Singapore, officially the
Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state
located at the southern tip of the Malay
Peninsula, north of the equator, south
of the Malaysian
state of Johor
and north of
Indonesia
's Riau
Islands
. At , Singapore is a
microstate and the smallest nation in
Southeast Asia.
It is substantially
larger than Monaco
and Vatican City
, the only other surviving sovereign
city-states.
Before European settlement, the island now known as Singapore was
the site of a
Malay fishing village at the mouth of the
Singapore River. Several hundred indigenous
Orang Laut people also lived along the
nearby coast, rivers and on smaller islands. In 1819, the
British East India Company, led
by
Sir Stamford Raffles,
established a trading post on the island, which was used as a port
along the
spice route. Singapore became
one of the most important commercial and military centres of the
British Empire, and the hub of
British power in Southeast Asia.
During the
Second World War, the British
colony was occupied by
the Japanese after the Battle of Singapore
, which Winston
Churchill called "Britain's greatest defeat". Singapore
reverted to British rule in 1945, immediately after the war.
Eighteen
years later, in 1963, the city, having achieved independence from
Britain, merged with Malaya
, Sabah
, and
Sarawak
to form
Malaysia.
However, Singapore's merger proved unsuccessful, and, less than two
years later, it seceded from the federation and became an
independent
republic within the
Commonwealth of Nations on 9 August
1965. Singapore was admitted to the
United Nations on 21 September of that
year.
Since independence, Singapore's
standard of living has risen
dramatically.
Foreign direct
investment and a state-led drive to industrialization based on
plans drawn up by the Dutch economist
Albert Winsemius have created a modern
economy focused on industry, education and urban planning.
Singapore is the 5th wealthiest country in the world in terms of
GDP per
capita. As of January 2009, Singapore's official reserves stand
at US$170.3 billion.
In 2009, the
Economist
Intelligence Unit ranked Singapore the tenth most expensive
city in the world in which to live—the third in Asia, after Tokyo
and
Osaka. The 2009 Cost of Living survey, by
consultancy firm
Mercer,
has ranked Singapore similarly as the tenth most expensive city for
expatriates to live in.
The population of Singapore including non-residents is
approximately 4.99 million. Singapore is highly cosmopolitan and
diverse with Chinese people forming an ethnic majority with large
populations of Malay, Indian and other people. English, Malay,
Tamil, and Chinese are the official languages.
Singapore is a
parliamentary
republic, and the
Constitution of Singapore
establishes
representative
democracy as the nation's political system. The
People's Action Party (PAP) dominates
the political process and has won control of
Parliament in every election since
self-government in 1959.
Etymology
The English language name Singapore comes from Malay
Singapura, "Lion-city", but it is possible that one
element of its name had a more distant original source.
Pura comes from Sanskrit
puram, "city, fortress",
and is related to Greek
polis, "citadel, city".
Singa- comes from Sanskrit
siṃha, which means
lion. Today the city-state is referred to as the
Lion
City. Studies of Singapore indicate that lions probably
never lived there, not even
Asiatic
lions; the beast seen by
Sang Nila
Utama, the founder of Singapore who gave it the name meaning
"Lion City", was most likely a
tiger, probably
the
Malayan Tiger. Alternatively, it
could simply be a reference to the ancient
Sinhapura
as described in the
Mahabharata.
History
First settlement (Pre-1819)
The first records of settlement in Singapore are from the 2nd
century AD.
The island was an outpost of the Sumatran
Srivijaya empire and
originally had the Javanese name
Temasek ('sea town').
Temasek (Tumasek) rapidly became a significant trading settlement,
but declined in the late 14th century. There are few remnants of
old Temasek in Singapore, but
archaeologists in Singapore have
uncovered artifacts of that and other settlements. Between the 16th
and early 19th centuries, Singapore island was part of the
Sultanate of Johor. During the
Malay-Portugal wars in 1613, the settlement was set ablaze by
Portuguese troops. The
Portuguese
subsequently held control in that century and the Dutch in the
18th, but throughout most of this time the island's population
consisted mainly of fishermen.
British colonial rule (1819-1940)
On 29 January 1819, Sir
Thomas Stamford
Raffles landed on the main island. Spotting its potential as a
strategic geographical trading post in Southeast Asia, Raffles
signed a treaty with
Sultan Hussein
Shah on behalf of the
British East India Company on 6
February 1819 to develop the southern part of Singapore as a
British trading post and settlement. Until August 1824, Singapore
was still a territory controlled by a Malay Sultan. Singapore
officially became a British colony only in August 1824 when the
British extended control over the whole island.
John Crawfurd, the second resident of
Singapore, was the one who officially made Singapore a British
possession. He signed a treaty with
Sultan Hussein Shah on 2 August 1824 in
which the Sultan and the Temmenggong handed over the whole island
to the
British East India
Company, thus marking the start of the island's modern era.
Raffles's deputy,
William Farquhar,
oversaw a period of growth and ethnic migration, which was largely
spurred by a no-restriction immigration policy. The
British India office governed the island from
1858, but Singapore was made a
British crown colony in 1867,
answerable directly to the Crown. By 1869, 100,000 people lived on
the island.
The early onset of town planning in colonial Singapore came largely
through a
"divide and rule"
framework where the different ethnic groups were settled in
different parts of the South of the island. The Singapore River was
largely a commercial area dominated by traders and bankers of
various ethnic groups with mostly
Chinese and
Indian coolies working to load and unload
goods from barge boats known locally as "bumboats". The
Malays, consisting of the local "
Orang Lauts" who worked mostly as fishermen and
seafarers, and
Arab traders and
scholars were mostly found in the Southeast part of the river
mouth, where Kampong Glam stands today. The
European settlers, who were few then,
settled around Fort Canning Hill and farther upstream from the
Singapore River. Like the Europeans, the early Indian migrants also
settled more inland of the Singapore River, where Little India
stands today. Very little is known about the rural private
settlements in those times (known as
kampongs), other than
the major move by the post-independent Singapore government to
re-settle these residents in the late 1960s.
World War II (1941-1945)
The Japanese Army marching in downtown
Singapore
During
World War II, the Imperial
Japanese Army invaded Malaya, culminating in the Battle of
Singapore. The British were defeated in six days, and
surrendered the supposedly impregnable fortress to General
Tomoyuki Yamashita on 15 February 1942.
The surrender was described by the British Prime Minister,
Sir Winston Churchill,
as, "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British
history." The British naval base (see above) was destroyed before
the Japanese could take over the base and make use of it.
Widespread indiscriminate
killing of the Chinese population
occurred (see
Sook Ching
massacre). The Japanese renamed Singapore , from Japanese , or
"southern island obtained in the age of Shōwa", and
occupied it until the
British repossessed the island on 12 September 1945, a month after
the Japanese surrender. The name
Shōnantō was, at the time,
romanised as "Syonan-to" or
"Syonan", which means "Light of the South".
Independence (1946-Present)
Singapore former flag as a crown
colony until 1959
Following the war, the British government allowed Singapore to hold
its first general election, in 1955, which was won by a
pro-independence candidate,
David
Marshall.
Demanding complete self-rule, then
Chief
Minister David Marshall led
a delegation to London, but was refused by the British. He resigned
upon return, and was replaced by
Lim Yew
Hock, whose policies then convinced the British. Singapore was
granted full internal self-government with its own prime minister
and Cabinet overseeing all matters of government except defence and
foreign affairs.
Elections were then held on 30 May 1959 with the
People's Action Party winning a
landslide victory. Singapore eventually became a self-governing
state within the British Empire on 3 June 1959 and
Lee Kuan Yew was sworn in as the first prime
minister of Singapore two days later. Then
Governor of Singapore,
Sir William
Allmond Codrington Goode, served as the first
Yang di-Pertuan Negara from 3 June
1959 until 3 December 1959. He was succeeded by
Yusof bin Ishak, who would later become the
first
President of
Singapore.
A map of Singapore (2003)
Singapore
declared independence from Britain unilaterally in August 1963,
before joining the Federation of Malaysia
in September along with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak as the
result of the 1962
Merger Referendum of Singapore. Singapore left the
federation two years after heated
ideological conflict between the state's PAP government and the
federal Kuala
Lumpur
government. Singapore officially gained
sovereignty on 9 August 1965.
Yusof bin
Ishak was sworn in as the first President of Singapore and Lee Kuan
Yew became the first prime minister of the Republic of
Singapore
.
While trying to be self-sufficient, the fledging nation faced
problems like mass
unemployment,
housing shortages, and a dearth of land and natural resources.
During Lee Kuan Yew's term as
prime
minister from 1959 to 1990, his administration tackled the
problem of widespread
unemployment,
raised the
standard of living,
and implemented a large-scale public housing programme. It was
during this time that the foundation of the country's
economic infrastructure was developed; the threat of
racial tension was curbed; and an independent national defence
system centering around compulsory male military service was
created.
In 1990,
Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee
as Prime Minister. During his tenure, the country faced the
1997 Asian Financial
Crisis, the 2003
SARS outbreak, and
terrorist threats posed by
Jemaah Islamiyah after the
September 11 attacks in the United
States. In 2004,
Lee Hsien Loong,
the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister.
Amongst his more notable decisions is the plan to open
casinos to attract tourism.
Government and politics
Singapore is a parliamentary democracy with a
Westminster system of
unicameral parliamentary government
representing different
constituencies. The bulk of the
executive powers rests with the
Cabinet, headed by the
Prime Minister, currently Mr Lee
Hsien Loong. The office of
President of Singapore, historically
a ceremonial one, was granted some veto powers as of 1991 for a few
key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the
appointment of
judiciary positions.
Although the position is to be elected by popular vote, only the
1993 election has been contested to date. The
legislative branch of government is the
Parliament.
Parliamentary
elections in Singapore are
plurality-based for
group representation
constituencies since the
Parliamentary Elections Act was
modified in 1991.
The Members of Parliament (MPs) consist of either elected,
non-constituency or nominated Members. The majority of the Members
of Parliament are elected into Parliament at a General Election on
a first-past-the-post basis and represent either Single Member or
Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs).
The elected Members of Parliament act as a bridge between the
community and the Government by ensuring that the concerns of their
constituents are heard in the Parliament. The present Parliament
has 94 Members of Parliament consisting of 84 elected Members of
Parliament, one NCMP and nine Nominated members of
Parliament.
The People's Action Party (PAP) has been the ruling party in
Singapore since self-government was attained. There are several
opposition parties in Singapore, the most notable being the
Workers' Party of
Singapore, the
Singapore
Democratic Party (SDP) and the
Singapore Democratic Alliance
(SDA). The
Economist
Intelligence Unit describes Singapore as a "hybrid regime" of
democratic and authoritarian elements.
Freedom House ranks the country as "partly
free". Although
general elections
are free from irregularities and vote rigging, the PAP has been
criticized by some for manipulating the political system through
its use of censorship,
gerrymandering, and civil
libel suits against opposition
politicians.
Singapore has a successful and transparent
market economy.
Government-linked companies are
dominant in various sectors of the local economy, such as
media,
utilities, and
public transport. Singapore
has consistently been rated as the least corrupt country in Asia
and among the world's ten most free from corruption by
Transparency International.
Although Singapore's laws are inherited from English and
British Indian laws, and includes many
elements of
English common law,
the government has also chosen not to follow some elements of
liberal democratic values. There
are no jury trials and there are laws restricting the freedom of
speech that may breed ill will or cause disharmony within
Singapore's multiracial, multi-religious society. Criminal activity
is often punished with heavy penalties including heavy fines or
caning and there are laws which
allow
capital punishment
in Singapore for
first-degree
murder and
drug trafficking.
The Singapore government argues that Singapore has the
sovereign right to determine its own judicial
system and impose what it sees as an appropriate punishment,
including capital punishment for the most serious crimes.
Geography and climate
Singapore consists of
63
islands, including mainland Singapore.
There are two
man-made connections to Johor,
Malaysia — Johor-Singapore Causeway
in the north, and Tuas Second
Link
in the west. Jurong Island
, Pulau
Tekong
, Pulau
Ubin
and Sentosa
are the largest of Singapore's many smaller
islands. The highest natural point of Singapore is
Bukit Timah
Hill
at .The south of Singapore, around the mouth
of the
Singapore River and what is
now the
Downtown Core, used to be the
only concentrated urban area, while the rest of the land was either
undeveloped
tropical rainforest
or used for agriculture. Since the 1960s, the government has
constructed new residential towns in outlying areas, resulting in
an entirely built-up urban landscape. The
Urban Redevelopment Authority
was established on 1 April 1974, responsible for
urban planning.
Singapore has on-going
land
reclamation projects with earth obtained from its own hills,
the seabed, and neighbouring countries. As a result, Singapore's
land area grew from in the 1960s to today, and may grow by another
100 km² (38.6 sq mi) by 2030.
The projects
sometimes involve some of the smaller islands being merged together
through land reclamation in order to form larger, more functional
islands, such as in the case of Jurong Island.
Under the
Köppen
climate classification system, Singapore has a
tropical rainforest climate with no
distinctive seasons. Its climate is characterized by uniform
temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall.
Temperatures range from 22 °C to 34 °C (72° to
93 °F). On average, the
relative
humidity is around 90% in the morning and 60% in the afternoon.
During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100%.
The lowest and highest temperatures recorded in its maritime
history are and respectively. June and July are the hottest months,
while November and December make up the wetter
monsoon season.
From August to October, there is often haze,
sometimes severe enough to prompt public health warnings, due to
bushfires in neighbouring Indonesia. Singapore does not observe daylight saving
time or a summer time zone change. The length of the day is nearly
constant year round due to the country's location near the
equator.
About 23% of Singapore's land area consists of forest and nature
reserves.
Urbanisation has eliminated many areas of
former primary rainforest, with the only
remaining area of primary rainforest being Bukit Timah
Nature Reserve
. A variety of parks are maintained with human
intervention, such as the Singapore Botanic Gardens
.
Economy
Singapore's Financial Centre
Singapore has a highly developed market-based economy, which has
historically revolved around extended
entrepôt trade.
Along with Hong Kong,
South Korea and Taiwan
, Singapore is one of the Four Asian Tigers. The economy
depends heavily on exports and refining imported goods, especially
in manufacturing. Manufacturing constituted 26% of Singapore's GDP
in 2005. The manufacturing industry is well-diversified with
significant electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical
engineering and biomedical sciences manufacturing sectors. In 2006,
Singapore produced about 10% of the world's foundry
wafer output. Singapore has one of the
busiest ports in the world and
is the world's fourth largest
foreign exchange trading centre
after London, New York City and Tokyo.
Singapore has been rated as the most business-friendly economy in
the world, with thousands of foreign expatriates working in
multi-national
corporations. Singapore is also considered to be one of the top
centres of finance in the world. In addition to this, the
city-state also employs tens of thousands of foreign blue-collared
workers from around the world.
Alternative view of Singapore's
Central Business District (CBD)
As a result of a
global
recession and a slump in the technology sector, the country's
GDP contracted 2.2% in 2001. The Economic Review Committee (ERC)
was set up in December 2001, and recommended several policy changes
with a view to revitalising the economy. Singapore has since
recovered from the recession, largely due to improvements in the
world economy; the Singaporean economy grew by 8.3% in 2004, 6.4%
in 2005 and 7.9% in 2006. On 19 August 2007, Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong announced in his National Day Rally Speech that
Singapore's economy is expected to grow by at least 4-6% annually
over the next 5–10 years.
The per capita GDP in 2006 was US$29,474. As of September 2007, the
unemployment rate is 1.7%, which is the lowest in a decade, having
improved to around pre-Asian crisis level. Employment continued to
grow strongly as the economy maintained its rapid expansion. In the
first three quarters of 2007, 171,500 new jobs were created, which
is close to the figure of 176,000 for the whole of 2006. For the
whole of 2007, Singapore's economy grew 7.5% and drew in a record
S$16 billion (US$10.6b, €8.3b)of fixed asset investments in
manufacturing and projects generating S$3 billion (US$2b, €1.6b) of
total business spending in services.
Orchard Road is decorated for
Christmas, 2005
Singapore introduced a
Goods and Services Tax
(GST) with an initial rate of 3% on 1 April 1994 substantially
increasing government revenue by S$1.6 billion (US$1b, €800m) and
stabilising government finances. The taxable GST was increased to
4% in 2003, to 5% in 2004, and to 7% on 1 July 2007.
Because of the economic recession, Singapore's economy expanded by
only 1.1% in year 2008, much lower than the expected 4.5% to 6.5%
growth, while the unemployment rate was 2.8%. The economy is
expected to contract by up to 8% in 2009 and unemployment could
rise to 5%, according to several private-sector economists.
The
Economic
Development Board
is a statutory board
of the Government of
Singapore. It has been tasked to plan and execute
strategies to sustain Singapore as a leading global hub for
business and
investment.
Free Trade Agreements
, Singapore has 16 bilateral and multilateral trade agreements with 24 trading partners:
Tourism
Marina Centre at Marina Bay at
night
Singapore is a popular travel destination, making
tourism one of its largest industries.
About 7.8 million tourists visited Singapore in 2006. The total
visitor arrivals reached around 10.2 million in 2007.
The Orchard Road
shopping district is one of Singapore's most
well-known and popular tourist draws. To attract more
tourists, the government decided to legalise gambling and to allow
two casino resorts (euphemistically called Integrated Resorts) to be developed at
Marina South and Sentosa in 2005. To compete with regional rivals like
Bangkok
, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai, the government has
announced that the city area would be transformed into a more
exciting place by lighting up the civic and commercial
buildings. Cuisine has also been heavily promoted as an
attraction for tourists, with the
Singapore Food Festival in July
organised annually to celebrate Singapore's cuisine.
Singapore is fast positioning itself as a
medical tourism hub — about 200,000
foreigners seek medical care in the country each year and Singapore
medical services aim to serve one million foreign patients annually
by 2012 and generate USD 3 billion in revenue. The government
expects that the initiative could create an estimated 13,000 new
jobs within the health industries.
The Merlion in Merlion Park
Singapore is a melting pot of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Arabic
communities. Tourists will see women with Chinese features wearing
sarongs and Arabic dress, and these cultural aspects help make
Singapore an unusual destination to visit.
Under the
Infocomm Development
Authority of Singapore (IDA),
Wireless@SG is a government initiative to build
Singapore's infocomm infrastructure. Working through IDA's
Call-for-Collaboration,
SingTel, iCell and
QMax deploy a
municipal
wireless network throughout Singapore. Since late 2006, users
have enjoyed free wireless access through Wi-Fi under the
"basic-tier" package offered by all three operators for 3
years.
There are approximately 30,000 registered hotel rooms available in
Singapore, and average occupancy is around 85%.
Currency
The currency of Singapore is the Singapore dollar, represented by
the symbol
S$ or the abbreviation
SGD. The
central bank
of Singapore is the Monetary Authority of Singapore, responsible
for issuing currency. Singapore established the Board of
Commissioners of Currency, Singapore, on 7 April 1967and issued its
first coins and notes.The Singapore dollar was exchangeable at par
with the Malaysian ringgit until 1973.
Interchangeability
with the Brunei
dollar is
still maintained.
On 27 June 2007, to commemorate 40 years of currency agreement with
Brunei, a commemorative S$20 note was launched; the back is
identical to the Bruneian $20 note launched concurrently.
Foreign relations
Singapore maintains diplomatic relations with 175 countries,
although it does not maintain a
high commission or
embassy in many of those countries. It is
a member of the
United Nations, the
Commonwealth,
ASEAN and the
Non-Aligned Movement.
Due to obvious
geographical reasons, relations with Malaysia and Indonesia are most important but the domestic politics of the
three countries often threatens their relations.
On the
other hand, Singapore enjoys good relations with many European
nations, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the
latter sharing ties via the Five Power Defence
Arrangements (FPDA) along with Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. Good relations
are also maintained with the United States, a country perceived as
a stabilising force in the region to counterbalance the regional
powers.
Singapore supports the concept of Southeast Asian regionalism and
plays an active role in the
Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Singapore is a founding member.
Singapore is also a member of the
Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum, which has its Secretariat in
Singapore.
Singapore also has close relations with
fellow ASEAN nation Brunei and
maintains Army training facilities in the Sultanate.
Disputes
The dispute over the ownership of
Pedra Branca, an outcrop of rocks, was resolved on 24 May 2008
(Singapore time) by the International Court of Justice between
Singapore and Malaysia (see text)
Singapore has several long-standing disputes with Malaysia over a
number of issues:
- Water deliveries to Singapore
- Mutual maritime boundaries
- Air
routes between Singapore Changi Airport
and Kuala Lumpur International
Airport
- The
Singapore island known as Pedra Branca
in Singapore and as Pulau Batu
Puteh in Malaysia (names mean "White Rock" in Portuguese
and "White Rock Island" in Malay
respectively), is located off the east coast of Singapore with a
land area of . The island also comprises Middle Rocks owned
by Malaysia which are two clusters of rocks situated south of the
main island. Both countries had staked a claim on the island and
were unable to settle the dispute themselves. The case was heard at
the International Court of
Justice
in 2007, with both parties presenting their
case. The court delivered its judgment on 23 May 2008 with
Singapore having ownership of Pedra Branca and Malaysia owning
Middle Rocks. Ownership of South Ledge, a nearby rock formation
which can be seen only at low tide is still disputed.
- Relocating the Singapore station of Malaysia's Keretapi Tanah Melayu from Tanjong
Pagar to Bukit Timah (see Malaysia-Singapore
Points of Agreement of 1990) and moving Malaysia's immigration
checkpoint from the railway station to the Causeway.
- Not allowing laid off workers, employed in Singapore shipyards
in 1998, to receive their Central
Provident Funds (CPF) contributions, which are estimated to be
RM2.4 billion.
Military
The
Ministry
of Defence
(MINDEF), currently headed by Minister Teo Chee Hean, oversees the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Navy, and
the Republic of
Singapore Air Force, collectively known as the Singapore Armed Forces, along with
volunteer private companies involved in supporting roles.
The Chief of Defence Forces is
Lieutenant-General Desmond Kuek Bak
Chye.
The armed forces serve primarily as a deterrent against potential
aggressors and also provide humanitarian assistance to other
countries. Singapore has mutual defence pacts with several
countries, most notably the
Five Power Defence
Arrangements. There is an extensive overseas network of
training grounds in the United States, Australia, Republic of China
(Taiwan), New Zealand, France, Thailand, Brunei, India and South
Africa. Since 1980, the concept and strategy of "
Total Defence" has been adopted in all aspects
of security; an approach aimed at strengthening Singapore against
all kinds of threats.
The recent rise in
unconventional
warfare and terrorism has cast increasing emphasis on
non-military aspects of defence.
The Gurkha Contingent
, part of the Singapore Police Force
, is also a counter-terrorist force. In 1991,
the hijacking of
Singapore
Airlines Flight 117 ended in the storming of the aircraft by
Singapore Special
Operations Force and the subsequent deaths of all four
hijackers without injury to either passengers or SOF personnel. A
concern is
Jemaah Islamiyah, a
militant Islamic group whose plan to
attack the Australian High
Commission was ultimately foiled in 2001.
Singapore's defence resources have been used in international
humanitarian aid missions, including
United
Nations peacekeeping assignments involved in 11 different
countries.
In September 2005, the Republic of Singapore
Air Force (RSAF) sent three CH-47 Chinook helicopters to Louisiana
to assist in relief operations for Hurricane Katrina. In the aftermath of
the 2004 Asian
Tsunami
(or Boxing Day Tsunami), the SAF deployed 3 LSTs
(Landing Ship Tank), 12 Super Puma and 8 Chinook helicopters to aid
in relief operations to the countries that were affected by the
tsunami.
Singapore Armed Forces
The Singapore Armed Forces, the military forces of Singapore, takes
charge of the overall defence of the country. It comprises three
branches: the
Singapore Army,
Republic of Singapore
Air Force, and the
Republic of Singapore Navy.
The Singapore Army is one of the three services of the
Singapore Armed Forces. It is headed
by the Chief of Army (COA), currently
Major General Neo
Kian Hong. The Army focuses on leveraging technology and weapon
systems as "
force-multipliers". It
is currently undergoing the transformation into what it terms a
"3rd-Generation fighting force".
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), the
air force branch, guards the
airspace of Singapore. The RSAF was established in
1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command. It operates four air
bases in Singapore and operates its aircraft in several overseas
locations in order to provide greater exposure to its pilots. The
main aircraft found in its fleet include
F-16 Fighting Falcons,
F-15 Eagles,
AH-64
Apache Attack Helicopters,
CH-47
Chinook and
C-130 Hercules.
The final branch, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), is the
navy of the
Singapore Armed Forces, responsible
for the defence of Singapore against seaborne threats and
protection of its
sea lines
of communications. Operating within the crowded
littoral waters of the
Singapore Strait, the RSN is regarded as
one of the best in the region.
The RSN operates from two bases, Tuas Naval
Base
and Changi Naval Base
, and has a large number of vessels, including 4
submarines, 6 frigates, and 4 amphibious transport docks.
All commissioned ships of the RSN have a prefix
RSS, which
means
Republic of Singapore Ship.
Singapore Police Force
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the main agency tasked with
maintaining law and
order in the country. Formerly known as the Republic of
Singapore Police, it has grown from an 11-man organisation to a
38,587 strong force. It enjoys a relatively positive public image,
and is credited for helping to arrest Singapore's civic unrests and
lawlessness in its early years, and maintaining the low crime rate
today. The organisation structure of the SPF is split between the
staff and line functions, roughly modelled after the military.
There are currently 15 staff departments and 13 line units. The SPF
is headquartered in a block at New Phoenix Park in
Novena, adjacent to a twin block occupied
by the
Ministry of Home
Affairs.
Police officers typically respond to calls in rapid-deployment
vehicles known as the
Fast Response
Car. They have been staunch users of Japanese-made
saloon cars since the 1980s for patrol duties,
with the mainstay models in use being the various generations of
the
Mitsubishi Lancers,
Mazda 323s,
Toyota
Corollas &
Subaru
Impreza.
Singapore Civil Defence Force
An SCDF Combined Platform Ladder (CPL)
Vehicle
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is the main agency in
charge of the provision of
emergency
services in Singapore during peacetime and emergencies.
A
uniformed organisation under the purview of the Ministry of
Home Affairs
, the SCDF provides ambulance, fire
fighting and emergency response services to the Republic of
Singapore. It also plays a major role in the Republic's
disaster relief operations. It is
branched into 6 Operational and Training Divisions beneath the
Headquarters Element. Of these six, four are known as Operational
Divisions, also known as Territorial Divisions, and each cover vast
sections of Singapore corresponding roughly to the four cardinal
points of the compass.
The SCDF maintains a large fleet of custom vehicles, called
appliances, to provide an emergency response force capable of
mitigating any and all kinds of fires and disasters. Ranging from
the generic
fire truck and
ambulance to more sophisticated mobile command
structures and disaster mitigation vehicles of all kinds, many of
the appliances were designed and commissioned by the Force itself
rather than obtaining ready-made designs from industries.
National Service
Singapore legislation requires every able-bodied male Singapore
citizen and permanent resident to undertake
National Service for a minimum
of 2 years upon reaching 18 years of age or completion of his
studies (whichever comes first), with exemption on medical or other
grounds. After serving for two years, every male is considered
operationally ready, and is liable for reservist national service
to the age of 40 (50 for commissioned officers). More than 350,000
men serve as operationally ready servicemen assigned to reservist
combat units, and another 72,500 men form the full-time national
service and regular corps.
Demographics
Population
to government statistics, the population of Singapore as of 2009
was 4.99 million, of whom 3.73 million were
Singaporean citizens and
permanent residents (termed "Singapore Residents"). There were 3.2
million citizens in 2009. Various
Chinese linguistic groups formed 74.2%
of Singapore's residents,
Malays
13.4%,
Indians 9.2%, while
Eurasians,
Arabs and other groups formed 3.2%.
In 2006 the crude birth rate stood at 10.1 per 1000, a very low
level attributed to birth control policies, and the crude death
rate was also one of the lowest in the world at 4.3 per 1000. The
total population growth was 4.4% with Singapore residents growth at
1.8%. The higher percentage growth rate is largely from net
immigration, but also increasing life expectancy.
Singapore is the
second-most
densely populated independent country in the world after
Monaco. In 1957, Singapore's population was
approximately 1.45 million, and there was a relatively high birth
rate. Aware of the country's extremely limited natural resources
and small territory, the government introduced birth control
policies in the late 1960s. In the late 1990s, the population was
aging, with fewer people entering the labour market and a shortage
of skilled workers. In a dramatic reversal of policy, the Singapore
government introduced a "baby bonus" scheme in 2001 (enhanced in
August 2004) that encouraged couples to have more children.
In 2008, the total fertility rate was only 1.28 children per woman,
the 3rd lowest in the world and well below the 2.10 needed to
replace the population.. In 2008, 39,826 babies were born, compared
to around 37,600 in 2005. This number, however, is not sufficient
to maintain the population's growth. To overcome this problem, the
government is encouraging foreigners to immigrate to Singapore.
These large numbers of immigrants have kept Singapore's population
from declining.
Religion
Singapore is a
multi-religious
country. According to
Statistics Singapore, around 51%
of resident Singaporeans (excluding significant numbers of visitors
and migrant workers) practice
Buddhism and
Taoism.
Muslims
constitute 15%, of whom Malays account for the majority with a
substantial number of
Indian
Muslims and Chinese Muslims. About 14%,
mostly Chinese, Eurasians, and Indians, practice
Christianity - a broad classification including
Catholicism, Protestantism and other denominations. Smaller
minorities practice
Sikhism,
Hinduism and others, according
to the 2000 census.
Some religious materials and practices are banned in Singapore. The
Jehovah's Witnesses, for
example, are prohibited from distributing religious materials and
are sometimes jailed for their conscientious refusals to serve in
the Singaporean military.
About 15% of the population declared no religious
affiliation.
Education
Raffles Institution, the oldest school
in Singapore
English is the medium of instruction in Singapore schools. All
Singaporeans are required at least primary 6 education and must
attend government schools as part of National Education.
Many children attend private kindergartens until they start at
primary school at the age of six. Singapore's ruling political
party, the PAP, is the largest provider of preschool education
through its community arm.
English is the language of instruction for mathematics and the
natural sciences. For the Chinese community, there are
Special Assistance Plan schools
which receive extra funding to teach in Mandarin along with
English. Some schools also integrate language subjects with
mathematics and the sciences, using both English and a second
language.
Curricular standards are set by the
Ministry of Education with
a mix of private schools and public schools. There is no strict
public-private dichotomy: the degree of autonomy, regarding
curriculum and student admission, government funding received, and
tuition burden on the students is further classified into
"government-run", "government-aided", "autonomous", "independent",
and "privately funded". In addition,
international schools cater to
expatriate students, and to a few local students
given permission by the education ministry.
There are
three Autonomous
Universities in Singapore; the National
University of Singapore
, Nanyang Technological
University
and Singapore Management
University
. A fourth public university is under
consideration as the government looks to provide higher education
for 30% of each cohort. There is another category (Private
Universities - Comprehensive), SIM University (UniSIM) provides
university education to working professionals and adult learners.
There are
also five polytechnics (Singapore
Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
, Temasek
Polytechnic, Nanyang
Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic
). Unlike similarly named institutions in
many other countries, polytechnics in Singapore do not award
degrees.
The educational system features non-compulsory kindergarten for
three years, followed by six years of primary education leading up
to the
Primary School
Leaving Examination (PSLE). Four to five years of secondary
education follow, leading up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'N'
Level or
Singapore-Cambridge
GCE 'O' Level examinations that assess academic achievement and
determine the kind of
post-secondary education routes
they can pursue.
Junior Colleges and
Centralised Institutes provide a two
or three-year pre-university education route. An alternative, the
Integrated Programme, lets the
more academically inclined skip the 'O' Level examination and
proceed straight to obtain pre-university qualifications such as
the GCE 'A' Level certificate, the
International Baccalaureate
diploma, or other equivalent academic accreditations.
Polytechnics offer courses
leading up to at least a diploma for students, while the other
tertiary institutions offer various bachelor's, master's, doctoral
degrees, other higher diplomas, and associate degree courses.Other
institutes include the National Institute of Education (NIE), a
teaching college to train teachers, various management institutes,
and
vocational education
institutes such as the
Institute of Technical
Education (ITE).
The Economic Development Board (EDB) has been actively recruiting
foreign schools to set up campuses in Singapore under the "Global
Schoolhouse" programme which aims to attract 150000 foreign
students by 2015.
ESSEC
Business
School, a century-old Parisian business school, provides courses
specific to Asia. in 2001 INSEAD, a leading
business school, opened its first overseas campus in Singapore, and
the University of
Chicago Graduate School of Business has a campus in the city as
well. The
Tisch School
of the Arts is the latest to set up a branch campus, opening in
2007.
However,
the EDB failed to attract and retain the University
of Warwick
and University of New South Wales
, respectively, citing lack of academic freedom and
financial concerns.
In 1999, the Ministry of Education started the
Programme
for Rebuilding and Improving Existing schools (PRIME) to
upgrade school buildings, many of which were built over 20 to 30
years ago, in phases at a cost of S$4.5 billion. This programme
aims to provide a better school environment for the students by
upgrading school buildings to latest standards. In 2005, the
Flexible School Infrastructure (FlexSI) framework was implemented
through the building of modular classrooms which can be opened up
for larger lectures, and allowing a school's staff members to mould
their school's designs to suit the school's unique identity and
culture. At the same time, an indoor sports hall will be provided
to every school so that schools can carry out physical education
lessons in inclement weather.
Languages
Singapore is effectively a multi-lingual nation. The official
languages are English,
Malay,
Chinese and
Tamil. The national language of Singapore is
Malay for historical reasons, and it is used in the national
anthem, "
Majulah Singapura".
English is the main language of Singapore and has been heavily
promoted as such since the country's independence. The English used
is primarily based on
British
English, with some
American
English influences. The use of English became widespread in
Singapore after it was implemented as a first language medium in
the
education system, and
English is the most common language in
Singaporean literature. In school,
children are required to learn English and one of the three other
official languages. By law, all signs and official publications are
required to be primarily in English, although they are occasionally
translated versions into the other official languages. However,
most Singaporeans speak a localised hybrid form of English known as
Singlish ("Singapore English"), which has
many
creole-like characteristics,
incorporating vocabulary and grammar from Standard English, various
Chinese dialects, Malay, and Indian
languages.
The second most common language in Singapore is
Singaporean Mandarin, with over seventy
percent of the population having it as a
second language. It is generally spoken as a
common language amongst
Singapore's
Chinese community. Most Singapore Chinese are, however,
descended from immigrants who came from the southern regions of
China where regional dialects were spoken, such as
Hokkien,
Teochew and
Cantonese etc. Mandarin's use has spread
largely as a result of government-sponsored public campaigns and
efforts to support its adoption and use over the dialects.
Malay is generally spoken by
Singapore's Malay community, while
Tamil is spoken by about 60% of Singapore's
Indian community. Indian languages such as
Malayalam and
Hindi are also
spoken in Singapore.
Culture
Singapore is a mixture of
an ethnic
Malay population with a
Chinese majority, as well as
Indian and
Arab immigrants. There also exist
significant
Eurasian and
Peranakan (known also as 'Straits
Chinese') communities.
Cuisine
Singaporean cuisine is an example of diversity and cultural
diffusion, with influences from
Chinese,
Indian,
Malay and
Tamil cuisine. In Singapore's
hawker centres, traditionally
Malay hawker stalls selling
halal food may serve halal versions of traditionally
Tamil food. Chinese food stalls may
introduce indigenous Malay ingredients or cooking techniques. This
continues to make the cuisine of Singapore a significant cultural
attraction.
Local foods are diverse, ranging from
Hainanese chicken rice to
satay. Singaporeans also enjoy a wide variety of
seafood including crabs, clams, squid, and oysters. One such dish
is stingray barbecued and served on banana leaf with
sambal or chili.
Amongst locals, popular dishes include bak chor mee, mee pok,
sambal stingray, laksa, nasi lemak, chili crab and satay. All of
which, can be found at local hawker centres around Singapore.
Performing arts
Esplanade, Theatres on the Bay
Since the 1990s, the government has been striving to promote
Singapore as a centre for arts and culture, and to transform the
country into a
cosmopolitan
'gateway between the East and West'.
The highlight of these efforts was the
construction of Esplanade
, a centre for performing arts that opened on 12
October 2002.
An annual
arts festival is
also organised by the National Arts Council that incorporates
theatre arts, dance, music and visual arts, among other
possibilities.
A first
Singapore Biennale took
place in 2006 to showcase contemporary art from around the
world.
Singapore also has a growing
stand-up
comedy scene with three active venues, including a weekly
open mic to help develop local
comedians.
Media
Around 78,000 people work in the media in Singapore, including
publishing, print, broadcasting, film, music, digital and IT media
sectors. The industry contributed 1.56% to Singapore's
gross domestic product (GDP) in 2001
with an annual turnover of
S$10
billion($6.6b,€5.1b). The industry grew at an average rate of 7.7%
annually from 1990 to 2000, and the government seeks to increase
its GDP contribution to 3% by 2012.
The "Singapore government" says the media play an important role in
the country, and describes the city as one of the key strategic
media centres in the
Asia-Pacific
region. The goal of the
government's Media 21 plan, launched
in 2002, is to establish Singapore as a global media hub.
In its Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index for 2004, Reporters
Without Borders ranked Singapore 147 out of 167. Most of the local
media are directly or indirectly controlled by the government
through shareholdings of these media entities by the state's
investment arm Temasek Holdings, and are often perceived as
pro-government.
Broadcasting
State-owned
MediaCorp operates all seven
free-to-air terrestrial local
television
channels licensed to broadcast in Singapore, as well as 14
radio channels. Radio and television stations are all
government-owned entities. The radio stations are mainly operated
by MediaCorp with the exception of four stations, which are
operated by
SAFRA Radio and
SPH UnionWorks respectively. The Cable and
IPTV Pay-TV Service are owned by
Starhub
TV and
Singtel Mio
TV. Private ownership of satellite dish receivers capable of
viewing uncensored televised content from abroad is illegal.
Print
The Straits Times, the most circulated
newspaper in the country
There are a total of 16
newspapers in
active circulation. Daily newspapers are published in English,
Chinese,
Malay and
Tamil.
The print media are dominated by
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH),
government-linked publisher of the flagship English-language daily,
The Straits Times. SPH
publishes all other daily newspapers, including a free bilingual
daily,
My Paper -- which claims to be the world's first,
with equal coverage in both English and Chinese -- with the
exception of
Today, a free
English-language tabloid published by the state-owned broadcaster
MediaCorp, as well as an online version.
Most of these papers have parallel online versions.
English-language SPH papers available online include
The
Straits Times,
Business Times, and
The New
Paper.
There are also several popular magazines circulating in Singapore,
like
i-weekly,
8 days,
Citta Bella,
Her World,
Brides,
Men's Health and
FHM Singapore.
Sport and recreation
Singaporeans participate in a wide variety of sports and
recreational activities. Favorite sports include football, rugby
union, cricket, swimming, badminton, basketball, tennis,
volleyball and table tennis. Most people live in
public residential
areas that often provide amenities such as swimming pools,
outdoor basketball courts and indoor sport complexes. As might be
expected on an island, water sports are popular, including sailing,
kayaking and water skiing.
Scuba diving is another recreation,
particularly around the southern island of Pulau Hantu
which is known for its rich coral
reefs.
Closing ceremony for the use of the
National Stadium
The
55,000 seat National Stadium, Singapore
, located in Kallang was opened in July 1973 and
was used for sporting, cultural, entertainment and national events
until its official closure on 30 June 2007 to make way for the
Singapore
Sports Hub
on the same site. This sports complex is
expected to be ready by 2011 and will comprise a new
55,000-capacity National Stadium with a retractable roof, a
6,000-capacity indoor aquatic centre, a 400-metre warm-up athletic
track and a 3,000-seater multi-purpose arena. 36,000 square metres
of space have also been reserved for commercial development.
Singaporean sportsmen have performed in regional as well as
international competitions in sports such as
table tennis,
badminton,
bowling,
sailing,
silat,
swimming and
water polo. Athletes such as
Fandi Ahmad,
Ang Peng
Siong,
Li Jiawei and
Ronald Susilo have become household names in
the country.
The
Singapore Slingers joined the
Australian
National Basketball League in 2006, which they left again in
2008.
Beginning in 2008, Singapore started hosting a round of the
Formula One World Championship.
The race
staged at the Marina Bay Street Circuit
in the Marina Bay
area and became the first night race on the F1
circuit and the first street circuit in Asia.
On 21
February 2008, the International Olympic
Committee
announced that Singapore won the bid to host the
inaugural 2010 Summer Youth
Olympics. Singapore beat Moscow in the final by 53 votes
to 44.
Architecture
The architecture of Singapore is varied, reflecting the ethnic
build-up of the country. Singapore has several ethnic
neighbourhoods, including
Chinatown and
Little India. These were formed
under the
Raffles Plan to
segregate the immigrants. Many places of worship were also
constructed during the colonial era.
Sri
Mariamman Temple
, the Masjid
Jamae
mosque and the Church of
Gregory the Illuminator
are among those that were built during the colonial
period. Work is now underway to preserve these religious
sites as
National
Monuments of Singapore.
Due to
the lack of space and lack of preservation policies during the
1960s, 70s and 80s, few historical buildings remain in the Central
Business District (CBD) - the Fullerton Hotel
and the previously moved Lau Pa Sat
being some exceptions. However, just outside
of Raffles Place, and throughout the rest of the downtown core,
there is a large scattering of pre-WWII buildings - some going back
nearly as far as Raffles, as with the Empress
Place Building
, built in 1827. Many classical buildings
were destroyed during the post-war decades, up until the 1990s,
when the government started strict programmes to conserve the
buildings and areas of historic value.
Past the shopping malls are streets lined with shophouses. Many
other such areas have been gazetted as historic districts.
Information can be found at the
URA Centre in Maxwell Road,
where there are exhibits and several models of the island and its
architecture. Singapore has also become a centre for
postmodern architecture.
Historically, the demand for high-end buildings has been in and
around the Central Business District (CBD). After decades of
development, the CBD has become an area with many tall office
buildings. These buildings comprise the skyline along the coast of
Marina Bay and Raffles Place, a tourist attraction in Singapore.
Plans for tall buildings must be reviewed by the Civil Aviation
Authority of Singapore. No building in Singapore may be taller than
280 metres.
The three tallest buildings in Singapore,
namely Republic
Plaza
, UOB Plaza
One
and OUB
Centre
, are all 280 metres in height.
More
contemporary architectural examples in Singapore include the
Marina Bay
Financial Centre
, Marina
Bay Sands
Integrated Resort,
One Raffles
Quay
, Reflections at Keppel Bay
, The Sail @ Marina Bay
, the Singapore Flyer
, One Marina Boulevard
, and Esplanade - Theatres on the
Bay.
Resources
Water resource
Without natural freshwater rivers and lakes, rainfall is the
primary domestic source of
water supply
in Singapore. About half of Singapore's water comes from rain
collected in reservoirs and catchment areas while the rest comes
from Malaysia. The two countries have long argued of the legality
of agreements to supply water that were signed in colonial
times.
Singapore has a network of reservoirs and water catchment areas. In
2001, there were 19 raw water reservoirs, 9 treatment works and 14
storage or service reservoirs locally to serve domestic needs.
Marina
Barrage
is a dam being constructed around the estuary of
three Singapore rivers, creating a huge freshwater reservoir by
2009, the Marina Bay reservoir. This will increase the
rainfall catchment to two-thirds of the country's surface
area.
Historically, Singapore relied on imports from Malaysia to supply
half of its water consumption. However, two water agreements that
supply water to Singapore are due to expire by 2011 and 2061
respectively. The two countries are engaged in a dispute on the
price of water. Without a resolution in sight, the government of
Singapore decided to increase self-sufficiency in its water supply.
Presently, more catchment areas, facilities to recycle water
(producing NEWater) and desalination plants are being built. This
"four tap" strategy aims to reduce reliance on foreign supply and
to diversify its water sources..
In 2008, a water barrage name - The
Marina
Barrage was built across the Marina Channel between Marina
East and Marina South. The barrage aims to provides
additional water supply catchment area, improve flood control and
serve as an outdoor attraction for tourists and Singaporeans.
Transport
International
Singapore is a major international transportation hub in Asia,
positioned on many sea and air trade routes.
The
Port of
Singapore
, managed by port operators PSA International and Jurong Port, was the world's second busiest port
in 2005 in terms of shipping tonnage handled, at 1.15 billion
gross tons, and in terms of containerised traffic, at 23.2 million
twenty-foot equivalent
units (TEUs). It is also the world's second busiest in
terms of cargo tonnage, coming behind Shanghai with 423 million
tons handled. In addition, the Port is the world's busiest for
transshipment traffic and the world's
biggest ship refuelling centre.
PSA Keppel
Singapore is an aviation hub for the
Southeast Asian region and a stopover on the
Kangaroo route between
Australasia and Europe.
Singapore
Changi Airport has a network of 81 airlines connecting Singapore
to 185 cities in 58 countries. It has been rated as one of
the best international airports by international travel magazines,
including being rated as the world's best airport for the first
time in 2006 by
Skytrax. The airport
currently has three passenger terminals. There is also a budget
terminal, which serves budget carrier
Tiger Airways and
Cebu
Pacific. The national carrier is
Singapore Airlines (SIA). The government
is moving towards privatising Changi airport.
Singapore
is linked to Johor, Malaysia
via the Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Tuas Second Link
, as well as a railway operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu of Malaysia,
with its southern terminus at Tanjong
Pagar railway station
. Frequent ferry service to several nearby
Indonesian ports also exists.
Domestic
The domestic transport infrastructure has a well-connected
island-wide
road transport
system which includes a
network of expressways. The public
road system is served by the
nation's bus service and a number
of licensed
taxi-operating companies. The
public bus transport has been the subject of criticism by
Singaporeans , the majority of whom are dependent on it for their
daily commuting. Since 1987, the heavy rail passenger
Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)
metro system has been in operation.
The MRT system has been further augmented by the
Light Rail Transit (LRT)
light rail system, and increases
accessibility to
housing estates.
Established in 2001, the
EZ-Link system
allows contactless
smartcards to serve as
stored value tickets for use in the public transport systems in
Singapore.
More than 2.85 million people use the bus network daily operated
mainly by
SBS Transit and
SMRT Buses, the two main public bus operators,
while more than 1.5 million people use either the LRT or MRT as
part of their daily routine. Approximately 945,000 people use the
taxi services daily. Private vehicle use in the Central Area is
discouraged by
tolls implemented during
hours of heavy road traffic, through an
Electronic Road Pricing system.
Private vehicle ownership is discouraged by the usage of high
vehicle taxes and imposing
quotas on vehicle
purchase.
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Hill, Michael; Kwen Fee Lian (1995). The Politics of Nation
Building and Citizenship in Singapore. Routledge. ISBN
041512025X
- Lee Kuan Yew (2000). From Third World To First: The
Singapore Story: 1965-2000. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN
0060197765
External links
- Government
- General information
- Travel
- , also as book Wikitravel Singapore: The free, complete,
up-to-date and reliable guide to Singapore, ISBN
1229217831
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(European Free Trade
Association) (ESFTA)
,
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