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. 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 North–South Line (NSL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore, operated by SMRT Corporation. Coloured red on the Singapore rail map, the line is 45 kilometres (28 mi) long and serves 27 stations, 11 of which, between the Bishan and Marina South Pier stations, are underground. It runs from Jurong East station, located in Western Singapore, to Marina South Pier station in the Central Area, via Woodlands station in northern Singapore. The line operates for almost 20 hours a day (from the first departure 5:07 am to approximately 1 am the next day), with headways of up to 1 to 2 minutes during peak hours and 5 to 8 minutes during off-peak hours. All the trains on the North–South Line run with a six-car formation.

It was the first MRT line to be built in Singapore, with the first section from Yio Chu Kang station to Toa Payoh station beginning service on 7 November 1987, followed by an extension southwards to Raffles Place station on 12 December the same year and northwards to Yishun station on 20 December 1988. After the southern extension to Marina Bay station opened on 4 November 1989, the North–South Line was formed and split from the East–West Line. In the 1990s, the line extended to the north and west connecting to the Branch line via Woodlands through the Woodlands line extension. (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 1Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 21888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 3Lieutenant-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 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 5The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 6Engraving of Sir Stamford Raffles by James Thomson
Image 7Top view of Bukit Batok West. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 8Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 9St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 10A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 11Restored 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 12Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 13The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 14The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 15Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 16Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 17Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 18Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 19Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 20The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 211955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 22The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 23A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 24Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 25A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 26Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 27The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 28Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 29Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 30A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 31Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 32The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 33Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 34Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 35Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 36The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History 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 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 39Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 40Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 41Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914

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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 Singapore's Upper Thomson MRT station is decorated with 88 animal figures, most of which are crab-eating macaques?
... 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 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 performance artist Josef Ng was fined S$1,000 for partially exposing his buttocks and snipping his pubic hair during a public performance?
... that eight cardboard white elephants were put up as a form of public protest to lobby for the opening of Buangkok MRT station in Singapore?
... that Singaporean broadcaster Lee Fook Hong legally changed his name to Lee Dai Sor (literally 'Lee Big Fool' in Cantonese) after being accused of tax evasion?

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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 National Art Gallery of Singapore will incorporate two national monuments — the Old Supreme Court Building and the City Hall (both pictured)?

... that Chia Thye Poh, formerly detained under Singapore's Internal Security Act, has been called "the world's second longest serving prisoner-of-conscience after South Africa's Nelson Mandela"?

... that former chef Aziza Ali is credited with establishing Singapore's first Malay restaurant?

... that animator Nickson Fong is the first Singaporean to receive an Academy Award?

... that the Singapore Constitution that came into force on 9 August 1965 was not drafted as a single document but was made up of provisions from three separate statutes?

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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.

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Southeast Asia

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Tasks

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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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