Portal:Singapore

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north.

In its early history, Singapore was a maritime emporium known as Temasek; subsequently, it was part of a major constituent part of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrepôt trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942 and returned to British control as a Crown colony following Japan's surrender in 1945. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and, in 1963, became part of the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. Ideological differences led to Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later; Singapore became an independent sovereign country in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers.

As a highly developed country, it has one of the highest PPP-adjusted GDP per capita in the world. It is also identified as a tax haven. Singapore is the only country in Asia with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies. It is a major aviation, financial, and maritime shipping hub and has consistently been ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in for expatriates and foreign workers. Singapore ranks highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety, infrastructure, and housing, with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent. Singaporeans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds, lowest infant mortality rates, and lowest levels of corruption in the world. It has the third highest population density of any country, although there are numerous green and recreational spaces as a result of urban planning. With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the common language, with exclusive use in numerous public services. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies.

Singapore is a parliamentary republic and its legal system is based on common law. While it is constitutionally a multi-party democracy where free elections are regularly held, it functions as a de facto one-party state, with the People's Action Party (PAP) maintaining continuous political dominance since 1959. The PAP's longstanding control has resulted in limited political pluralism and a highly centralised governance structure over national institutions. One of the five founding members of ASEAN, Singapore is also the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council Secretariat, and is the host city of many international conferences and events. Singapore is also a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the East Asia Summit, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth of Nations. (Full article...)

More about Singapore...

The flag of Singapore was adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. It remained the national flag upon the country's independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. The design is a horizontal bicolour of red above white, overlaid in the canton (upper-left quadrant) by a white crescent moon facing a pentagon of five small white five-pointed stars. The elements of the flag denote a young nation on the ascendant, universal brotherhood and equality, and national ideals.

Vessels at sea do not use the national flag as an ensign. Merchant vessels and pleasure craft fly a civil ensign of red charged in white with a variant of the crescent and stars emblem in the centre. Non-military government vessels such as coast guard ships fly a state ensign of blue with the national flag in the canton, charged with an eight-pointed red and white compass rose in the lower fly. Naval ships patrol a naval ensign similar to the state ensign, but in white with a red compass rose emblem. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

The Jurong BirdPark (Chinese: 裕廊飞禽公园; Malay: Taman Burung Jurong), is a tourist attraction in Singapore managed by Widlife Reserves Singapore. It is a landscaped park, built on the western slope of Jurong Hill. It is located within the Boon Lay Planning Area of the Jurong district and has an area of 202,000 square metres. Read more...

The following are images from various Singapore-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 2A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 3The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 4The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 5The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 6Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 71955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 81888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 9Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 10Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 11The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 12Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 13Restored shophouses running along a street in Chinatown, which reflects the Victorian architecture of buildings built in Singapore during the earlier colonial period, with styles such as the painted ladies. (from History of Singapore)
Image 14The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 15Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 16A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 17Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 18The Mao Kun map from Wubei Zhi which is based on the early 15th century maps of Zheng He showing Temasek (淡馬錫) at the top left, and Long Ya Men (龍牙門) on the right panel. (from History of Singapore)
Image 19Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, led by a Japanese officer, marches under a flag of truce to negotiate the capitulation of Allied forces in Singapore, on 15 February 1942. It was the largest surrender of British-led forces in history. (from History of Singapore)
Image 20A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 21Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 22Portrait of Stamford Raffles by George Francis Joseph, 1817 (from History of Singapore)
Image 23St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 24Traffic in Singapore, 1981. Prior to the introduction of the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) in 1990, vehicles per capita in Singapore was the highest in ASEAN. (from History of Singapore)
Image 25A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 26Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 27The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 28Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 29Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 30Chinese community in Singapore carrying the Flag of the Republic of China (written Long live the motherland) to celebrate the victory, also reflected the Chinese identity issues at that time. (from History of Singapore)
Image 31Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 32Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 33Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 34Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 35Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 36View of Bukit Batok Estate. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 37Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 38Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 39Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 40Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 41The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)

Tan at a Paralympics celebration ceremony at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard on 20 September 2008

Laurentia Tan Yen Yi BBM PBM (/lɒˈrɛnʃə/ lo-REN-shə; Chinese: 陈雁仪; pinyin: Chén Yànyí, pronounced [tʂə̌n jɛ̂n í]; born 24 April 1979), is a Singaporean para-equestrian competitor. Tan developed cerebral palsy and profound deafness after birth, and moved to the United Kingdom with her parents at the age of three. She took up horse riding aged five years as a form of physiotherapy. She subsequently completed her A-levels at the Mary Hare Grammar School, a residential special school for the deaf, and graduated with an honours degree from Oxford Brookes University in hospitality management and tourism.

In March 2007, the Riding for the Disabled Association Singapore (RDA) invited Tan to join the Singapore team for the World Para Dressage Championships at Hartpury College in Hartpury, Gloucester, in England in July that year. At this event, her first international competition, she did well enough to qualify for the 2008 Paralympic Games. In September 2008, at the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Centre at Sha Tin, she achieved bronze medals in the Individual Championship and Individual Freestyle Tests (class Ia). These were Singapore's first Paralympic medals and Asia's first equestrian medals at the Paralympic Games. Tan was conferred the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Medal) by the President of Singapore at a ceremony at the Istana Singapore on 20 September 2008. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
Ho Yuen Hoe Gan Eng Seng Hugh Hickling Zubir Said Tang Da Wu Edwin Thumboo Teresa Hsu Fandi Ahmad Denise Phua Li Jiawei Glenn Knight Tao Li Yip Pin Xiu Neila Sathyalingam Walter Woon Han Sai Por Rex Shelley Feng Tianwei Lee Choon Seng Balaji Sadasivan Choor Singh Kelvin Tan Xiaxue

... that Singaporean performance artist Josef Ng was fined S$1,000 for partially exposing his buttocks and snipping his pubic hair during a public performance?
... that an artwork in Singapore's Outram Park MRT station represents the state of mind of commuters through 69 engravings of surreal human forms?
... that Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong's phrase "mee siam mai hum" was described as "Singlish for being out of touch"?
... that Singapore's first R-rated play was performed despite the police finding parts of it "offensive"?
... that Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son Lee Hsien Loong donated the "unsolicited discounts" from their controversial purchase of condominium units to charity?
... that COVID-19 lockdown restrictions caused a 37-percent increase in infections of dengue fever in Singapore's 2020 outbreak?

5 June 1823: Raffles Institution, the oldest school in Singapore, is founded by Stamford Raffles.
12 June 1937: Kallang Airport, the first airport in Singapore, is opened.
12 June 1967: The first issue of Singapore Dollar is released.
16 June 1948: The Malayan Emergency begins.

More Anniversaries...

... that people making speeches at Speakers' Corner in Singapore (pictured) must use one of Singapore's four official languages – English, Malay, Mandarin or Tamil – or a related dialect?

... that the Bukit Timah Monkey Man is a Singapore cryptid said to inhabit the centrally forested Bukit Timah area?

... that under the Vandalism Act of Singapore, a person convicted for the first time of vandalism by defacing property using an indelible substance such as paint must be sentenced to caning?

... that Runme Shaw, philanthropist and founder of the Shaw Organisation, started his Singapore movie business in a makeshift timber cinema known as The Empire in 1927?

... that The Float@Marina Bay, a venue of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, hosts the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games as the world's largest floating stage?

More...

A panoramic view of the roads and harbour in Singapore in the 1870s

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