Portal:Singapore

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Welcome to the Singapore Portal

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It is located 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. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet; the combined area of these has increased by approximately 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the second highest population density of any country in the world, 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 its exclusive use in numerous public services. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.

Singapore's history dates back at least eight hundred years, having been a maritime emporium known as Temasek and subsequently 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, the colonies in Southeast Asia were reorganised, and 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 separate 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, most notably the perceived encroachment of the egalitarian "Malaysian Malaysia" political ideology led by Lee Kuan Yew into the other constituent entities of Malaysia—at the perceived expense of the bumiputera and the policies of Ketuanan Melayu—eventually 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. With its growth based on international trade and economic globalisation, it integrated itself with the world economy through free trade with minimal-to-no trade barriers or tariffs, export-oriented industrialisation, and the large accumulation of received foreign direct investments, foreign exchange reserves, and assets held by sovereign wealth funds. As a highly developed country, it has one of the highest GDP per capita (PPP) in the world. 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.

Singapore is a unitary parliamentary republic in the Westminster tradition of unicameral parliamentary government, and its legal system is based on common law. While the country is de jure a multi-party democracy with free elections, the government under the People's Action Party (PAP) wields widespread control and dominance over politics and society without much electoral competition. The PAP has governed the country continuously since full internal self-government was achieved in 1959, and currently holds a supermajority with 79 out of 93 elected seats in Parliament. 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...)

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The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the president of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made up of Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) and Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) who are appointed. Following the 2020 general election, 93 (currently 87) MPs and two NCMPs from three political parties were elected to the 14th Parliament. Throughout the sitting of Parliament, nine NMPs are usually appointed by the president on a biennial basis.

The Speaker of Parliament has overall charge of the administration of Parliament and its secretariat, and presides over parliamentary sittings. The Leader of the House is an MP appointed by the prime minister to arrange government business and the legislative programme of Parliament, while the Leader of the Opposition (LO) is the MP who leads the largest political party not in the government. Some of Parliament's work is carried out by select committees made up of small numbers of MPs. Standing select committees are permanently constituted to fulfil certain duties, and ad hoc select committees are established from time to time to deal with matters such studying the details of bills. In addition, selected backbenchers of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), the current largest political party in Parliament, sit on Government Parliamentary Committees (GPCs) that examine the policies, programmes and proposed legislation of government ministries. (Full article...)

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Credit: AngMoKio (28 October 2008)

The doorknob of the Siong Lim Temple (Chinese: (莲山)双林寺; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Liân-san-siang-lîm-sī) in Toa Payoh, Singapore. Note that it is shaped as a Chinese dragon. Read more...

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General images

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

Image 1Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 2Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 3Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 4Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 5Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 6Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 7Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 8The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 9Top view of Bukit Batok West. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 10St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 11A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 12Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 13A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 14The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 15The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 16The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 17Lieutenant-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 18Engraving of Sir Stamford Raffles by James Thomson
Image 19Chinese 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 20Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 211888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 22Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 231955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 24Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 25Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 26The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 27Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 28A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 29Restored 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 30A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 31The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 32The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 33Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 34The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 35Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 36Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 37The 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 38Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 39Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 40Traffic 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)

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Fandi playing in a charity friendly match with the Singapore Masters in 2017

Fandi bin Ahmad PBM (born 29 May 1962) is a Singaporean professional football manager and former player. He is the current technical advisor and head coach of Malaysia Super League club Sri Pahang. During his professional career, he played mainly as a striker, but also occasionally as a midfielder. Along with the Singapore FA, he also played for Malaysia Cup state sides Kuala Lumpur FA and Pahang FA, and won titles with all three, including two doubles in 1992 and 1994, as well as the Golden Boot in 1988. Fandi also played for Indonesia's Niac Mitra, Netherlands' Groningen as well as local Singaporean clubs Geylang United and SAFFC.

Internationally with the Singapore national team, Fandi earned 101 caps and scored 55 goals, a record he holds today, as well as winning three Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) silver medals while being captain from 1993 to 1997. After his retirement, he began his managerial career in 2000 by helming his former playing club SAFFC, before moving on to Indonesia's Pelita Raya and Malaysia's Johor Darul Takzim, while also serving as the assistant national coach on numerous occasions while and running his own Fandi Ahmad Academy. (Full article...)

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Ho Yuen Hoe Gan Eng Seng Hugh Hickling Zubir Said Tang Da Wu Edwin Thumboo Teresa Hsu Denise Phua Li Jiawei Glenn Knight Laurentia Tan 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

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Harold Ingrams said that Yemeni philanthropist Sayyid Abubakr bin Shaikh Al-Kaff could be an embarrassment for wanting Hadhramaut to be ruled by the British like Singapore?
... that the two elliptical roofs of Singapore's Expo MRT station reflect sunlight into the station while cooling it?
... that a temporary two-lane viaduct was built along Cross Street to replace the closed lanes during the construction of Singapore's Telok Ayer MRT station?
... that to reflect the neighbourhood's heritage as a songbird-watching community, Singapore's Mayflower MRT station is decorated with 22 bird sculptures?
... that the United Ukrainian Ballet Company, consisting of exiled dancers based in The Hague, has toured the UK, Singapore, Australia and the US?
... that Singapore's North East MRT line saw the first launch of the Art-in-Transit (AiT) programme – a public artwork showcase on the MRT network?

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In this month

5 May 1994: American teenager Michael P. Fay is convicted and caned for vandalism, creating a diplomatic uproar between the US and Singapore.
12 May 1955: Four people are killed during the Hock Lee bus riots.
13 May 1954: Some Singapore Chinese who were opposed to National Service, many of whom influenced by the communist ideology, riot.
25 May 1961: The Bukit Ho Swee Fire occurs, killing four people and destroying 2,200 attap houses.
31 May 1969: The 1969 Race Riots of Singapore breaks out after tension from the 13 May Incident in Malaysia spilled over to Singapore.

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... that the Buddhist Library (pictured), which is located in a shophouse, is Singapore's first dedicated Buddhist library and is unique in that it is neither an association nor a temple?

... that John Martin Scripps was the first Briton in Singapore to be sentenced to death by hanging?

... that Saint Jack, a 1979 fiction film about a prostitute in Singapore and the only Hollywood film about Singapore to be shot on location, was banned in the country until 2006?

... that the Presidential Council for Minority Rights, a Singaporean body that ensures laws do not discriminate against racial or religious minorities, has not issued an adverse report since its creation?

... that Ah Meng, a Sumatran Orangutan and tourism icon of Singapore, had breakfast with celebrities including the Duke of Edinburgh and pop star Michael Jackson?

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Selected panorama

Credit: Sengkang (22 July 2006)

Bukit Ho Swee is a place in Singapore which is located near Jalan Bukit Ho Swee. It was once an unplanned self-built township of about 20,000, though this was destroyed by the Bukit Ho Swee Fire, which broke out on 25 May 1961. It is now a residential area with little remains of its chaotic past.

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