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Temasek ('Sea Town' in the Malay language), a second century outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire, is the earliest known settlement on Singapore. The island was part of the Sri Vijaya Empire until it was invaded by the south Indian Emperor Rajendra Chola I, of the Chola Empire, in the 11th century.[12][13] In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement and the island sank into obscurity for the next two centuries.[14] Nominally, it belonged to the Johor Sultanate during this period, while the maritime region and trade was under Dutch control. In 1819, Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived and signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor, on behalf of the British East India Company, to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post. In 1824, the entire island became a British possession under a further treaty with the Sultan, as well as the Temenggong.[15] In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, under the jurisdiction of British India, becoming the regional capital in 1836.[16] Prior to Raffles' arrival, there were approximately 1,000 people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese.[17] By 1860, the population exceeded 80,000 and more than half were Chinese. Many immigrants came to work at rubber plantations and, after the 1870s, the island became a global centre for rubber exports.[15] During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded British Malaya, culminating in the Battle of Singapore. The British surrendered on 15 February 1942. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the defeat "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history".[18] Between 5,000 and 25,000 ethnic Chinese people were killed in the subsequent Sook Ching massacre.[19] The Japanese occupied Singapore until the British repossessed it in September 1945, after the Surrender of Japan.[20] David Marshall, pro-independence leader of the Labour Front, won Singapore's first general election in 1955. He led a delegation to London, but Britain rejected his demand for complete self-rule. He subsequently resigned to be replaced by Lim Yew Hock, whose policies convinced Britain to grant Singapore full internal self-government for all matters except defence and foreign affairs.[21] A cheering crowd welcome the return of British forces, 1945 During the May 1959 elections, the People's Action Party won a landslide victory. Singapore became an internally self-governing state within the Commonwealth and Lee Kuan Yew became the country's first Prime Minister.[22] Governor Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode served as the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State), and was succeeded by Yusof bin Ishak, who became the first President of Singapore in 1965.[23] During the 1950s, Chinese Communists with strong ties to the trade unions and Chinese schools carried out an armed uprising against the government, leading to the Malayan Emergency and later, the Communist Insurgency War. The 1954 National Service Riots, Chinese middle schools riots, and Hock Lee bus riots in Singapore were all linked to these events.[24] As a result of the 1962 Merger Referendum, on 31 August 1963 Singapore joined with the Federation of Malaya, the Crown Colony of Sarawak and Crown Colony of North Borneo to form the new Federation of Malaysia under the terms of the Malaysia Agreement. Singaporean leaders chose to join Malaysia primarily due to concerns regarding their limited land size and scarcity of land, water, markets and natural resources. Some Singaporean and Malay politicians were also concerned that Singapore might form a communist government, a possibility perceived as an internal threat to Singapore and an external threat to the Federation of Malaya. However, the Singaporean and central Malay governments disagreed on many political and economics issues, leading to discontent that culminated in the 1964 race riots in Singapore. After much heated ideological conflicts between the two governments, in 1965, the Malaysian Parliament voted 126 to 0 to expel Singapore from Malaysia; the Singaporean delegates were not present and could not vote.[3][25][26] Singapore gained independence as the Republic of Singapore (remaining within the Commonwealth) on 9 August 1965,[3] with Yusof bin Ishak as President and Lee Kuan Yew as Prime Minister. Everyone who was living in Singapore on the date of independence was offered Singapore citizenship. Race riots broke out once more in 1969. In 1967, the country co-founded the Association of Southeast Asian Nations[27] and in 1970 it joined the Non-Aligned Movement. In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as Prime Minister. During his tenure, the country faced the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2003 SARS outbreak and terrorist threats posed by Jemaah Islamiyah. In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the country's third Prime Minister.[28] Government and politics Main articles: Government of Singapore, Politics of Singapore and Human rights in Singapore Singapore's Parliament House Singapore is a parliamentary republic with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government representing constituencies. The country's constitution establishes a representative democracy as the political system.[29] Freedom House ranks Singapore as "partly free" in its Freedom in the World report,[30] and The Economist ranks Singapore as a "hybrid regime", the third best rank of four, in its "Democracy Index".[31] Executive power rests with the Cabinet of Singapore, led by the Prime Minister and, to a much lesser extent, the President.[23] The President is elected through a popular vote, and has veto powers over a specific set of executive decisions, such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of judges, but otherwise occupies a largely ceremonial post.[32] The Parliament serves as the legislative branch of the government.[23] Members of Parliament (MPs) consist of elected, non-constituency and nominated members. Elected MPs are voted into the Parliament on a "first-past-the-post" (plurality) basis and represent either single-member or group representation constituencies.[33] The People's Action Party has won control of Parliament with large majorities in every election since self-governance was secured in 1959.[30] Although the elections are clean, there is no independent electoral authority and the political process is dominated by the PAP, which has strong influence on the media and the courts hampering opposition campaigning. This has led Freedom House to regard Singapore as not a proper electoral democracy.[34] Despite this, in the most recent Parliamentary elections in 2011, the opposition, led by the Workers' Party, increased its representation to six elected MPs.[35] Singapore's Old Supreme Court Building The legal system of Singapore is based on English common law, but with substantial local differences. Trial by jury was abolished in 1970 so that judicial decisions would rest entirely in the hands of appointed judges.[36] Singapore has penalties that include judicial corporal punishment in the form of caning, which may be imposed for such offenses as rape, rioting, vandalism, and certain immigration offenses.[37][38] There is a mandatory death penalty for murder, as well as certain aggravated drug-trafficking and firearms offenses.[39] Amnesty International has said that some legal provisions of the Singapore system conflict with the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that Singapore has "... possibly the highest execution rate in the world relative to its population".[40] The government has disputed Amnesty's claims.[41] In a 2008 survey of international business executives, Singapore and Hong Kong received the top ranking with regard to judicial system quality in Asia.[42] Singapore has been consistently rated among the least corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International.[43] In 2011, the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index ranked Singapore among the top countries surveyed with regard to "Order and Security", "Absence of Corruption", and "Effective Criminal Justice". However, the country received a much lower ranking for "Freedom of Speech" and "Freedom of Assembly".[44] All public gatherings of five or more people require police permits, and protests may legally be held only at the Speakers' Corner.[45] Geography Main article: Geography of Singapore Map showing Singapore's island and the territories belonging Singapore and its neighbours Outline of Singapore and the surrounding islands and waterways Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island, widely known as Singapore Island or Pulau Ujong in Malay.[46] There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia: the Johor–Singapore Causeway in the north and the Tuas Second Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's smaller islands. The highest natural point is Bukit Timah Hill at 166 m (545 ft).[47] On-going land reclamation projects have increased Singapore's land area from 581.5 km2 (224.5 sq mi) in the 1960s to 718.3 km2 (277.3 sq mi) presently.[4] The country is projected to grow by another 100 km2 (40 sq mi) by 2030.[48] Some projects involve merging smaller islands through land reclamation to form larger, more functional islands, as has been done with Jurong Island.[49] Close to 10 percent of Singapore's land has been set aside for parks and nature reserves. The network of nature reserves, parks, park connectors, nature ways, tree-lined roads and other natural areas have also enhanced the sense of green space in the city.[50] This is a result of five decades of greening efforts, which began in 1963, when Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew launched Singapore’s first tree-planting campaign by planting a mempat tree (cratoxylum formosum). The aim was to soften the harshness of urbanisation and improve the quality of life.[51] This initiative was carried through into the 1970s and 1980s under the Parks and Recreation Department (PRD), which was renamed the National Parks Board (abbreviation: NParks) in July 1996. Climate Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen: Af ) with no distinctive seasons, uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall. Temperatures usually range from 22 to 35 °C (72 to 95 °F). Relative humidity averages around 79% in the morning and 73% in the afternoon.[52] April and May are the hottest months, with the wetter monsoon season from November to January.[53] From July to October, there is often haze caused by bush fires in neighbouring Indonesia.[54] Although Singapore does not observe daylight saving time (DST), it follows the GMT+8 time zone, one hour ahead of the typical zone for its geographical location.[55] [hide]Climate data for Singapore Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 34.3 (93.7) 35.2 (95.4) 36.0 (96.8) 35.8 (96.4) 35.4 (95.7) 35.0 (95) 34.0 (93.2) 34.2 (93.6) 34.3 (93.7) 34.6 (94.3) 34.2 (93.6) 33.8 (92.8) 36.0 (96.8) Average high °C (°F) 30.1 (86.2) 31.2 (88.2) 31.6 (88.9) 31.7 (89.1) 31.6 (88.9) 31.3 (88.3) 30.9 (87.6) 30.9 (87.6) 30.9 (87.6) 31.1 (88) 30.6 (87.1) 30.0 (86) 31.0 (87.8) Daily mean °C (°F) 26.0 (78.8) 26.5 (79.7) 27.0 (80.6) 27.4 (81.3) 27.7 (81.9) 27.7 (81.9) 27.4 (81.3) 27.3 (81.1) 27.2 (81) 27.0 (80.6) 26.5 (79.7) 26.0 (78.8) 26.98 (80.56) Average low °C (°F) 23.3 (73.9) 23.6 (74.5) 23.9 (75) 24.4 (75.9) 24.8 (76.6) 24.8 (76.6) 24.6 (76.3) 24.5 (76.1) 24.2 (75.6) 24.1 (75.4) 23.7 (74.7) 23.5 (74.3) 24.1 (75.4) Record low °C (°F) 19.4 (66.9) 19.7 (67.5) 20.2 (68.4) 20.7 (69.3) 21.2 (70.2) 20.8 (69.4) 19.7 (67.5) 20.2 (68.4) 20.7 (69.3) 20.6 (69.1) 21.1 (70) 20.6 (69.1) 19.4 (66.9) Rainfall mm (inches) 243.2 (9.575) 159.9 (6.295) 185.7 (7.311) 178.9 (7.043) 171.3 (6.744) 162.1 (6.382) 158.7 (6.248) 175.4 (6.906) 169.2 (6.661) 193.8 (7.63) 256.9 (10.114) 287.4 (11.315) 2,342.5 (92.224) Avg. rainy days 15 11 14 15 15 13 13 14 14 16 19 19 178 % humidity 84.7 82.8 83.8 84.8 84.4 83.0 82.8 83.0 83.4 84.1 86.4 86.9 84.2 Mean monthly sunshine hours 173.6 183.6 192.2 174.0 179.8 177.0 189.1 179.8 156.0 155.0 129.0 133.3 2,022.4 Percent possible sunshine 47 54 52 48 48 49 51 48 43 42 36 36 46.2 Source #1: National Environment Agency (Temp 1929–1941 and 1948–2011, Rainfall 1869–2011, Humidity 1929–1941 and 1948–2011, Rain days 1891–2011) [56] Source #2: Hong Kong Observatory (sun only, 1982—2008) [57] Economy Main article: Economy of Singapore Pre-independence economy Before independence in 1965, Singapore was the capital of the British Straits Settlements, a Crown Colony. It was also the main British naval base in East Asia.[58] Because it was the main British naval base in the region and held the Singapore Naval Base, the largest dry dock of its time, Singapore was commonly described in the press as the 'Gibraltar of the East'.[59] The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 caused a major increase in trade between Europe and Asia, helping Singapore become a major world trade center, and turning the Port of Singapore into one of the largest and busiest ports in the world.[60] Prior to 1965, Singapore had a GDP per capita of $511, then the third-highest in East Asia.[61] After independence, the combination of foreign direct investment and a state-led drive for industrialisation, based on plans by Goh Keng Swee and Albert Winsemius, started the expansion of the country's economy.[62] Modern-day economy The port of Singapore with a large number of shipping containers with the skyline of the city visible in the background The Port of Singapore, one of the world's five busiest,[63] with the skyline of Singapore in the background Today, Singapore has a highly developed market economy, based historically on extended entrepôt trade. Along with Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan, Singapore is one of the original Four Asian Tigers. The Singaporean economy is known as one of the freest,[64] most innovative,[65] most competitive,[66] and most business-friendly.[67] The 2013 Index of Economic Freedom ranks Singapore as the second freest economy in the world, behind Hong Kong. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, Singapore is consistently ranked as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, along with New Zealand and the Scandinavian countries. Singapore is the 14th largest exporter and the 15th largest importer in the world. The country has the highest trade-to-GDP ratio in the world at 407.9 percent, signifying the importance of trade to its economy. The country is currently the only Asian country to receive AAA credit ratings from all three major credit rating agencies: Standard & Poor's, Moody's, Fitch.[68][69] Singapore attracts a large amount of foreign investment as a result of its location, corruption-free environment, skilled workforce, low tax rates and advanced infrastructure. There are more than 7,000 multinational corporations from the United States, Japan, and Europe in Singapore. There are also approximately 1,500 companies from China and a similar number from India. Foreign firms are found in almost all sectors of the country's economy. Singapore is also the second-largest foreign investor in India.[70] Roughly 44 percent of the Singaporean workforce is made up of non-Singaporeans.[71] Over ten free-trade agreements have been signed with other countries and regions.[72] Despite market freedom, Singapore's government operations have a significant stake in the economy, contributing 22% of the GDP.[73] Singapore also possesses the world's eleventh largest foreign reserves,[74] and has one of the highest net international investment position per capita.[75][76] The currency of Singapore is the Singapore dollar, issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.[77] It is interchangeable with the Brunei dollar.[78] In recent years, the country has been identified as an increasingly popular tax haven for the wealthy due to the low tax rate on personal income and tax exemptions on foreign-based income and capital gains. Australian millionaire retailer Brett Blundy, with an estimated personal wealth worth AU$835 million, and multi-billionaire Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin are two examples of wealthy individuals who have settled in Singapore (Blundy in 2013 and Saverin in 2012).[79] Singapore ranked fifth on the Tax Justice Network's 2013 Financial Secrecy Index of the world's top tax havens, scoring narrowly ahead of the United States.[80] Sectors Skyline of Singapore's Central Business District from the Esplanade Singapore is a world leader in several economic areas: The country is the world's fourth leading financial centre,[81] the world's second largest casino gambling market,[82] one of the world's top three oil-refining centres, the world's largest oil-rig producer, and a major hub for ship repair services.[83][84][85] The port is one of the five busiest ports in the world.[82] The World Bank has named Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business,[82] and ranks Singapore the world's top logistics hub.[86] In April 2013, for the first time, Singapore surpassed Japan in average daily foreign-exchange trading volume with $383 billion per day. So the rank became: the United Kingdom (41%), the United States (19%), Singapore (5.7)%, Japan (5.6%) and Hong Kong (4.1%).[87] Singapore's economy depends heavily on exports and refining imported goods, especially in manufacturing,[88] which constituted 27% of the country's GDP in 2010, and includes significant electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences sectors. In 2006, Singapore produced about 10% of the world's foundry wafer output.[89] Singapore has a diversified economy, a strategy that the government considers vital for its growth and stability despite its size.[90] Jurong Island hosts the bulk of Singapore's petrochemical industry Tourism also forms a large part of the economy, with 15.5 million tourists visiting the city-state in 2013.[91] To attract more tourists, the government legalised gambling in 2005 and allowed two casino resorts (called Integrated Resorts) to be developed.[92] Singapore also promotes itself as a medical tourism hub: about 200,000 foreigners seek medical care there each year. Singapore medical services aim to serve at least one million foreign patients annually and generate USD 3 billion in revenue.[93] Singapore is an education hub, and many foreign students study in Singapore. More than 80,000 international students studied in Singapore in 2006.[94] Every morning, more than 5,000 Malaysian students cross the Johor–Singapore Causeway for education in Singapore.[95] In 2009, 20% of all students in Singaporean universities were international students. The students were mainly from ASEAN, China and India.[96] As a result of the recession in the early 2000s and a slump in the technology sector, Singapore's GDP contracted by 2.2% in 2001. The Economic Review Committee was set up in December 2001 and recommended several policy changes to revitalise the economy. Singapore has since recovered, due largely to improvements in the world economy; the economy grew by 8.3% in 2004, 6.4% in 2005,[97] and 7.9% in 2006.[98] After a contraction of 0.8% in 2009, the economy recovered in 2010, with GDP growth of 14.5%. Most work in Singapore is in the service sector, which employed 2,151,400 people out of 3,102,500 jobs in December 2010. The percentage of unemployed economically active people above age 15 is about 2%.[99] The English name of Singapore is derived from the Malay word Singapura (Sanskrit: सिंहपुर, literally Lion City), hence the customary reference to the nation as the Lion City. However, it is most likely that lions never lived on the island, and the animal seen by Sang Nila Utama, who founded and named Singapore, was a tiger.[11] Singapore (Listeni/ˈsɪŋəpɔr/ or /ˈsɪŋɡəpɔr/), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign city-state and island country in Southeast Asia. It lies off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and is 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator. The country's territory consists of the lozenge-shaped main island, commonly referred to as Singapore Island in English and Pulau Ujong in Malay, and more than 60 significantly smaller islets.[8] Singapore is separated from Peninsular Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to the north, and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to the south. The country is highly urbanised, and little of the original vegetation remains. The country's territory has consistently expanded through land reclamation. The islands were settled in the second century AD and subsequently belonged to a series of local empires. Modern Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles as a trading post of the East India Company with permission from the Johor Sultanate. The British obtained sovereignty over the island in 1824, and Singapore became one of the British Straits Settlements in 1826. Occupied by the Japanese during World War II, Singapore declared independence from the United Kingdom in 1963 and united with other former British territories to form Malaysia, from which it was expelled two years later through a unanimous act of parliament. Since then, Singapore has developed rapidly, earning recognition as one of the Four Asian Tigers. Singapore is one of the world's major commercial hubs, with the fourth-biggest financial centre and one of the five busiest ports. Its globalised and diversified economy depends heavily on trade, especially manufacturing, which represented 26 percent of Singapore's GDP in 2005. In terms of purchasing power parity, Singapore has the third-highest per capita income in the world but one of the world's highest income inequalities. It places highly in international rankings with regard to education, healthcare, and economic competitiveness. Approximately 5.4 million people live in Singapore (June 2013), of which approximately two million are foreign-born. While Singapore is diverse, ethnic Asians predominate: 75 percent of the population is Chinese, with significant minorities of Malays, Indians, and Eurasians. There are four official languages, English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil, and the country promotes multiculturalism through a range of official policies. Singapore is a unitary multiparty parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The People's Action Party has won every election since self-government began in 1959. The dominance of the PAP, coupled with a low level of press freedom and suppressed civil liberties and political rights, has led to Singapore being classified as a semi-authoritarian regime. One of the five founding members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Singapore is also the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat, and a member of the East Asia Summit, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth. Singapore's rapid development has given it significant influence in global affairs, leading some analysts to identify it as a middle power.[9][10] |
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