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 maritime 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 GDP per capita (PPP) 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 Toa Payoh ritual murders took place in Singapore in 1981. On 25 January, the body of a nine-year-old girl was found at a block of public housing flats in the town of Toa Payoh, and two weeks later, the body of a ten-year-old boy was found nearby.

The murders were masterminded by Adrian Lim, a self-styled healer who pretended to have supernatural powers and scammed people for years before the murders. He had also been sexually assaulting female clients, often preying on younger women from impoverished backgrounds. He married one such woman Tan Mui Choo and took on another woman Hoe Kah Hong as his "holy wife"—a term he used to manipulate women into having sex with him. Lim subjected them to extensive physical, mental and financial abuse, as well as sexual torture,for years before instigating the killings. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture

Credit: Terence (30 May 2006)

The Merlion (Chinese: 鱼尾狮; pinyin: Yúwěishī ; Tamil:கடல்சிங்கம் ) is a statue with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. Its name comes from a portmanteau of mermaid and lion. The merlion was designed by Mr. Fraser Brunner for the Singapore Tourism Board in 1964 and was used as its logo up to 1997. Read more...

More selected pictures

General images

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

Image 1A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 21888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 3Chinese 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 4Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 5Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 6A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 7The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 8The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 9Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 10The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 11Lieutenant-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 12St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 13Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 14Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 15Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 16Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 171955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 18Engraving of Sir Stamford Raffles by James Thomson
Image 19The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 20Restored 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 21View of Bukit Batok Estate. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 22Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 23A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 24Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 25Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 26Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 27Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 28The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 29Traffic 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 30Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 31Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 32Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 33The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 34The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 35The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 36Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 37Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 38Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 39The 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 40A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 41Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)

Selected biography - show another

Sadasivan in June 2010

Balaji Sadasivan (/ˈbɑːlədʒiː sɑːdəˈsiːvən/ or /ˈbæ- sæ-/; 11 July 1955 – 27 September 2010) was a Singaporean politician and neurosurgeon. He attended Raffles Institution, Siglap Secondary School and National Junior College, and studied medicine at the University of Singapore. After graduating in 1979, he continued his education at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) in 1984. He also trained at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, from 1985 to 1989, and became a Fellow of Harvard University in 1990. He worked as a neurosurgeon until 2001, publishing over 50 book chapters and journal articles.

In 2001 Balaji was elected to the Parliament of Singapore for the Cheng San–Seletar division of the Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency. From then until his death he served as Minister of State for the Ministry of the Environment (2001–2003), Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport (2001–2004); and subsequently Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Health (2004–2006), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006–2010) and Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (2004–2008). In 2007, he was appointed chairman of the executive board of the World Health Organization. In March 2008, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reshuffled his cabinet, from which time Balaji retained only his portfolio at the Foreign Affairs Ministry until his death in 2010. (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 Laurentia Tan Tao Li Yip Pin Xiu Neila Sathyalingam Walter Woon Han Sai Por Rex Shelley Feng Tianwei Lee Choon Seng Choor Singh Kelvin Tan Xiaxue

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Singaporean singer Dawn Gan played herself in a television drama about aspiring singers?
... that Wee Toon Boon remained a member of the Parliament of Singapore even after he began serving a prison sentence for corruption?
... that artwork at Shenton Way MRT station depicts everyday people running after an old banknote?
... 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?
... that Alan Choe was tasked with developing Queenstown, Singapore's first satellite town, after its British architects left the country in the mid-1950s?
... 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?

edit

In this month

12 October 1978: The worst industrial accident in Singapore, the Spyros disaster, occurs, killing 76 people.
25 October 2007: Singapore Airlines makes the world's first commercial flight via the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet.
31 October 1971: The last British military forces withdraw from Singapore.
31 October 1981: Opposition MP Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam is elected into Parliament, breaking a 16-year monopoly of the House by the People's Action Party.
31 October 2000: Singapore Airlines Flight 006 crashes during take-off in Chiang Kai Shek International Airport, killing 83 people.

More Anniversaries...

edit

More did you know - show different entries

...that the Singapore Government has introduced the "Punggol 21-plus" plan to re-vitalise Punggol New Town (pictured), after an unsuccessful attempt in the late 1990s?

... that Catherine Lim's 1994 essay The PAP and the people - A Great Affective Divide invoked such a strong response from the Singapore government, its then-PM Goh Chok Tong outlined which topics were permissible for public discussion?

... that Tang Choon Keng, who established Tangs and built the former Dynasty Hotel, was also known as the "Tin Trunk Man" in Singapore for his rags to riches legacy?

... that four Japanese War Memorials found in the Japanese Cemetery Park were built without knowledge of the British colonial government of Singapore?

... that the Former Singapore Badminton Hall was marked as a historical site by Singapore's National Heritage Board in 1999, as it held two Thomas Cup tournaments and was the vote counting station for a landmark 1962 referendum?

More...

edit

Selected panorama

Credit: Sengkang (8 July 2006)

The Changi Beach Park (Chinese: 樟宜海滨公园) is a beach park located at the northeastern tip of Singapore. The 28-hectare Changi Beach Park is one of the oldest coastal parks in Singapore. The park is 3.2 km long with stretches of sandy beaches between Changi Point and Changi Ferry Road.

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...)