Portal:Singapore

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Welcome to the Singapore Portal

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.

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, 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 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 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 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 is a 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 political dominance. The PAP has governed the country continuously since full internal self-government was achieved in 1959, and holds a supermajority 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...)

More about Singapore...

View new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

The right to vote in Singapore is not explicitly stated in Singapore's Constitution, but the Government has expressed the view that it may be inferred from the fact that Singapore is a representative democracy and from specific constitutional provisions, including Articles 65 and 66 which set out requirements for the prorogation and dissolution of Parliament and the holding of general elections. Speaking on the matter in Parliament in 2009, the Minister for Law, K. Shanmugam, said that the right to vote could not be a mere privilege as this would imply the existence of an institution superior to the body of citizens that is empowered to grant such a privilege, but that no such institution exists in a free country. In 1966 a Constitutional Commission chaired by Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin advocated entrenching the right to vote within the Constitution, but this was not taken up by the Parliament of the day. When this proposal was repeated during the 2009 parliamentary debate, the Government took the view that such entrenchment was unnecessary.

In Taw Cheng Kong v. Public Prosecutor (1998), the High Court suggested on an obiter basis that voting is a privilege rather than a right. It has been suggested by law academic Thio Li-ann that, if called upon to decide the issue, the court might infer the existence of the right to vote in the Constitution from its text and structure, and from the fact that it is an adaptation of the Westminster system of democracy. If the right to vote were to be found to be implicit in the Constitution, the judiciary would be better able to protect the right when issues arise before the courts. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture

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...

More selected pictures

General images

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

Image 1Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 2Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 3A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 4The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 5Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 6A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 7Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 8Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 9Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 10Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 11Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 12Restored 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 13Lieutenant-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 14Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 15Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 16A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 17The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 18Traffic 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 19Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 20Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 21The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 22Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 23Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 24The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 25Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 26The 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 27Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 281888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 29Portrait of Stamford Raffles by George Francis Joseph, 1817 (from History of Singapore)
Image 30Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 31View of Bukit Batok Estate. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (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 33The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 34The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 35Chinese 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 36St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 37The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 381955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 39Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 40A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 41Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)

Selected biography - show another

Undated photograph of Gan

Gan Eng Seng (simplified Chinese: 颜永成; traditional Chinese: 顏永成; pinyin: Yán Yǒngchéng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Gân Íng-sîng; c. 1844–1899) was a Chinese businessman and philanthropist who was one of the early pioneers of Singapore. He is known for his generosity to many charitable causes in Malaya and Singapore during the British colonial era. Some of his most recognised contributions were the setting up of Gan Eng Seng School, the Thong Chai Medical Institution, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and the Ee Hoe Hean Club. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
Ho Yuen Hoe Hugh Hickling Zubir Said Tang Da Wu Edwin Thumboo Teresa Hsu Fandi Ahmad 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 Singaporean zoologist Bernard Harrison was disliked by an orangutan?
... that Singaporean chef and restaurateur Tan Kue Kim cooked while wearing a S$40,000 gold Rolex watch?
... that Singaporean swimmer Marc Tay served in the Gulf War as an eye surgeon?
... 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 many Jehovah's Witnesses in Singapore have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in the military?
... that the United Ukrainian Ballet Company, consisting of exiled dancers based in The Hague, has toured the UK, Singapore, Australia and the US?

edit

In this month

8 December 1941: The first air raid by the Japanese at 04:15, marking the start of the Battle of Singapore.
11–13 December 1950: The Maria Hertogh riots breaks out, killing 18 people.
19 December 1997: Silkair Flight 185 crashes, killing all 185 passengers aboard.
22 December 1965: Singapore becomes a republic after the Constitutional Amendment Act is passed.
27 December 2001: Singapore experiences its first typhoon, Tropical Storm Vamei.

More Anniversaries...

edit

More did you know - show different entries

... that there have been proposed urgent eradication of Limicolaria flammea (pictured) in Singapore?

... that Ong Kim Seng is the only Asian artist outside the USA to be admitted into the American Watercolor Society, having won six awards from the society?

... that free MMS were sent out to all 5.5 million mobile phone subscribers in Singapore to alert them of the prison break of ISA detainee Mas Selamat bin Kastari?

... that Singapore paid uneducated women to get sterilised as part of its Stop at Two campaign?

... that John Little, established in 1845, is the oldest department store in Singapore?

More...

edit

Selected panorama

Credit: Sengkang (18 August 2007)

Tanjong Chek Jawa (or Tanjung Chek Jawa or simply Chek Jawa; Chinese: 仄爪哇) is a cape and the name of its 100-hectare wetlands located on the south-eastern tip of Pulau Ubin, an island off the north-eastern coast of the main island of Singapore.

More selected panoramas • Read more...

edit

Singapore topics

edit

Related portals

Southeast Asia

Other Countries

edit

Tasks

Things you can do

Check for latest announcements and updates at the WikiProject Singapore
Make yourself known as a Singaporean Wikipedian
Create or improve on the articles listed in the to do list
Share with us your level of proficiency in Singlish by putting one of the 4 Singlish Babel tags (1 2 3 4) onto your user page
(More...)