SINGAPURA

"Singapura" and "Singapur" redirect here. For other uses, see Singapore (disambiguation).

ingapore (/ˈsɪŋ(ɡ)əpɔːr/ ( listen)), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island city-

state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles)
north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Straits of Malacca to
the west, the Riau Islands to the south, and the South China Sea to the east. The country's territory
is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet, the combined
area of which has increased by 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land
reclamation projects. The country is home to 5.7 million residents, 61% (3.4 million) of whom
are Singaporean citizens. There are four official languages of Singapore: English, Malay, Chinese,
and Tamil; with English being the lingua franca. This reflects in its rich cultural diversity and
extensive ethnic cuisine and major festivals. Multiracialism is enshrined in the constitution, and
continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.
Although its history stretches back millennia, modern Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir
Stamford Raffles as a trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, the colonies in East Asia were
reorganised and Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits
Settlements. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942 but returned
to British control as a separate 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 being
expelled from the federation two years later, thereby becoming an independent country.
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 based on external trade, becoming a
highly developed country; it is ranked ninth on the UN Human Development Index, and has
the seventh-highest GDP per capita in the world. Singapore is the only country in Asia with an AAA
sovereign rating from all major rating agencies. It is a major financial and shipping hub, consistently
ranked the most expensive city to live in since 2013, and has been identified as a tax haven.
Singapore also has the tenth-highest number of billionaires of any city in the world,[8] and is placed
highly in key social indicators: education, healthcare, quality of life, personal safety and housing, with
a home-ownership rate of 91%. Singaporeans enjoy one of the world's longest life
expectancies, fastest Internet connection speeds and one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the
world.
Singapore is a unitary parliamentary republic with a Westminster
system of unicameral parliamentary government. Singapore is widely regarded to have
an incorrupt and meritocratic government, with a fair judiciary and strong rule of law. While the
country holds clean elections, the government has significant control over politics and society, and
the People's Action Party has ruled continuously since independence. One of the five founding
members of ASEAN, Singapore is also the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat and Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) Secretariat, as
well as many international conferences and events. Singapore is also a member of the United
Nations, World Trade Organization, East Asia Summit, Non-Aligned Movement and
the Commonwealth of Nations.
  Name and etymology
The English name of Singapore is an anglicisation of the native Malay name for the
country, Singapura, which was in turn derived from the Sanskrit word for lion
city (romanised: Siṃhapura; Brahmi: 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀳𑀧𑀼𑀭; literally "lion city"; siṃha means "lion", pura means
"city" or "fortress").[9] A Chinese account from the third century referred to a place as Pú Luó
Zhōng (Chinese: 蒲羅中), which sounds like Malay for "island at the end of a peninsula".[10] Early
references to the name Temasek (or Tumasik) are found in the Nagarakretagama, a Javanese epic
poem written in 1365, and a Vietnamese source from the same time period. The name possibly
means "Sea Town", being derived from the Malay tasek, meaning "sea" or "lake".[11] The Chinese
traveller Wang Dayuan visited a place around 1330 named Danmaxi (Chinese: 淡馬
錫; pinyin: Dānmǎxí; Wade–Giles: Tan Ma Hsi) or Tam ma siak, depending on
pronunciation. Danmaxi may be a transcription of Temasek, alternatively, it may be a combination of
the Malay Tanah meaning "land", and Chinese Xi meaning "tin", which was traded on the island.[12][11]
Variations of the name Siṃhapura were used for a number of cities throughout the region prior to the
establishment of the Kingdom of Singapura. In Hindu-Buddhist culture, lions were associated with
power and protection, which may explain the attraction of such a name.[13] The
name Singapura supplanted Temasek sometime before the 15th century, after the establishment of
the Kingdom of Singapura on the island by a fleeing Srivijayan Raja (prince) from Palembang.
However, the precise time and reason for the name change is unknown. The semi-mythical Malay
Annals state that Temasek was christened Singapura by Sang Nila Utama, a 13th-century Srivijayan
Raja from Palembang. The Annals state that Sang Nila Utama encountered a strange beast on the
island that he took to be a lion. Seeing this as an omen, he established the town of Singapura where
he encountered the beast. The second hypothesis is based on the real life Parameswara of
Palembang. Parameswara declared independence from Majapahit and mounted a Lion Throne, thus
claiming the Srivijaya Empire. After then being driven into exile by the Javanese, he usurped control
over Temasek. It is possible that he rechristened the area as Singapura, recalling the throne he had
been driven from.[14][15]
Under Japanese occupation, Singapore was renamed Syonanto (Japanese: 昭南
島, Hepburn: Shōnan-tō), meaning "Light of the South".[16][17] Singapore is sometimes referred to by
the nickname the "Garden City", in reference to its parks and tree-lined streets.[18] Another name, the
"Little Red Dot", was adopted after Indonesian President B. J. Habibie dismissed Singapore by
referring to a red dot on a map.

 Ancient Singapore
In 1299, according to the Malay Annals, the Kingdom of Singapura was founded on the island
by Sang Nila Utama.[22] Although the historicity of the accounts as given in the Malay Annals is the
subject of academic debates,[23] it is nevertheless known from various documents that Singapore in
the 14th century, then known as Temasek, was a trading port under the influence of both
the Majapahit Empire and the Siamese kingdoms[24] and was a part of the Indosphere[25][26][27][28][29][30][31]
[30]
 These Indianised Kingdoms were characterised by surprising resilience, political integrity and
administrative stability.[32] Historical sources also indicate that around the end of the 14th century, its
ruler Parameswara was attacked by either the Majapahit or the Siamese, forcing him to move
to Malacca where he founded the Sultanate of Malacca.[33] Archaeological evidence suggests that the
main settlement on Fort Canning was abandoned around this time, although a small trading
settlement continued in Singapore for some time afterwards.[14] In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned
down the settlement, and the island faded into obscurity for the next two centuries.[34] By then
Singapore was nominally part of the Johor Sultanate.[35] The wider maritime region and much trade
was under Dutch control for the following period after the Dutch conquest of Malacca.[36]
  British colonization
The British governor Stamford Raffles arrived in Singapore on 28 January 1819 and soon
recognised the island as a natural choice for the new port.[37] The island was then nominally ruled
by Tengku Abdul Rahman, the Sultan of Johor, who was controlled by the Dutch and the Bugis.
[38]
 However, the Sultanate was weakened by factional division: the Temenggong (Chief Minister) of
Tengku Abdul Rahman, as well as his officials, were loyal to the Sultan's elder brother Tengku Long,
who was living in exile in Riau. With the Temenggong's help, Raffles managed to smuggle Tengku
Long back into Singapore. Raffles offered to recognise Tengku Long as the rightful Sultan of Johor,
under the title of Sultan Hussein, as well as provide him with a yearly payment of $5000 and another
$3000 to the Temenggong; in return, Sultan Hussein would grant the British the right to establish a
trading post on Singapore.[39] A formal treaty was signed on 6 February 1819.[40][41]
In 1824, a further treaty with the Sultan led to the entire island becoming a British possession.[42] In
1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, then under the jurisdiction of British India.
Singapore became the regional capital in 1836.[43] Prior to Raffles' arrival, there were only about a
thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese.
[44]
 By 1860 the population had swelled to over 80,000, more than half being Chinese.[42] Many of
these early immigrants came to work on the pepper and gambier plantations.[45] In 1867, the Straits
Settlements were separated from British India, coming under the direct control of Britain.[46] Later, in
the 1890s, when the rubber industry became established in Malaya and Singapore,[47] the island
became a global centre for rubber sorting and export.[42]
Singapore was not greatly affected by the First World War (1914–18), as the conflict did not spread
to Southeast Asia. The only significant event during the war was the 1915 Singapore
Mutiny by Muslim sepoys from British India, who were garrisoned in Singapore.[48] After hearing
rumours that they were to be sent to fight the Ottoman Empire, a Muslim state, the soldiers rebelled,
killing their officers and several British civilians before the mutiny was suppressed by non-Muslim
troops arriving from Johore and Burma.[49]
After the First World War, the British built the large Singapore Naval Base as part of the
defensive Singapore strategy.[50] Originally announced in 1921, the construction of the base
proceeded at a slow pace until the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Costing $60 million and
not fully completed in 1938, it was nonetheless the largest dry dock in the world, the third-
largest floating dock, and had enough fuel tanks to support the entire British navy for six months.[50][51]
[52]
 The base was defended by heavy 15-inch naval guns stationed at Fort Siloso, Fort Canning and
Labrador, as well as a Royal Air Force airfield at Tengah Air Base. Winston Churchill touted it as the
"Gibraltar of the East", and military discussions often referred to the base as simply "East of Suez".
However, the British Home Fleet was stationed in Europe, and the British could not afford to build a
second fleet to protect their interests in Asia. The plan was for the Home Fleet to sail quickly to
Singapore in the event of an emergency. As a consequence, after World War II broke out in 1939,
the fleet was fully occupied with defending Britain, leaving Singapore vulnerable to Japanese
invasion.