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 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 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'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. With its growth based on international trade and economic globalisation, it integrated itself with the world economy through free trade with minimal trade barriers and 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. 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.

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...)

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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...)

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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...

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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 Singaporeans)
Image 2Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 3Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 4Traffic 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 5Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 6The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 7Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 8Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 9Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 101888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 11A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 12The 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 13St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 141955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 15The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 16Top view of Bukit Batok West. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 17A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 18Engraving of Sir Stamford Raffles by James Thomson
Image 19A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 20The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 21Restored 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 22Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 23Lieutenant-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 24Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 25Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 26Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 27The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 28The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 29Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 30Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 31The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 32Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 33Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 34Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 35Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 36The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 37Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 38Chinese 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 39Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 40The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 41A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)

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Xiaxue at the National Library in September 2005

Cheng Yan Yan Wendy (born Cheng Yan Yan; 28 April 1984), better known by her pseudonym Xiaxue, is a Singaporean blogger and online television personality who writes about her life, fashion and local issues in a provocative style. Her main blog, which attracts about 50,000 readers daily, has won prestigious blog awards and earned her sponsorship deals, as well as stints as a columnist and TV show host, but some of her posts have sparked national controversies. (Full article...)

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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 Balaji Sadasivan Choor Singh Kelvin Tan

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that the United Ukrainian Ballet Company, consisting of exiled dancers based in The Hague, has toured the UK, Singapore, Australia and the US?
... that a number of bus drivers who participated in a strike were unaware that it was illegally held?
... that Chinese missionary Tan See Boo moved to Singapore to work for the Presbyterian Church, but later returned to China to persuade Christians to leave the Presbyterian Church?
... that Singaporean zoologist Bernard Harrison was disliked by an orangutan?
... that Sun Haiyan is the first Chinese ambassador to Singapore who was not a member of the Foreign Ministry of China?
... that Singaporean swimmer Marc Tay served in the Gulf War as an eye surgeon?

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In this month

1 September 1993: Ong Teng Cheong becomes the first directly-elected President in Singapore.
1 September 2000: The Speakers's Corner is launched at Hong Lim Park.
3 September 1988: Group representation constituencies, a type of political division unique to Singapore, are introduced at the 1988 General Elections.
21 September 1965: Singapore is admitted into the United Nations as its 117th member.
27 September 1943: Operation Jaywick, a sabotage attempt by Special Operations Australia, was launched. 7 Japanese ships in Singapore Harbour were sunk.

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... that The Majestic in Singapore was an opera house built by tin and rubber magnate Eu Tong Sen in 1928 for his wife who was a Cantonese opera fan?

...that Central Fire Station, the oldest existing fire station in Singapore, had only four portable water pumps when it was completed in 1908?

... that Singaporean dancer, choreographer and teacher Neila Sathyalingam, who dances in the classical Indian style, decided to devote her life to dance after performing for Queen Elizabeth II?

... that during the Singaporean parliamentary general election of 2011 the opposition Workers' Party won a Group Representation Constituency for the first time?

...that although archaeologists in Singapore have discovered many artifacts, they do not have government support for their work, and there is no centralised place to store the artifacts?

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Selected panorama

Credit: User:Sengkang (4 November 2006)

VivoCity (Chinese: 怡丰城) is the largest shopping mall in Singapore, located at the HarbourFront precinct . Opened on 7 October 2006, it marked the completion of the main structure by a topping-out ceremony on 18 April 2006 and was officially opened on December 1, 2006.

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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
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