Jump to content

Singapore

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ran (talk | contribs) at 02:05, 13 September 2004. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Republic of Singapore (Chinese 新加坡共和国, pinyin: Xīnjīapō 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.

新加坡共和国
Republik Singapura
சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு
Republic of Singapore
Singapore Flag Singapore Coat of Arms
(In Detail)
National motto: Majulah Singapura
(Malay: Onward, Singapore)
Official languagesEnglish, Chinese (Mandarin), Malay and Tamil
National languageMalay
CapitalSingapore
PresidentS. R. Nathan
Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong
Area
 - Total
 - % water 		Ranked 174th
692.7 km²
1.444%
Population
 - Total (July 2003 est.)
 - Density 		Ranked 115th
4,608,595
6751/km²

GDP
 - Total (2002)

 - GDP/head


$112.4 billion


$25,200
Independence
 - Date 		From Malaysia
August 9, 1965
CurrencySingapore Dollar (S$, SGD)
Time zoneUTC +8
National anthemMajulah Singapura
Internet TLD.SG
Calling code65 (Also 02 when dialling from Malaysia)

History

Main article: History of Singapore

Singapore's history dates at least as far back as the 14th century. At that time, it emerged as Temasek, a port and fortified city of some importance. It was part of the Sri Vijaya Empire based in Sumatra, which was undergoing a protracted period of decline. While the written historical records of the Malays (the 'Sejarah Melayu', or Malay Annals) tend to exaggerate claims of the city's greatness, recent archaeological evidence does point to an urban settlement and trading centre of some importance. Following the decline of Sri Vijayan power, Temasek was claimed by rival emerging regional powers such as the Majapahit Empire in Java and the Ayuthia Kingdom in Thailand. The city's fortifications allowed it to withstand at least one attempted Thai invasion. Around this time, at start of the 15th century, Temasek was also renamed 'Singapura', which means 'Lion City' in Sanskrit.

The modern city of Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles as a British trading settlement. For most parts of the 19th and 20th century, Singapore was a British colony, part of the Straits Settlements together with Penang and Malacca. The British surrendered Singapore to Japan in 1942 during World War II, and it was returned to British administration in 1945. Self-government was granted by the British in 1959. In 1963, Singapore joined Malaysia but separated from it in 1965 and was re-instituted as an independent republic. In its early years of independence, Singapore was poor, and torn apart by racial strife. As one of the four East Asian Tigers, it has subsequently become one of the world's most prosperous countries, with strong international trading links (its port is one of the world's busiest) and with per capita GDP above that of the leading nations of Western Europe. During the early years, it was led by prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, whose policies were responsible for Singapore's prosperity and development. In 1990, Lee Kuan Yew passed the reins to successor Goh Chok Tong, and in 2004, Lee Hsien Loong became the third prime minister of Singapore.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Singapore

Singapore has a Westminster-style constitution. There is an elected figurehead president, with true executive power resting 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 instituted several harsh laws that discourage and impede the creation and success of effective opposition parties. There are several allegations of the government influencing the judiciary to presecute the opposition. 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. The mode of government is closer to authoritarianism than true democracy. Paradoxically (for political scientists), Singapore has a highly successful, and transparent market economy. Singapore is officially known as a "Socialist Democracy".

Economy

Main article: Economy of Singapore

Singapore CBD lit up

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 GDPs 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 US economy, and is now expected to expand between 8 to 9% 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 GDP per capital income in 2003 - US$23,700 (est.) with an unemployment rate hovering around 5% in the same year.

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.

Science

Centralised control of the economy allows Singapore to easily pursue ambitious research programs. In early 2000s Singapore invested several billion dollars into research in therapeutic cloning, drug discovery, cancer research, and other areas of bioscience (including those too controversial or just not fundable in other countries), inviting top-notch Western and Japanese scientists.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Singapore

Map of Singapore

Singapore's main territory is a diamond-shaped island except for a connection to the city of Johor Bahru in the state of Johor (of Malaysia) by a man-made causeway to the north. There is also a Tuas Second Link in Tuas in the west of Singapore to Johor in the form of a bridge. Singapore also has dozens of smaller islands, of which Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest. The highest point of Singapore is Bukit Timah, with a height of 164 meters.

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 581.5 km² in the 1960s to 633 km² today, and may grow by another 100 km² by 2030.

Singapore's climate is tropical ("tropical rainforest" Af under Köppen climate classification), with no clear seasons. Temperatures almost never drop below 20°C/68°F or rise above 35°C/95°F. (Air-conditioning is therefore ubiquitous.) Humidity is high, and precipitation is frequent year-round, often coming in the form of sudden afternoon thunderstorms, and is slightly more frequent between October and March. Singapore is however nearly never affected by typhoons, which form in equal or higher latitudes far out to sea.

Since Singapore basically consists of only one city, there are no further administrative divisions. Singapore does however have community development councils and town councils that handle some local matters. Template:Singapore

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 the population live in public housing provided by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). Source: Dept of Statistics

Singapore's population is diverse. Chinese account for 76.8% of the population, Malays 13.9% who were the indigenous or native group of the country, but they have largely intermingeled with many other races from the other parts of the world, especially with the Arabs ad the Bugis from Sulawesi. Indians are the third largest ethnic group at 7.9%. Source: Singapore Department of Statistics Census 2000. The government of Singapore has been careful to maintain ethnic harmony after racial riots erupted in the 1960s, by putting people of different ethnicities together in schools, government housing, and the military. So far the policy has been successful, and there have been few outward signs of any 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 recipocral ban on other religious symbols).

The official languages are English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Though Malays consist of only a minority of the population, Malay is also Singapore's national language for historical reasons - it remains the language of the national anthem. The ruling PAP (People's Action Party) has preferred to promote English as the country's lingua franca, and today English is spoken by the majority of the population, while Malay is confined mostly to ethnic Malays.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Singapore

Singapore is a small and relatively modern amalgam of Chinese, Malay and Indian 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. The major public holidays reflect this diversity, including Chinese New Year, Buddhist Vesak Day, Muslim Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha (known locally by its Malay names Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji respectively), Hindu Diwali (known locally by its original name Deepavali). While Christians are a minority, Christmas Day, Good Friday, and New Year's Day are also public holidays.

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 very similar 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 by the government.

Transportation

Singapore is linked to the outside via a railway line under the authority of Malaysia, the causeway and second link which both lead to the Malaysian state of Johor. An airport of international stature, the Changi International Airport, is situated at the eastermost tip of the main island.

Within Singapore, there is a well-developed system of expressways and public transport roads:

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

Laws

Laws are often strict (there is a saying "Singapore is a 'fine' country", where the "fine" is of the monetary kind):

  • The sale of chewing gum was forbidden for 12 years until May 2004. However, those that buy chewing gum must show their ID, give their name, and have a doctor's prescription. If the pharmacist that sells the gum does not take the name of the buyer, they face a $3,000 fine.
  • Heavy fines and community service are levied on people who litter or discard items in public areas.
  • Car ownership is curbed through a government scheme in which car owners must bid for a Certificate of Entitlement (COE).
  • Eating and drinking on buses and metro trains (also known as the Mass Rapid Transit system) also carries heavy fines.
  • Vandalism and graffiti are punishable by mandatory caning.
  • There is tough (by western standards) censorship:
    • Some foreign newspapers and magazines, such as the Asian Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review have had their circulation or sale restricted. Malaysian newspapers are not allowed to be sold in Singapore (and vice versa)
    • pornography is not allowed; depiction of sex and nudity is restricted, e.g. Playboy and certain other 'adult' magazines are not allowed, Cosmopolitan Magazine was only recently permitted. Sex and nudity, if allowed at all, must be relevant to the context; movies containing nudity, sex or high levels of violence are usually categorised as Mature 18 (M18), as Restricted 21 (R21), or are banned.
    • It is of note that the government has shown some interest in relaxing these standards, and has in recent times introduced a new movie category allowing 18-year-olds to view more mature content (M18), besides the existing NC-16 and R21 ratings.
    • Private ownership of satellite dishes is banned, and international TV broadcasts (such as CNN, BBC, etc) can only be received by cable.
    • Certain political material is not allowed.
    • Material which may disturb religious and racial harmony is not allowed.
  • Narcotics laws are very strict.
    • Anyone caught with more than or equal to 13-14 g (0.5 ounces) of heroin, 28 g (1 ounce) of morphine or 480 g (17 ounces) of cannabis faces mandatory capital punishment. From 1991-2004, 400 people have been hanged in Singapore, mostly for drug trafficking, the highest execution rate in the world relative to population. See Singapore Government's response to its capital punishment.
  • Sex deemed by the Government to be "against the order of nature", including oral sex and homosexual penetration, is illegal.

In 2003, the Censorship Review Committee recommended that the ban on Cosmopolitan Magazine be lifted but that the one on Playboy be continued because the Singaporean community is not ready for Playboy's liberal use of sexually explicit photographs.

In recent years, the Singaporean government has relaxed some of the stricter laws. For example, bungy jumping is no longer illegal, and neither is having long hair. Film censorship has also been relaxed. There are also signs that the government is considering relaxing a number of laws concerning sex.

It is of note that while some strict (and to the point of being ludicrous) laws exist in theory, the government (usually) does not deliberately enforce these laws. For instance, while possession of pornography is illegal, no known checks have been made. Neither has the government tried to enforce a rule stating that oral sex be performed only as a precursor to sexual intercourse.

An American teenager, Michael Fay, aroused passionate media interest from the United States 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. (Caning is also still allowed in Singapore schools, but only by the principal and/or the discipline master, and only for very serious offences, such as smoking. Furthermore, the canes used in schools are much less thick than those used on criminals, which can cause wounds with only one stroke.) Senior 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.

Capital punishment

Singapore is believed to possess the highest per capita rate of executions in the world, according to Amnesty International. The Singapore government has released figures giving a breakdown of the numbers of executions that have taken place over the past five years. Executions by hanging occur every Friday morning in Changi prison; relatives are informed of the date of the execution four days before it is scheduled to take place, seven to fourteen days beforehand in the case of foreigners as is detailed in the Singapore government's response to Amnesty International on the subject.

Trivia

  • Traffic drives on the left.
  • Date format: DD/MM/YYYY
  • Postal code: 6 digits.
  • Telephone prefixes: 6xxx-xxxx land lines; 8xxx-xxxx and 9xxx-xxxx mobile lines. 9xxx-xxxx pager lines.
  • Voltage: 220-240V, 50 Hz; Power connector: 3-pin rectangular (British)
  • Education system: Compulsory six years of Primary education,whereby students take the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE),which then decides how many years of Secondary School they take,depending on which stream they are sent into,varying from 4-5 years. After which, students take the GCE 'O' Level Exams and may choose to move on to tertiary education, such as Junior Colleges or Polytechnics, where they will study for 2 to 4 years depending on which course they take, after which they can choose to take the GCE 'A' Level Exams and move on to University. There is an integrated Programme which allows students to bypass the 'O' Levels and move on directly to tertiary education.
The Esplanade and Marina Square

Miscellaneous topics

Reference

  • This article incorporates public domain text from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.
File:Singapore-blue.jpg
Panorama of Singapore from Boat Quay

minnan:Sin-ka-pho

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Singapore&oldid=5845442"