SINGAPORE
1. HISTORY
According to legend, Singapore was founded centuries ago when a prince from Sumatra
landed on the island and saw a lion. He took it as a good omen and founded a city called
Singapura, which means lion city. The legend may or may not be true. In fact the name
Singapura was not recorded until the 16th century and Singapore was really only a trading
post with a small population not a city.
Modern Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles (1781-1826). In 1818
Raffles was made governor of Bencoolen on the island of Sumatra. Raffles believed the
British should establish a base on the Straits of Melaka and in 1819 he landed on the island of
Singapore. At that time two men were vying to become Sultan of the Empire of Johor, which
controlled Singapore. In 1812 the Sultan died and his two sons quarreled over the succession.
In 1826 Singapore was joined with Melaka and Pelang to form the Straits Settlements and
in 1963 Singapore joined with Malaysia. However the union was short lived. Singapore left
in 1965 and became completely independent. From 1965 to the 1990s Singapore enjoyed
rapid economic growth. By the 1990s it was an NIC (newly industrialized country) and the
people had a high standard of living. However the government was authoritarian and society
was strictly controlled.
In 1990 Lee Kuan Yew resigned as prime minister. He was replaced by Goh Chok Tong.
He introduced a more liberal regime. Today Singapore is a prosperous nation and its
economy is growing steadily. Singapore is also a very busy port. Today the population of
Singapore is 5.6 million.
2. GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
a. Geography
The island of Singapore is situated off the southern extremity of the Malay Peninsula,
separated from the mainland by the Johor Strait which is about 1km (0.8 miles) wide.
Causeways run across the strait carrying roads, a railway and water pipes. The main
island is mainly flat with only low hills, the highest being Bukit Timah at 166m (545ft).
In the northeast of the island, and in the urban district, large areas have been reclaimed,
and much of the original jungle and swamp covering the low-lying areas has been
cleared. In addition to the main island, the Republic of Singapore includes more than 60
much smaller islands and islets.
b. Climate
Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate 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 humidityaverages around 79% in the
morning and 73% in the afternoon. April and May are the hottest months, with the
wetter monsoon season from November to January.
From July to October, there is often haze caused by bush fires in neighbouring
Indonesia, usually from the island of Sumatra. 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.
3. STATE AND TERITORIES
Singapore are very small. Hence its not geographically demarcated into different states.
More of, different constituencies.
Singapore's main territory is a diamond-shaped island, although its territory includes
surrounding smaller islands. The farthest outlying island is Pedra Branca. Of Singapore's
dozens of smaller islands, Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the
larger ones. Most of Singapore is no more than 15 meters above sea level.
4. CULTURES
a. Languages, religions, and cultures
Languages, religions and cultures among Singaporeans are not delineated
according to skin colour or ancestry, unlike many other countries. Among Chinese
Singaporeans, one in five is Christian, another one in five is atheist, and the rest are
mostly Buddhists or Taoists.
One-third speak English as their home language, while half speak Mandarin
Chinese. The rest speak other Chinese varieties at home. Most Malays in Singapore
speak Malay as their home language with some speaking English. Singaporean
Indians are much more religious.
Only 1% of them are atheists. Six in ten are Hindu, two in ten Muslim, and the
rest mostly Christian. Four in ten speak English as their home language, three in
ten Tamil, one in ten Malay, and the rest other Indian languages as their home
language.
Each Singaporean's behaviours and attitudes would therefore be influenced by,
among many other things, his or her home language and his religion. Singaporeans
who speak English as their native language tend to lean toward Western culture,
while those who speak Chinese as their native language tend to lean toward Chinese
culture and Confucianism.
Malay speaking Singaporeans tend to lean toward the Malay culture, which itself is
closely linked to the Islamic culture.
5. STEREOSTYPES
1. Theyre surprised we speak English
Them : Where is your accent from?
Me : Singapore.
Them : Wow! Your English is amazing!
Me : Er. Thanks! Yours is not bad either.
2. They cant understand how ethnicity and nationality are different
Them : Where are you from?
Me : Singapore
Them : Really?! You dont look Singaporean.
Me : I dont? Well I am. Second-generation.
Them : No. Where are you parents from?
Me : Theyre from Singapore.
Them : Er. So youre from India?
Me : *facepalm*
3. They find us overly by-the-book
Me : What time is the bus coming?
Them : Around 5pm.
Me : Is it around 5pm? Or 5pm? The sign says 4:30pm
Them : Between 4:30pm and 5pm.
Me : What?!?! But it says!!!! *begins to self-destruct*
4. They are envious of how very clean & green Singapore is
(the real reason why were so clean and so green)
Them : Ah yes. Singapore. I was there in 2001. Very clean. Very green.
Me : Yes. Yes it is.
5. They pass judgment about how controlled Singapore is
Them : Ooooh no chewing gum! Careful not to dance on the bartop. You might get
caned.
Me : Yes. Its a hard life. Not sure how we do it really. It was nice to have met
you *walks away*
6. They think they know the local lingo
Them : Oh Singaporean! Hello lah!
Me : Thats not how it works. There is a grammar and a syntax to Singlish.
Seriously, dont try.
Them : Oh so strict you are lah! Aiyo lah!
Me : Please stop.
7. They think were overly uptight
Them : Wow, youre pretty uptight. Relax.
Me : ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY ANYHOW USE LAH OKAY!
8. And that we like to complain
Me : So its 5:15pm and the bus is still not here. Why is that? Can I speak to your
manager?
Them : Dude its 15 minutes, chill.
Me: I have to be somewhere at 5:30pm! I am deeply disappointed by the service you
have provided today. *frantically begins to type strongly-worded complaint email to
management*
8. And were food-obsessed
Them : For lunch I know this great restaurant that serves carbonara.
Me : OMG yum! Carbonara Napoli style? Or Sicillian?! What about putanesca? I
LOVE putanesca. But with fusilli not fettucine. Never fettucine. Okay what about dinner.
We should totally start planning dinner now.
Them : Its 9am! Can you calm down about the food? Jeez.
*NOTE:
1. Me : Singaporean
2. Them : Common People
6. PEOPLE
Singaporeans or Singaporean people are citizens of, or identify with, the city-state
of Singapore a multi-racial and multi-cultural country with ethnic Chinese, Indians, and
indigenous Malays historically making up the majority of the population. The vast
majority of Singaporeans descend from the people of China, India and the Malay
Archipelago.
According to the 2006 AsiaBarometer survey, a majority of Singaporeans identify
themselves as "Singaporean", while a small percentage prefer to identify with their racial
group.[3] Currently, the population of Singaporeans stands at 3,343,000 and the
population of overseas Singaporeans stands at 212,000.
7. ANY OTHERS NECESSARY INFORMATION
Reasons Singapore Is The World's Greatest City
1. An airport people love
Singapore Changi Airport is consistently voted the world's best airport in both
industry and consumer polls. Among unexpected highlights there's an outdoor
nature trail, swimming pool, movie theater, hawker-style food stalls, beauty and
reflexology centers, children's play areas, sleeping areas and massage chairs all
over the place. If only the flights were delayed more often.
2. Fashion Week for the rest of us
Unlike the official fashion weeks in Paris, Milan, London and New York,
which are open only to media, buyers and celebs, Singapore Fashion Week sells
tickets to the general public.
3. No Waiting Around
When it comes to public services, visitors seldom have to wait.Strict
performance targets at the airport, for instance, mean travelers don't have to loiter
around the luggage carousel. The first bag off a wide-body airplane has to be on
the carousel in 12 minutes; the last has to arrive within 30 minutes. It just gets
quicker from there -- Singapore trains always run on time.
4. Walks On The Mild Side
Singapore's streets are extremely safe. Crime rates are low. Lots of parents are
even OK with their teenagers returning home in the small hours of the morning
after a night out. Or so the kids tell us.
REFERENCES
1. http://www.worldtravelguide.net/singapore/weather-climate-geography
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore#Languages.2C_religions.2C_and_cultures
3. http://www.fivestarsandamoon.com/2014/06/8-stereotypes-singaporeans-are-tired-of-
hearing/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Singapore
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singaporeans
6. http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/06/travel/singapore-50-reasons/
