Singapour

Republic of Singapore (fr)
(zh)
Republik Singapura (ms)
(ta)
Republic of Singapore (en)
( Flag of Singapore ) ( Arms of Singapore )
National motto : Majulah Singapura (in Malay ) (In French : Onward, Singapore)
Official language	English , Mandarin , Malay and Tamil
Capital	Singapore 1 17'N 103 51'E / 1283, 103.85
Largest city	Singapore
Form of State	Republic
- President - Prime Minister	Sellapan Rama Nathan Lee Hsien Loong
Area - Total - Water (%)	Ranked 176th 699 km 2 1.4%
Population - Total ( 2008 ) - Density	Ranked 115 th 4,608,167 inhab. 6751 inhabitants / km 2
Independence - Date	From Malaysia 9 August 1965
Demonym	Singapore, Singaporean
GDP (PPP) ( 2009 )	239.97 billion ( 44th )
HDI ( 2007 )	0.944 (high) ( 23rd )
Currency	Singapore Dollar ( SGD )
Time Zone	UTC 8
National anthem	Majulah Singapura (May Singapore progress)
Internet domain	. Sg
Indicative Telephone	+65

Singapore, long form Republic of Singapore, in English and Mandarin and in Malay and in Tamil and is a city-state of East Asia. Its area is 647.8 km. It comprises 64 islands , the main one being the island of Singapore (584.8 km ). This island is densely urbanized.

Island city-state and the end of the Malay Peninsula which is separated by the Straits of Johor , Singapore is known around the world and often cited as a model for its extraordinary economic success. After independence in 1965 , with Singapore has very few natural resources and socio-economic issues (race riots, mass unemployment, housing problems and access to water), become one of the most developed and more prosperous world. The sovereign city, is a small Chinese at the heart of the Malay world: the population is overwhelmingly composed of Chinese (76.8%). This ethnic confrontation in part the troubles that have accelerated its withdrawal from Malaysia , August 9, 1965 .

In the 1980s, the country is among the four Asian dragons , states in transition and economic development frantic. In 2009 , Singapore is ^the 4th country in the world in terms of PPP per capita after Qatar , the Luxembourg and Norway . Commercial and financial hub between the Pacific and Europe , the town owes its growth to its exceptional maritime situation at the eastern end of the Strait of Malacca : That the city at the edge of the East, the first port the world in terms of exports and shipping. The population of Singapore has a very high standard of living and the city-state is often called "The Switzerland of Asia " . In 2009, Singapore and showed the highest concentration of millionaires to total population reported ahead of Hong Kong , the Swiss , the Qatar and Kuwait .

Presenting a remarkable political stability, Singapore is now considered an authoritarian democracy, with the same family in power since independence. The city-state is regarded as a country practicing economic liberalism without political liberalism. The Singapore company is known for his strong conservatism.

History

Temasek ("Sea Town" in Javanese ), the former name of the island where Singapore is attested from the ^fourteenth century. The Nagarakertagama , an epic poem written in 1365 in the kingdom Javanese of Majapahit , mentions "Tumasik" among the few hundred "dependent countries" of the kingdom. In reality, the territory controlled by Majapahit extending only a portion of eastern and central Java. The "dependent countries" were in fact counters forming a trade network that Majapahit was the center. Majapahit was sending officials whose role was to ensure that these counters do not devote themselves to a private trade which falls outside the kingdom.

The island was named Singapura ("Lion City" in Sanskrit ) to the ^fourteenth century by Parameswara (also known as Sang Nila Utama ), a prince of Palembang in South Island of Indonesia from Sumatra who is exiled for refusing suzerainty of Majapahit after an attack of it in 1377.

In fact, there never was a lion on the island but tigers (there is however a well- Asiatic lion , Panthera leo persica). The explorers were probably ran into a beast of the jungle and have likened to a lion. The animal symbolism of Singapore is a lion-tailed fish, the Merlion.

On 29 January 1819 , Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founded a trading post which became Singapore.

In 1819 , the British Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles took control to address the market dominance of the Dutch in the region. The London Treaty of 1824 between the British and Dutch gives them control of territory claimed by Europeans in the south of Singapore. In 1826 , Singapore, Malacca and Penang are the colonies of the Straits and Straits Settlements. Thus, Singapore became an important British naval base, which could control the passage through the Strait of Malacca.

However, this arrangement placed the colony under the bureaucracy extent and hierarchy of the complex British East India Company. Later, merchants put pressure on the British to reform the law because there was a growing need for new measures against crime and piracy. Singapore was declared a "crown colony" in 1867 , which means a dominance of the British crown in Singapore that will last until independence in 1965 , excluding the parenthesis of the Japanese occupation.

German map of Singapore, the southern state of Malaysia in Johor Islands and Indonesia in Batam and Bintan in 1888

Troops of the Imperial Japanese Army in the victorious marching downtown Singapore after the British surrender.

During the British colonization, immigration grew. Indeed, the British did come to the area of workers' Chinese and Indians to expand trade and work in the plantations of rubber trees. Given the ban on foreigners buying agricultural land in Malaysia , the communities settled in Singapore, who was nicknamed "the Gibraltar of the Far East" and "The Arsenal of Democracy".

During the Second World War , from 15 February 1942 , the island is subject to the expansionism of Japan Showa and integrated into the Co-Prosperity Sphere Greater East Asia , following an invasion led from the land , while the city's defenses were oriented towards the sea that this device was called Syonan-To "(in French 'light of the South"). In Sook Ching , an estimated 20,000 and 100,000 Chinese were killed as an "anti-Japanese elements" during the occupation. Local historians call this period "the darkest years of the history of Singapore." The Imperial Army will also implement the bacteriological research unit 9420, a subsidiary of Unit 731 , where Japanese researchers practiced experiments on human guinea pigs. At the same time, a camp for prisoners of war existed in Singapore, called " Changi Camp. " British soldiers, American and Australian, mainly captured in 1942 or during the war were held here. Casualties there were many, due to poor hygiene and famine essentially . The British Empire Singapore recovered only 5 September 1945.

In 1959 the British Singapore endow a constitution clean and Lee Kuan Yew was elected Prime Minister. His party, the People's Action Party ("People's Action Party") then suggested the integration of states of the Federation of Malaysia , which was done on 16 September 1963. Soon after, in 1964 , disturbances broke out, and the independence of the Republic of Singapore vis--vis the federation was proclaimed on 9 August 1965 .

Politics

The Singapore Parliament

Banner Elections PAP adorned with the logo of the Party

The Singapore Constitution is inspired by the British parliamentary system. The Singapore Parliament is unicameral , the legislative power of Singapore. It comprises 84 members for a term not exceeding five years. The Prime Minister is the head of government. The President of the Republic of Singapore is the head of state of the nation.

In fact, the People's Action Party (PAP) dominates the Singaporean policy since the independence. The form of government is closer to the authoritarianism that a democratic multiparty .

Since 1965 only three prime ministers, all members of the PAP, have succeeded: Lee Kuan Yew , the father of modern Singapore until 1990, Goh Chok Tong in 1990 to 2004, and finally Lee Hsien Loong , the son of Lee Kuan Yew, since 12 August 2004. As for the president, theoretically elected by direct universal suffrage for a term of six years, his re-election on 17 August 2005 was not really because it was done without a vote: in fact, Sellapan Rama Nathan was the only candidate election day, the other candidates have been disqualified because they did not meet the necessary criteria ... criteria established by the government which include the requirement to have had an important position in public service.

Paradoxically, the market economy of Singapore is recognized internationally as a model of success while being transparent and free of corruption .

Singapore is a member of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations-East) and is covered by the Five Power Defence Arrangements in case of aggression against it.

Majulah Singapura , National Anthem of the Republic of Singapore, meaning "May Singapore progress" in Malay.

Geography

Singapore on the map.

Singapore is located between Malaysia to the north and Indonesia to the south. This island is connected to the Malay peninsula by two bridges. The first, which is also called "floor" ( Johor-Singapore Causeway ), arrives at the border town of Johor Bahru in Malaysia. The second ( Malaysia-Singapore Second Link ), to the west, connects the outskirts of Johor Bahru to neighborhoods in the area of Tuas.

Singapore is also made up of 64 other small islands are the most important of the island of Jurong (industrial), the island of Sentosa (for tourism), Pulau Ubin , and largest, Pulau Tekong. Although Singapore is one city, administrative boundaries correspond to electoral districts. These are reviewed at each legislative to take into account demographic trends.

Many drinking water reservoirs (Bukit Timah, Mc Ritchie ...) were released into the island to allow autonomy to the state of supply in case of war with neighboring Malaysia, where he is currently dependent for water. Form beautiful artificial lakes, reservoirs are perfect places to walk away from the city or watch monkey island lake and turtles.

At night, climb at 52 ^th and last floor of Singapore's Premium Commercial Tower for sweeping view the skyline formed by the Strait of Malacca. The day in clear weather, you can see the Indonesia.

Singapore at night.

Demographics

Demographic changes between 1961 and 2003 (figure in FAO , 2005). Population in thousands.

In 2010, Singapore has five million inhabitants. The city-state has built a large part of them thousands of HDB. In each block of HDB, social diversity is the rule, but the cultural mix is carefully balanced: the inhabitants are "arranged" by building on the basis of ethnic quotas. In 1947, Singapore had fewer than 700 000 inhabitants living in communities in the alleys of the old neighborhoods Malay, Chinese or Indian.

After Monaco , Singapore has a population density highest in the world. 85% of the population live in public housing called HDB , you must be a Singaporean citizen or permanent resident (PR) to qualify for HDB .

The ethnic diversity of the Singaporean population is very important: the Chinese make up the population to 76.8%, the Malays 13.9% who are the original inhabitants, the Indians 7.9% and the rest from various countries including Western .

The official languages are the English , the Mandarin , the Malay and Tamil. The Malay is the national language as a symbolic (used for the national anthem ). The ruling party, however, preferred to promote the use of English as the language uniting communities and foreign trade. More recently, instead of Mandarin has been strengthened in education and public display.

Economy

A store IKEA in Singapore, a symbol of the country's economic opening.

Singapore, with South Korea , Taiwan and Hong Kong , one of the four " dragons "of Asia as one calls these countries while growing economy in the 1980s. It has a modern and prosperous economy, characterized by an open and corruption-free, stable prices and one of the highest GDP per capita in the world (U.S. 36,378 in 2009) . Its economy depends on banking and financial services (second financial center in Asia after Japan), commerce, navigation (the first port in the world for cargo tonnage with 515.415 million tonnes in 2008, but also in containers for same year with 29,918,200 TEUs) , tourism, shipbuilding and petroleum refining (3rd World refiner). The electronics industry is very dynamic and experienced in the world (the company Creative Technology has spread throughout the world's famous sound cards Sound Blaster ). Note also the importance of the armaments sector, boosted by public commissions of the State of Singapore which has two sovereign wealth funds, Temasek Holdings since 1974 and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) since 1981.

In 2001 the global recession and the fall of the sector ICT did not spare the Singapore economy. The GDP fell 2.1%. And the outbreak of SARS early 2003 has only amplified this crisis.

To counter the slowdown, the government established in December 2001 a committee of business intelligence whose results were published in February 2003. The result is a renewed commitment of government to integrate into world trade by distributing its best interests (particularly with Europe ), while reducing local costs.

Singapore is part of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

The Port of Singapore, first worldwide in terms of tonnage and top port exported oil worldwide.

Religions

Religious origins as Singapore.

42% of Singaporeans are Buddhist , 14.9% Muslims , 14.6% Christians (including 4.8% of Catholics ), 8.5% Taoist , 4% Hindu , 0.7% reported another religion and 14 , 8% have none .

Culture

Singapore is a mix of different cultures from different ethnic groups: Chinese , Malay and Indian. Each group is encouraged to maintain its traditions while embracing a lifestyle and modern conformist. Singapore is a unique place of paradoxes. On the celebrations you can see a Chinese wedding take place just next to a Malay wedding. It is also possible to participate in a series of festivals showing the mixed character of the people of Singapore:

Slogans

National slogans are plastered all over the city, encouraging good citizenship, honesty and consideration. They include a presidential citation, "We're not the richest, we're not the strongest, and we're not the most numerous. So we need to give us a place in the sun to be among the ablest and best educated. "

The science fiction writer Yann Quero parodied these slogans in his novel The White Man's trial.

Defense

Important British base until 1971, Singapore has been with the Singapore Armed Forces a modern army. Of its 4.5 million inhabitants, 250,000 were mobilized within 24 hours.

The defense is provided primarily by a substantial air force of dissuasion. The ground forces are composed of small commando units organized on the British model of Malayan Scouts who fought successfully during the insurgency in Malaysia was conducted principally by its Chinese immigrants. The Singapore Navy ( Republic of Singapore Navy ) has the primary mission the defense of sea lines of communication in the country (mainly against piracy).

The city-state in 1971 signed the agreement of the Five Power Defence Arrangements with the United Kingdom , the Australia , the New Zealand , the Malaysian and relies on support from its ASEAN partners.

A memorandum of 1990 authorizes the armed forces of the United States to use the Paya Lebar Air Base and the naval base in Sembawang. This home since July 1992 a major logistics center in the U.S. Navy .

Legislation

Former building of the Supreme Court of Singapore (The New Supreme Court Building is on the right of the image).

The laws on social behavior are considered very strict (some say that "Everything that is fun is banned in Singapore). The policing is provided by a police force of which the majority of members acting undercover, allowing monitor any breach of the law more effectively. The legislation is also applied strictly to both nationals and foreigners.
Thus, the crime rate in Singapore is among the lowest in the world, the streets are safe at all hours.

Clean

• Large fines are imposed on people who throw papers and waste (including cigarette butts), spitting or urinating in public places, which is punishable by a fine of 500 S .
• Eat, drink and carry durians or cans of gasoline, is prohibited on buses and subway (MRT: Mass Rapid Transit) , punishable by a fine of about S 500.
• The sale of chewing gum was banned in 1992 but no use. Since May 2004, when a trade agreement with the United States , the sale of chewing gum for dental or medical purposes is indeed authorized, provided the customer in a pharmacy has an identity document, and, for chewing gum on nicotine, a medical certificate. In its current usage, the chewing gum is banned from sale.

Order and customs control

Identity checks during the night of December 31, 2006

The events without permission and strikes are prohibited.

The censorship is carried out:

• Some magazines and newspapers such as the Far Eastern Economic Review have their distribution restricted. Malaysian newspapers are banned in Singapore and vice versa.
• The possession of satellite dishes is prohibited. Only cable TV is allowed.
• Some items of political or that could harm the religious and cultural harmony in the country are banned.
• The pornography is forbidden; depictions of sexual are very limited: Playboy and other adult magazines are banned. In general, films which contain scenes of nudity, eroticism and violence are rated R (A) .

Some sexual practices designated by the government as against nature are illegal although tolerated. This is actually the legacy of British law at the time Victorian has not been revoked after independence (a new law setting aside antisodomie laws came into effect Monday, September 17, 2007 but is limited to heterosexuals ). It is the practice of oral sex if she is not followed by vaginal intercourse and male homosexuality. Female homosexuality, according to the Singapore Penal Code , seems tolerated. Overall, the company would be more tolerant than its laws. The rigor of this legislation is all the more surprising that Singapore is a city open to outside influences because a community gay influential organized there.

The prostitution is allowed only in certain districts.

Behavior vis--vis women, especially in public, should never be ambiguous. Upon termination, the police can make arrests for "indecent assault". The cases have recently increased, and several visiting Europeans were stranded on that ground in Singapore for a fortnight before their court appearance .

The drug laws are very strict:

• Anyone caught with more than 13-14 g of heroin , 28 grams of morphine or 480 grams of cannabis is punishable by the death penalty. From 1991 to 2005 , 420 people were hanged in Singapore, mostly for drug trafficking, according to a report by Amnesty International. The number of executions per capita of Singapore is the highest in the world .
• Possession of utensils for drug use (pipes, syringes, etc ...) is also prohibited .
• Checks may be made even when entering the country (urine test confirmed by a blood test). If test positive, the person is deemed to have used drugs on-site .

Traffic

Singapore has more than 4 million people. To regulate traffic, car owners are subject to high taxes and price of COE: Certificate of Entitlement ("Certificate of Entitlement" document required to circulate freely in Singapore) is high, an automatic system Pay-called ERP: Electronic Road Pricing (" Congestion Charging Electronic) operated at certain times effectively regulate traffic.
Moreover, car prices are exorbitant (eg, a Nissan Micra costs more than S 70,000 that is to say more than 34 000 , cons about 10 000 in France ).

Transport

Urban

The transportation system of Singapore is highly developed and convenient access. 4 lines of subway today, the fourth is not completed, were built from 1985. The bus network is also meshed very well and most lines have a high frequency, even late at night. Moreover, the taxi is a mode of transport widely used (Singapore is the city in the world with the largest number of taxis per capita) because car ownership is expensive. All taxis, most buses and all subway trains are equipped with air conditioning.

International Transport

Singapore is accessible in several ways:

• By train from Malaysia: the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station is a terminus as an enclave of Malaysia in Singapore;
• By plane: Changi International Airport is experiencing a high traffic and is still expanding in the east of the island;
• By bus: some Singaporean lines cross the causeway to downtown Johor Bahru.
• By bus: Many private companies connect Singapore to major cities in Malaysia ( Malacca , Kuala Lumpur , etc.).
• By boat: frequent ferries and shuttles connect Singapore to Indonesia in particular.

Miscellaneous

The movement is left.

The English taught and promoted following the standard of the United Kingdom. However, locally, this language has experienced some form of inflection. This Singapore English is called Singlish , and is derived from the interbreeding of populations. It is a repeating accent tones of Chinese Hokkien , use many words Hokkien and Malay , through grammatical simplifications. The population is over 70% of the original Fujian in China ( Hokkien ), which explains this influence.

The format for dates is DD / MM / YYYY.

Postal Code : 6 digits.

Units: SI ( Metric ).

Electricity : 230 V, 50 Hz; Taken : 3-pin UK model.

Singapore hosted in 2008 the first Grand Prix Formula 1 Night of the history of Formula 1.

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  Merlion.

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  Merlion and Skyline.

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  Esplanade.

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  Padang, a relaxing family very popular.

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  One of the twelve blocks of the central hospital in Singapore. The city-state has one of the best health systems in the world.

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  Singaporean traditional grocery, a type of trade loss with the explosion in the number of hypermarkets.

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  Bay of Singapore at night.

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  Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong with Dmitry Medvedev.

Codes

Singapore has the code:

• SG , according to the standard ISO 3166-1 , code alpha-2 (list of country codes)
• GSP , according to the standard ISO 3166-1 , code alpha-3 (list of country codes)
• GSP , according to the list of international codes of plates ,
• GSP , according to the list of country codes used by NATO , code alpha-3,
• INS , according to the list of country codes IOC ,
• SN , according to the list of country codes used by NATO , alpha-2 code,

References

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