General Information
Singapore is a city state located at the southern part of the Malay Peninsula between Malaysia and Indonesia consisted of the island of Singapore which occupies about 18 square miles and 60 small islets. Singapore is a unitary Parliamentary Representative Democracy based on the Westminster model, and the head of the State is the President. Since 1991 the powers of the President were expanded and has been elected directly by the people of the country.
The President obtained some veto powers in a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of key judiciary, Civil Service and Singapore Armed Forces posts. The Parliament consists of 94 members of whom 84 are elected and 10 are appointed to terms of up to 5 years. The Prime Minister is a Member of Parliament (MP) is selected by the parliamentary majority and is appointed by the President of the Republic who selects a person that in his or her view is likely to command the confidence of a majority of the Parliament of Singapore.
The Government of the Republic of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to mean the Executive branch of Government, which is made up of the President of the Republic and the Cabinet of Singapore. In each constituency there is a Citizen’s Consultive Committee which is designed to link the local communities to the ruling party. A number of political parties’ contest during the elections but since 1959 Singaporean politics have been dominated by the People’s Action Party (PAP).
Regarding justice in Singapore it is administered by the Supreme Court and by courts of lesser jurisdiction such as district and magistrates’ courts. Appeals can be made from the lower to the higher courts with final appeal to the Court of Appeals. A Shariah court has a jurisdiction in matters of Islamic law.
History
The island of Singapore was known to mariners at least by the 3rd century AD and by the 7th century it was one of the many trading outposts serving as a supply point for Malay, Indian, Chinese, Thai and Arab traders. In Javanese inscriptions and Chinese records to the end of the 14th century AD the more common name of the island was Temasek. At the end of the 14th century AD Temasek fell into decay but in 1522 the port of Temasek was again a busy point.
The settlement of Singapura which means “Lion City” in Sanskrit was established in 1299 by the Prince of the Empire of Srivijaya, Sri Tri Buana. By the 14th century AD the Empire of Srivijaya had already declined and Singapura was caught in the middle of the fight between Siam and the Majapahit Empire which was based in Java. The last ruler of Singapura was forced to move to city of Melaka where he founded the Sultanate of Malacca, although later the Sultanate managed to expand its authority to the city of Singapura.
The first Europeans to arrive in the region were the Portuguese at the beginning of the 16th century AD in 1509 AD. In 1511 AD the Portuguese captured the city-port of Malacca forcing the ruler of the city to flee south and establish the Sultanate of Johore which incorporated Singapura. A century later in 1613 AD the Portuguese destroyed the settlement in Singapura and the island sank to obscurity for the next centuries.
The island was one more time settled by a Malay official of the Sultanate of Johore in 1818. The next year 1819 Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles the lieutenant governor of the British enclave of Bencoolen (Bengkulu on the west coast of Sumatra) and an agent of the British East India Company arrived at the island. The British agent had a permission from the local Malay official to establish a trading post and more specifically a free trade and free immigration port on the south coast of the island at the mouth of the Singapore river. The new port was called Singapore after its ancient name.
In 1824 the Dutch formally recognized British control of Singapore and London acquired full sovereignty over the island. From 1826 to 1867 Singapore and the ports of Penang and Malacca located at the Malay Peninsula and several smaller dependencies were ruled together as the Straits Settlements from the British East India Company HQ in India. Singapore gradually became a bustling seaport with tens of thousand of habitants and an important port for goods from China, India, Dutch East Indies and the Malay Archipelago. Till the beginning of the Second World war Singapore prospered as financial institutions transportation communications and government infrastructure expanded rapidly to support the rapid development of trade and industry of the British Empire.
In 1923 the Royal Navy decided to build a large naval base in order to counter the Japanese increasing naval power. The construction of the naval base was completed in 1938 just 3 years before Japan attacked the island. The Japanese occupation of Singapore lasted till the end of the Summer of 1945. In 1946 Singapore became a separate crown colony with a civil administration. In 1948 the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) launched an insurrection in Malaya and Singapore and the British Forces declared a State of Emergency that was continued till 1960. In 1953 the British recommended partial internal self-government for Singapore. The same yar the first political parties Labor Front and People’s Acti8on Party (PAP) were established, and the next year 1955 following Legislative Assembly elections a coalition Government was formed.
In August 1958 the British Parliament elevated the status of Singapore from colony to State and provided for new local elections. On December the 3rd 1959, Singapore became self-governing, although U.K still retained control of defence and foreign policy. The PAP party won the elections of May 1959, while the Communists of the Basisan Sosialis, a left-wing political party, was the strongest opponents of the new Government.
On September 16, 1963 despite the threats of military confrontation from Indonesia and commando raids on the States of Sabah and Sarawak, Singapore joined Malaya and the former territories on the island of Borneo-Sabah and Sarawak, in order to establish the independent Federation of Malaysia. The Union with Malaya lasted till August of 1965, since the Government of the Federation of Malaysia fearing greater Singaporean dominance of the Federation and further violence between the Muslim and Chinese communities of the two countries, decided to separate Singapore from the Federation.
After the separation from the Federation of Malaysia, Singapore had to survive with the few resources that the island provided and the talent and capabilities of its people. During that period Singapore became a supply center for the increasing U.S involvement in the Second Indochina War. In 1968 the U.K decided to withdraw from its military bases in Singapore within 3 years. The naval base and its infrastructure became the Sembawang shipyard a major regional shipbuilding and shop repair center. By 1970’s Singapore did not have to depend on peninsular Malaysia for its economic prosperity since the island State had became a world leader in shipping air transport and oil refining.
From 1970’s to 1990’s Singapore experienced sustained economic growth changing gradually its economy from labor intensive industries to high-tech industries and services. The PAP political party has been in power since the first elections of the country and implemented a strong central development planning and social policies. Although the 1997-1998 economic crisis was a major setback for Singapore it did not cause serious problems and growth resumed in the early 2000’s. Ten years later in 2008 Singapore was caught again in the global economic recession of 2008-2009 from which its economy began to recover only in 2010. This was achieved mainly due to the growth achieved in the sectors of services, notably tourism.
Geography
The total area of Singapore is 724.2 km² of which 98.57% is land (713.8 km²) and 1.43% is water (10.4 km²). The mainland of Singapore measures 50 km from east to west and 27 km from north to south, while the total length of the coastline is 193 km. The total area of the Exclusive Economic Zone is 1,067 km². The highest point of Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill (182 m). Besides the main island Singapore has dozens of smaller islands, among them the larger ones are Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa. The farthest outlying island is Pedra Branca. Fresh water is provided to the local population by reservoirs and water catchment areas.
The climate of Singapore is classified as tropical rainforest climate with no true distinct seasons. Because of its geographical location and maritime exposure, Singapore’s climate is characterized by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity and abundant rainfall with average annual rainfall is around 2,340 mm and high levels of humidity. Monsoon seasons happen twice each year in Singapore. The first one is the Northeast Monsoon which occurs from mid-November to early March and the second is the Southwest Monsoon season which occurs from June to September. Periods between monsoon seasons receive less rain and wind. The temperature is usually around a range of a minimum of 25 °C and a maximum of 33 °C although the highest recorded temperature was 37.0 °C in April 1983 and the lowest recorded was 19.0 °C in February 1989.
The Ethnic Groups of the Population of Singapore
The population of Singapore in December 2020 according to the National Statistics of Singapore was 5,685.8 million people of which 4,044.2 million were citizens of the country. In 2019 the population was 5,703,569 of which 4,026.2 million people were residents and 1.68 million non-residents, while the population density of Singapore in 2019 was 7,866 per Km2. Singapore is the second most densest populated state in the world after Monaco. The annual total population growth rate for the year 2019 was 1.2% and the total fertility of the residents of the country in 2019 was 1.14
Singapore is a multicultural and multiracial country. Ethnic Chinese represent 76.2% of the citizen population, Malays who are recognized as the indigenous community represent 15% of the citizen population and ethnic Indians 7.4% of the citizen population. Since the independence of Singapore in 1959 the demographics of the country have been broadly organized under the Chinese-Malay-Indian-Other system of categorization. Although Malay is the national language in Singapore, there are four official languages, Malay, English, Mandarin and Tamil while English is the main working and education language.
Religions include Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Taoism, Hinduism amongst others and according the national census of 2015, Buddhism is followed by 33.2% of the resident population, Christianity by 18%, Islam by 14%, Taoism by 10%, and Hinduism by 6.5%. Life expectancy at birth in Singapore in 2019 was 83.4 years for both sexes combined, 85.5 years for the females and 81.2 years for the males.
Foreign Relations of Singapore
The Republic of Singapore became a member of the U. N in September 1965 and in October 1965 became the 22nd member of the Commonwealth. Two years later in 1967 Singapore became a founding member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and in 1970 Singapore was admitted into the Non-Aligned Movement. In April 1971 Singapore U.K, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand signed the Five Power Defence Agreement, few months later U.K withdraws its military forces from Singapore.
Singapore is a member of the following International organization: ADB, AOSIS, APEC, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN, BIS, C, CP, EAS, FAO, FATF, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO.
Singapore is a small country surrounded by larger countries with much bigger population. Due to its geographical weakness and mistrust of Malaysia and Indonesia (due to historical reasons) a general feeling of siege mentality had been developed throughout the decades. Since its independence the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country saw Singapore’s challenge as ensuring its sustained survival, peace, and prosperity.
According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Singapore the fundamental principles of country’s foreign policy are as follows:
- As a small state, Singapore has no illusions about the state of our region or the world.
- Singapore must always maintain a credible and deterrent military defence as the fundamental underpinning for an effective foreign policy;
- Singapore must promote and work for good relations with our immediate neighbors in all spheres;
- Singapore stands by its friends who have stood with it in times of need;
- Singapore is fully committed to the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN);
- Singapore will work to maintain a secure and peaceful environment in and around Southeast Asia, especially the Asia Pacific region;
- Singapore will continue to work for the maintenance of a free and open multilateral trading system;
- Singapore is ready to trade with any state for mutual benefit and maintain an open market economy;
- Singapore will support and be active in international organizations such as the United Nations (UN).
Singapore’s foreign policy is aimed at maintaining friendly relations with all countries especially Malaysia Indonesia and ASEAN and ensuring that its actions do not exacerbate its neighbors’ insecurities.
The foreign policy of Singapore was based on the policy of the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country S. Rajaratnam who believed that maintaining a balance of power rather than becoming a de facto vassal State of some larger power would provide Singapore with Freedom to pursue an independent foreign policy. As a small country Singapore tries to keep close ties with both the U.S and China and walk carefully between these competing powers. Today Singapore is a close strategic partner of the U.S in Asia and the two countries maintain particularly advanced military ties. Both countries conduct regularly military exercises and the U.S Navy uses Singaporean naval facilities to support its operations in Southeast Asia.
Singapore has also sought warm ties with China, but their relationship has been difficult at times. In 2016 Singapore was indirectly involved into the rivalry between the Republic of China and the P.R.C when Beijing seized for two months nine Terrex Singaporean military vehicles at Hong Kong en route transit at the container terminals in Hong Kong to Singapore from Taiwan after the completion of military exercise in Taiwan. Furthermore, the next year, in 2017, the Prime Minister of Singapore was not invited to China’s inaugural Belt and Road Forum. Nevertheless, China is Singapore’s biggest trading partner and in 2017 Singapore was the second largest foreign investor in China.
The relations of the two countries improved in 2019 and Singapore and Beijing signed multiple agreements to collaborate on trade ands security. In general terms the two countries have maintained long-standing and greatly prioritized close relationship partly due to the growing influence of China in the Asia-Pacific region specifying that “Singapore’s common interest with China is far greater than any difference”. Singapore is a strong supporter for China’s constructive engagement band peaceful development in the region and has engaged to the cooperation with other ASEAN members and China in order to strength regional security and fight terrorism.
Finally Singapore is a strong supporter of the implementation of the International Law as a mean to resolve regional and State disputes. In May 2008 Singapore and Malaysia reached to an agreement at the International Court of Justice about the territorial dispute of the island of Predra Branca with Singapore getting Pedra Branca and Malaysia the uninhabited small rocks, Middle Rocks.