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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The "Double Tenth incident" (双十節事件 Sōjūsetsu jiken) or "Double Tenth massacre" occurred on 10 October 1943, during the Second World War Japanese occupation of Singapore. The Kenpeitai—Japanese military police—arrested and tortured fifty-seven civilians and civilian internees on suspicion of their involvement in a raid on Singapore Harbour that had been carried out by Anglo-Australian commandos from Operation Jaywick. Three Japanese ships were sunk and three were damaged, but none of those arrested and tortured had participated in the raid, nor had any knowledge of it. Fifteen of them died in Singapore's Changi Prison.

After the war ended, twenty-one of the Kenpeitai involved were charged with war crimes. Eight received the death sentence, seven were acquitted, and the remainder were given prison sentences varying from one year to life. (Full article...)

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Jewel Changi Airport

Photograph credit: Matteo Morando

Jewel Changi Airport is a nature-themed entertainment and retail complex in Changi Airport, Singapore, linked to three of its passenger terminals. Its centrepiece is the world's tallest indoor waterfall, the Rain Vortex, which is surrounded by a terraced forest setting. It houses around 3,000 trees and 60,000 shrubs of 120 species from high-altitude, tropical forest habitats around the world.

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General images

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

Image 1Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 2View of Bukit Batok Estate. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 3Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 4Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 5Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 6Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 7Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 8A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 91888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 10The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 11The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)
Image 121955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 13The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 14Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 15Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 16Chinese 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 17St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 18A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 19The Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Opened in 2010, it has become a key feature of Singapore's modern skyline. (from History of Singapore)
Image 20The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 21Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
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 busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 24Restored 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 25Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography 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 27Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 28The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 29Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 30Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 31The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 32Lieutenant-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 33Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 34Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 35The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 36Traffic 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 37Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 38Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 39Portrait of Stamford Raffles by George Francis Joseph, 1817 (from History of Singapore)
Image 40A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 41Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)

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Walter Woon Cheong Ming SC (born 12 September 1956) is a Singaporean lawyer who served as the fifth attorney-general of Singapore between 2008 and 2010. He is currently an Emeritus Professor at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law, Lee Kong Chian Visiting professor at the Singapore Management University Yong Pung How School of Law, and the dean of the RHT Legal Training Institute.

A lawyer by profession, Woon specialises in company law and securities regulation. Having graduated from the National University of Singapore and St. John's College, Cambridge, Woon joined the teaching staff of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law in 1981 and subsequently served as Sub-Dean and Vice-Dean. He was appointed Professor of Law in 1999. He had also served as the legal adviser to the president of Singapore and the Council of Presidential Advisers between 1995 and 1997. (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 Han Sai Por Rex Shelley Feng Tianwei Lee Choon Seng Balaji Sadasivan Choor Singh Kelvin Tan Xiaxue

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... 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?
... that the Loyang Tua Pek Kong Temple in Singapore houses effigies of both the Jade Emperor and Mahaganapati?
... that Singaporean zoologist Bernard Harrison was disliked by an orangutan?
... 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?
... that the United Ukrainian Ballet Company, consisting of exiled dancers based in The Hague, has toured the UK, Singapore, Australia and the US?
... that the annual energy cost of a single fume hood in Singapore can be up to US$9,300?

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In this month

10 March 1964: The MacDonald House bombing is carried out by Indonesian saboteurs, killing three people.
14 March 1967: The National Service bill is passed though the parliament, making it compulsory for all able-bodied Singaporean males above 18 to serve National Service.
15 March 1986: The Hotel New World collapses, killing 33 people.
20 March 1948: Singapore's first election takes place.
26 March 1991: Singapore Airlines Flight 117 is hijacked by four Pakistanis.
23 March 2015: Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew passed away at the age of 91

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... that people making speeches at Speakers' Corner in Singapore (pictured) must use one of Singapore's four official languages – English, Malay, Mandarin or Tamil – or a related dialect?

... that the Bukit Timah Monkey Man is a Singapore cryptid said to inhabit the centrally forested Bukit Timah area?

... that under the Vandalism Act of Singapore, a person convicted for the first time of vandalism by defacing property using an indelible substance such as paint must be sentenced to caning?

... that Runme Shaw, philanthropist and founder of the Shaw Organisation, started his Singapore movie business in a makeshift timber cinema known as The Empire in 1927?

... that The Float@Marina Bay, a venue of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, hosts the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games as the world's largest floating stage?

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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.

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