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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Marina Bay Street Circuit

The 2015 Singapore Grand Prix (formally known as the 2015 Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 20 September 2015 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore. The race was the thirteenth round of the 2015 season. It was the eighth time the race was run as a round of the Formula One World Championship.

Defending race winner Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes entered as the leader in the World Drivers' Championship with 252 points, 53 points ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg and 74 points ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. Mercedes came into the race leading the Constructors' Championship by 181 points ahead of Ferrari, with Williams a further 82 points back in third place. (Full article...)

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Credit: Sengkang (23 October 2005)

The Jurong BirdPark (Chinese: 裕廊飞禽公园; Malay: Taman Burung Jurong), is a tourist attraction in Singapore managed by Widlife Reserves Singapore. It is a landscaped park, built on the western slope of Jurong Hill. It is located within the Boon Lay Planning Area of the Jurong district and has an area of 202,000 square metres. 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 2Quadrilingual sign (from Singaporeans)
Image 3The Jurong Industrial Estate was developed in the 1960s to industrialise the economy. (from History of Singapore)
Image 4Restored 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 51888 German map of Singapore (from History of Singapore)
Image 6The 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 7Jurong Industrial Estate, Singapore, with Jurong Island in the background (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 8Japanese POWs are taken to work where they were made to clear up the city during the British reoccupation in September 1945
Image 9Baedeker map of the city and environs, c. 1914
Image 10A statue of Raffles by Thomas Woolner now stands in Singapore, near Raffles's landing site in 1819. (from History of Singapore)
Image 11Centre square of Raffles Place (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 12Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (from Singaporeans)
Image 131955 stamp with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II (from History of Singapore)
Image 14Chinese 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 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 16Mass Rapid Transit (from History of Singapore)
Image 17Lieutenant-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 18Upper Seletar Reservoir (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 19Shophouses in Singapore (from Singaporeans)
Image 20Men of various ethnicities - Chinese, Malay, and Indian gather at a street corner in Singapore, circa 1900. (from Singaporeans)
Image 21View of Bukit Batok Estate. Large scale public housing development has created high housing ownership among the population. (from History of Singapore)
Image 22Old Supreme Court of Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 23Singapore's urban geography is often characterised by extensive use of HDB flats, which the majority of citizens reside in. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 24Portrait of Stamford Raffles by George Francis Joseph, 1817 (from History of Singapore)
Image 25A hawker centre in Lavender, Singapore (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 26The old and the new Singapore as seen from an alley behind Boat Quay (2023) (from History of Singapore)
Image 27A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. (from History of Singapore)
Image 28Afternoon thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in Singapore, which has an equatorial climate. (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 29Enlargeable, detailed map of Singapore (from Geography of Singapore)
Image 30A busy Victoria Dock, Tanjong Pagar, in the 1890s. (from History of Singapore)
Image 31The Thian Hock Keng, completed in 1842, served as a place of worship for early immigrants. (from History of Singapore)
Image 32St Andrew's Cathedral (from Singaporeans)
Image 33Traffic 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 34The country celebrates its National Day on 9 August each year. (from History of Singapore)
Image 35Deepavali decorations in Singapore. (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 36Fireworks over the Marina Bay skyline following the conclusion of the 2015 National Day Parade on 9 August 2015. (from History of Singapore)
Image 37Sign board with warnings in Singapore's four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 38The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. (from History of Singapore)
Image 39The Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay (from Culture of Singapore)
Image 40Hainanese chicken rice (from Singaporeans)
Image 41The Sultan Mosque, built in 1826 in the Kampong Glam district, is the oldest and one of the largest mosque in Singapore. (from Singaporeans)

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Rex Anthony Shelley (27 October 1930 – 21 August 2009) was a Singaporean author. A graduate of the University of Malaya in Malaysia and Cambridge trained in engineering and economics, Shelley managed his own business and also worked as member of the Public Service Commission (PSC) for over 30 years. For his service, he was conferred the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Star) by the Government of Singapore in 1978, and an additional Bar the next year.

Shelley started writing fiction late in life, publishing his first novel, The Shrimp People, in 1991 at the age of sixty one. The first substantial work by a Singaporean writer about the Eurasian community in Singapore, it was highly commended by The Straits Times and won the 1992 National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) Award. The books People of the Pear Tree (1993), Island in the Centre (1995) and A River of Roses (1998), on the same theme, followed within a decade; respectively, they won NBDCS Highly Commended Awards in 1994 and 1996, and the Dymocks Singapore Literature Prize in 2000. In 2007 he was the Singaporean winner of the S.E.A. Write Award. Critics have responded positively to his writing, noting its "passionate, humane" style, and observing how his breadth of life experience gave rise to a talent for characterisation plus an ability to blend "a sharp sense of observed commentary with historical detail". (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 Feng Tianwei Lee Choon Seng Balaji Sadasivan Choor Singh Kelvin Tan Xiaxue

Did you know (auto-generated)

... 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 Singapore's first R-rated play was performed despite the police finding parts of it "offensive"?
... that Tan Gee Paw was presented with a solid gold medal by Lee Kuan Yew for helping to clean up Singapore's waterways?
... that Sun Haiyan is the first Chinese ambassador to Singapore who was not a member of the Foreign Ministry of China?
... that artwork at Shenton Way MRT station depicts everyday people running after an old banknote?
... that Singaporean swimmer Marc Tay served in the Gulf War as an eye surgeon?

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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 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?

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Credit: Sengkang (November 2006)

The National University of Singapore (Abbreviation: NUS; Chinese: 新加坡国立大学; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Guólì Dàxué; Abbreviated 国大; Malay: Universiti Kebangsaan Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் தேசியப் பல்கலைக்கழகம் ) is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered.

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