Portal:Singapore

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.

In its early history, Singapore was 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 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. 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 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. 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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"Disneyland with the Death Penalty" is a 4,500-word article about Singapore written by William Gibson. His first major piece of non-fiction, it was first published as the cover story for Wired magazine's September/October 1993 issue (1.4).

The article followed Gibson's observations of the architecture, phenomenology and culture of Singapore, and the clean, bland and conformist impression the city-state conveyed during his stay. Its title and central metaphor – Singapore as Disneyland with the death penalty – was a reference to the authoritarian artifice the author perceived the city-state to be. Singapore, Gibson detailed, was lacking any sense of creativity or authenticity, absent of any indication of its history or underground culture. He found the government to be pervasive, corpocratic and technocratic, and the judicial system rigid and draconian. Singaporeans were characterized as consumerists of insipid taste. The article was accentuated by local news reports of criminal trials by which the author illustrated his observations, and bracketed by contrasting descriptions of the Southeast Asian airports he arrived and left by. (Full article...)

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Selected picture

Credit: TteckK (5 October 2002)

The Parliament House of Singapore. Thid building was designed to represent a contemporary architectural expression of stateliness and authority. Its prism-shaped top was designed by former president Ong Teng Cheong. Read more...

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General images

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

Image 1Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 2Chinese 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 3Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 4The 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 5The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 6Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 7Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 8Restored 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 9Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 10Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 11Traffic 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 12Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 13The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 14The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 15Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture 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 17Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 18Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 19The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 20The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 21A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 22Portrait of Stamford Raffles by George Francis Joseph, 1817 (from History of Singapore)
Image 23A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 24St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 25Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 26Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 27Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 28The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 291955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 30View of Bukit Batok Estate. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 31Lieutenant-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 32Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 331888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 34Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 35Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 36The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 37Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 38A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 39Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 40The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 41Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)

Selected biography - show another

Teresa Hsu Chih (7 July 1898 – 7 December 2011) (Chinese: 许哲; pinyin: Xǔ Zhe), was a Chinese-born Singaporean charity worker, social worker, yoga teacher, nurse, and supercentenarian known affectionately as "Singapore's Mother Teresa", in recognition for her active lifelong devotion in helping the aged, sick, and destitutes locally. The retired nurse was the founder of the non-profit charities—Heart to Heart Service and the Home for the Aged Sick, one of the first homes for the aged sick in Singapore. She had been a social worker in China and Paraguay and a nurse in England, before coming to Singapore to start similar non-profit charities since 1961. Despite being a supercentenarian, Hsu was still involved in charity work and was one of very few supercentenarians who were recognised for reasons other than their longevity. She had spent almost all her savings on feeding and housing the poor and the elderly, all of whom were younger than she was, while she herself led a simple and humble lifestyle. In 2005, she received the Special Recognition Award from the Singapore government in recognition of her contribution to the country. (Full article...)

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Ho Yuen Hoe Gan Eng Seng Hugh Hickling Zubir Said Tang Da Wu Edwin Thumboo 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 S. Iswaran was the first Singaporean cabinet minister to be investigated by the country's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau since 1986?
... that some people have asked whether they can pay for their Singapore hotel stay using a travel card?
... that Chinese Garden MRT station did not originally have access to the Chinese Garden?
... that Singaporean former lawyer David Yong learned Korean and moved to South Korea to become a K-pop singer?
... that a train station in Singapore repeatedly had issues with the design of its stairs?
... that Ngiam Tong Dow negotiated Singapore's first and largest purchase of gold from South Africa in 1968 by comparing two halves of a United States one-dollar bill?

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In this month

1 April 1867: The Straits Settlements becomes a crown colony of the British Empire.
2 April 1955: David Saul Marshall becomes the first Chief Minister of Singapore.
18 April 2005: Casino-gambling is legalised and the construction of two Integrated Resorts is approved by the government.
19 April 1968: The People's Action Party won all seats in Singapore's first general election after independence.
20 April 2004: A section of Nicoll Highway collapses, killing 4 people.

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... that the Golden Mile Complex (pictured), which was designed as an avant-garde building with a stepped terrace structure, was once described as a "vertical slum" by a Singapore Nominated Member of Parliament?

... that Singapore's Ee Hoe Hean Club, a century-old millionaires' club for Chinese businessmen, became a headquarters of an anti-Japanese movement in Southeast Asia from 1937-1942?

... that in her début at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Tao Li broke the Asian record for the 100m butterfly twice and became the first Singaporean swimmer to enter an Olympic final?

... that Farrer Park is where Singapore's first racecourse was built and the island's aviation history began?

... that at the age of 10, Megan Zheng became the first Singaporean to win a Golden Horse Award?

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Selected panorama

Credit: Sengkeng (12 November 2006)

Sungei Serangoon (Malay for Serangoon River; Chinese: 实龙岗河) is a river in the north-eastern part of Singapore. The 6-kilometre river starts as a canal near Tampines Road, and flows through Hougang, Sengkang, Punggol, Lorong Halus and Pasir Ris, before emptying into the Serangoon Harbour. The river is also known as the Serangoon Estuary.

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Check for latest announcements and updates at the WikiProject Singapore
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