregate the new immigrants into specific areas. Although the population are no longer segregated in distribution mainly due to the policies of the HDB now, these ethnic neighbourhoods retain selective elements of their specific culture. The usage of such neighbourhoods is mostly commercial or for cottage industry specific to the culture of its ethnic neighbourhood, and does not play a big part in housing the population, although it is used for that purpose. Hence, these neighbourhoods have patronage of all races who probably wish to either eat or buy something specific to that culture.

In other parts of the country, segregation is discouraged, and diversity is encouraged. This can often be found in the policies of the HDB, which try to make sure there is a lively mix of all races within each housing district; the effect of this can be observed in all parts of the country as for example, a store devoted to selling Malay food might be right next to stores selling Chinese or Indian goods.

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Singapore

Singapore has become noted among international travellers as an exciting travel destination. Its cultural diversity reflects its rich colonial history and Malay, Chinese, Arab and Indian ethnicities. For many years considered to be the business hub of Southeast Asia, Singapore has an expansive shopping precinct located in the Orchard Road district. Filled with several multistorey shopping centres, the area also has many hotels, and is regarded by many as the tourism centre of Singapore. Another popular tourist attraction in Singapore is the Singapore Zoo and its Night Safari, which allows people to explore Asian, African and South American habitats at night, without any visible barriers between guests and the wild animals. Also famous is the Jurong BirdPark, wherein there are specimens of magnificent bird life from around the world, including a flock of one thousand flamingos.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Singapore

Singapore is generally a multi-religious country, mainly due to its strategic location and the variety of religious beliefs that most Singaporeans hold. A little more than half of the Singaporeans adhere to Mahayana Buddhism, the main faith of the Chinese population of Singapore, who constituted around 77% of the country's population.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Singapore

Singapore has a Westminster-style constitution. There is an elected figurehead president, who has veto powers in a few key decisions - such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of key judiciary positions. True executive power rests with the prime minister who leads the majority party in the elected Parliament.

In practice, politics is dominated by the People's Action Party which has ruled since Independence. Over the years the PAP has been accused of taking overly harsh actions against opposition parties to discourage and impede their success, such as gerrymandering (redrawing electoral districts to one's own favour). Since most people are supportive or apathetic regarding PAP policies, the opposition parties are stereotypically associated with the truly political passionate (some say foolhardy). There are also several cases of government leaders taking out civil suits against the opposition for libel or slander. J. B. Jeyaretnam, leader of the opposition Workers' Party of Singapore, was brought down by a series of suits from the ruling party and was declared bankrupt in 2001, disbarring and preventing him from taking part in future elections.

Critics point out that in any case brought before the Singaporean courts involving the PAP or the Singapore Government, judges have always ruled in their favour, although a few instances of successful opposition suits have been recorded. Western democracies consider the mode of government in Singapore to be closer to authoritarianism than true democracy. A common pejorative name for this state of affairs is "benign dictatorship".

Despite this, Singapore has a what many consider to be a highly successful and transparent market economy. Singapore was originally known as a social democracy, but the PAP has consistently rejected the notion of being socialist. One difference from a social democracy could be the sense that it uses public opinion and feedback to make policies instead of rigorous lawmaking procedures. However, PAP's policies contain certain hallmarks of socialism, which includes government owned public housing constituting the majority of real estate and the dominance of government owned and controlled companies in the local economy. PAP has also consistently rejected Western democratic values in the past, with former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew citing incompatibilities with "Asian values". Most recently, the PAP has promulgated the loosening of social conservative policies and policies to promote enterpreneurship but the effects of both efforts have not completely manifested.

The existence of a system of government that differs markedly from Western multi-party democracy has led many to point to Singapore as a model for the future development of their nations. In particular, the political system of Singapore has been often mentioned by some officials within the People's Republic of China as a model for the future of the Communist Party of China, and there has been heated debate both inside and outside the PRC as to whether or not this is desirable or even possible in a territory that is much larger and more diverse than a city-state.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Singapore

As one of the East Asian Tigers, Singapore enjoys a highly developed and successful free-market economy, characterised by a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices, and one of the highest per capita GDP in the world. The economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing, and was hard hit in 2001 by the global recession and the slump in the technology sector. In 2001, GDP contracted by 2.2%. The economy has since recovered in response to improvements in the world economy, and grew 8.1% in 2004. In the longer term the government hopes to establish a new growth path that will be less vulnerable to the external business cycle than the current export-led model, but is unlikely to abandon efforts to establish Singapore as Southeast Asia's financial and high-tech hub.

The per capita GDP in 2003 was US$22,366. In the third quarter of 2004, the unemployment rate was 3.4%.

The Economic Review Committee (ERC), set up in December 2001, made key recommendations to remake Singapore into:

• a globalised economy where Singapore is the key node in the global network, linked to all the major economies;
• a creative and entrepreneurial nation willing to take risks to create fresh businesses and blaze new paths to success; and
• a diversified economy powered by the twin engines of manufacturing and services, where vibrant Singapore companies complement MNCs, and new startups co-exist with traditional businesses exploiting new and innovative ideas.

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Singapore

Singapore is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the United Nations and the Commonwealth. As part of its role in the United Nations, it occupied a rotational seat on the UN Security Council from 2001-2002. Singapore has participated in UN peacekeeping/observer missions in Kuwait, Angola, Namibia, Cambodia, and East Timor. Singapore supports the concept of Southeast Asian regionalism and plays an active role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Singapore is currently involved in disputes with Malaysia over:

• deliveries of fresh water to Singapore
• Singapore's land reclamation works on Johor
• maritime boundaries
• the Singapore-occupied islet known as Pedra Branca in Singapore and as Pulau Batu Putih (White Rock island) in Malaysia, located 20 nautical miles (37 km) off the east coast of Singapore. with a land area of 2,000 m². Parties agree to International Court of Justice arbitration on island dispute within three years.

Military

Main article: Military of Singapore

Singapore relies primarily on its own defence forces, which are continuously being modernized. The SAF was formed after the British pulled out of Singapore in December 1971. The defence budget accounts for approximately 28% of government operating expenditures (or 5% of GDP). A career military force of 20,000 is supplemented by 55,000 men on active National Service for a term of 2 to 2½ years (reduced to 2 years from 1st Dec 2004) depending on educational level and assigned military vocation. Service is compulsory for all able-bodied young men who has reached 17½ years of age and not on deferment for educational reasons. Another 225,000 reservists who have completed active National Service and are placed on a 13 years stand-by period. These reservists, also known as NSMen, are liable for up to 40 days of active service every work year. The SAF engages in joint training with all the ASEAN nations and with the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Republic of China (Taiwan), and India. X-Forwarded-For: 10.0.0.16

Transportation

Main article: Transportation in Singapore

Singapore is linked to Johor, Malaysia via a causeway and bridge, as well as a railway line operated by KTMB of Malaysia. Singapore Changi Airport is situated at the eastern most tip of the main island. Comprising of two terminals, it is one of the most important air hubs in the region, serving 167 cities in 53 countries. When construction of the third terminal is completed in 2006, Changi will be capable of handling 64 million passengers every year.

Within Singapore, there is a well-developed system of expressways and public transport roads. Prominent expressways include the Pan Island Expressway (PIE), the Central Expressway (CTE), the East Coast Parkway (ECP).

In addition, Singapore has a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Light Rapid Transit (LRT) train system consisting of five lines. There is also a well-worked system of bus routes throughout the island, most of which have air conditioning due to Singapore's yearlong sweltering heat, while buses without air conditioning will be gradually phased out. A contactless smartcard (EZ-link) is used to pay bus and subway fares.

The Port of Singapore, run by the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), is the world's busiest and ranks second globally as a center for containerised transhipment traffic.

Communications

Main article: Communications in Singapore

Singapore's telecommunications and telephone facilities are state-of-the-art, providing high-quality communications with the rest of the world. Radio and television stations are all government-owned entities. The print media is dominated by a company with close ties to the government. Daily newspapers are published in English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil.

Education

Main article: Education in Singapore

The education system in Singapore is spear-headed by the Ministry of Education (MOE) which directs the formulation and implementation of education policies. It controls the development and administration of government and government-aided education institutions, but also plays a consultancy/supervisory role with respect to private or independent schools.

Children with disabilities are educated in special education (SPED) schools run by Voluntary Welfare Organisations, and partially funded by MOE.

As of Jan 2003, it is written into law by the Compulsory Education Act that a child of compulsory school age shall start, and attend regularly as a pupil at (at least) a national primary school, failing which, each parent of the child shall be guilty of an offence.

In Singapore, English is the medium of instruction in subjects like Mathematics, Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), and others where appropriate. As envisioned by Lee Kuan Yew, English is the language to link Singapore to the world, and all races domestically. The mother tongue (in other words, Chinese for the Ethnic Chinese; Malay for the Malays; Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi or Urdu for the Indians), on the other hand is cultural and for a sense of identity, and no ethnic group is forced to learn the language of another.

Laws

Main article: Laws of Singapore

Laws in Singapore are generally strict and aimed at instilling a self-disciplined society with restrictions and harsh punishments, for example caning and execution. Even the idea has been poked fun at by its citizens by using the saying "Singapore is a fine country", whereas the "fine" actually refers to a monetary fine.

Currently, pornography, oral sex (except as a precursor to regular intercourse), and anal sex are illegal in Singapore. Magazines, movies and TV shows have to undergo government censorship before being released to the general public and sales of several kinds of newspapers and magazines has been banned or restricted. Various minor offences could lead to heavy fines and caning while conviction of first-degree murder and drug trafficking cases instantly leads to the death penalty.

An American teenager, Michael Fay, aroused passionate media interest from the United States and sparked an official US protest after he was caught vandalising Singaporean cars in 1994. There was a formal request by the American government not to carry out the sentence, which was caning. Former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew called American practices "soft" and denied the appeal, although the number of strokes given was lessened. Fay was caned and interest in the incident has fallen since.

References

• "Nation's History". Singapore Infomap. 11 Jan, 2004. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
• "Census 2000". Singapore Department of Statistics. 11 Jan, 2004. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• "Key Facts & Figures". Ministry of Transport, Singapore. 11 Jan, 2004. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• Template:Book reference 3
• This article incorporates public domain text from the websites of Singapore Department of Statistics, United States Department of State & CIA World Factbook (2004).

Miscellaneous topics

• Singapore Changi Airport
• Singapore Army
• Republic of Singapore Air Force
• Republic of Singapore Navy
• Singapore Police Force

External links

• The Singapore Wiki
• Singapore Government Online Portal
• The Singapore Infomap
• Singapore Guide
• Singapore travel guide at Wikitravel
• Singapore Hotels
• Guide to Housing & Accomodation in Singapore

 ASEAN

Template:Former British colonies minnan:Sin-ka-pho

• Capitals in Asia
• Coastal cities
• Republics
• Singapore