The Missing Link - Singapore, The Past and Present

Singapore or formally know as The Republic of Singapore is a independent and sovereign country located in Asia. This island city-state is the smallest country in the South East Asia region but is with the most developed economies. As of 2005, Singapore has a population of about 4.3 million consists of various races with ethnic Chinese being the majority. There is also a sizeable amount of expatriates living and working in Singapore.

The Past

The name Singapore is derived from the Malay words singa(lion) and pura(city). Hence, Singapore is also known as the Lion City. The naming is attributed to a prince named Sang Nila Utama, who according to folklore, saw a lion as the first living creature on the island and decided to name it Singapura as a result.

The earliest records of Singapore's existence are from the 3rd century AD. From the 13th century onwards, the island was an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya Empire and bore the Javanese name of Temasek. Temasek rose to become a significant trading city, but subsequently declined. The island has also been under the influence of another Sumatran empire of Majapahit.

The island has also being ruled by a Srivijayan prince and the future Sultan of Malacca, Parameswara for 5 years when he killed a local ruler after escaping from an attack by Majapahit. After the 5 years, Parameswara then left Temasek and when to Muar before settling down in Malacca. With the support of some local gypsies, he established the Sultanate of Malacca. He was escaping from an attack from the Kingdom of Siam.

Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, Singapore was a part of the Sultanate of Malacca and the Sultanate Johore-Riau. However, during the Malay-Portugal wars in 1617, Singapore was set ablaze by Portuguese troops.

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

In 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, an official with the British East India Company, signed a treaty with the Sultan of Johore and Singapore seceded to British control. The British quickly establish Singapore as a trading post and settlement, which saw instant growth and immigration from various ethnic groups. After a series of colonial territorial expansions, the British Empire soon raised Singapore's status to that of a trading centre, due to its strategic location along the busy shipping routes. In 1826, Singapore, together with Penang and Malacca was grouped to form he Straits Settlements. Singapore was made the capital of the Straits Settlements in 1832. In 1867, the Straits Settlements became a British Crown Colony.

During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya and the surrounding region. The British were unprepared and was swiftly defeated, despite having more troops. They surrendered to Japan on 15 February 1942 and Singapore was posthumously renamed as Syonan-to, Japanese for "Light of the South". Japan continued to occupied Singapore until the British arrived to repossess the island a month after the Japanese surrender to the United States in September 1945.

After the surrender of Japan in 1945, the Straits Settlements was dissolved and Singapore became a separate crown colony. Former colonies of Penang and Malacca joined the Malayan Union.

In 1959, Singapore became a self-governing state with Yusof bin Ishak as the Head of State and Lee Kuan Yew as Prime Minister. Singaporeans then voted to joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 with autonomous powers.

After a heated ideological conflict with the Malaysian federal government, Singapore was expelled on 7th August 1965 and gained sovereignty two days later as the Republic of Singapore.

Singapore's flag during British Colonial Period (1946-1959)

The Present

After achieving independence, the Singapore government was left with huge domestic problem ranging from lack of natural resources, record unemployment and housing shortages. Then Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew and his administrations immediately curbed unemployment, quickly raised standard of living and implemented large-scale public housing schemes. Singapore citizens can take home loan from the governement via the unique government funded HDB scheme. This home loan facilities make owning a home in Singapore much more affordable and easily available to all citizens. Towards the end of the 20th century, Singapore has evolved from a developing nation to first world status.

The Singapore Business district.

Singapore has a highly developed market-based economy, and is often considered to be a developed nation. It ranks 25th on the Human Development Index which measures standard of living, and second in the Index of Economic Freedom. Although Singapore has one of the highest per capita gross domestic products (GDP) in the world, domestic demand is relatively low due to a small population.

The economy depends heavily on exports produced from refining imported goods in a form of extended entrepot trade, especially in manufacturing. The manufacturing industry is today well-diversified with electronics, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences manufacturing.

Because Singapore have limited natural resources, the governement have implemented several strategic economic policies to enable sustainable growth. This includes globalization and digital asset management. Multinational companies around the world are invited to based their regionaly headquarters in Singapore in return for favourable tax rebates. Singapore also host one of the world's largest shipping facilities inline with it's status as a trading nation. Singapore also have an integrated chemical facility specifically built to cater the chemical and petroleum industries.

The Merlion

Singapore is also a popular travel destination, making tourism another one of its largest industries. A total of 9.05 million tourists visited Singapore in 2005. Much of its attraction can be attributed to its cultural diversity that reflects almost 200 years of colonial history with immigrant cultures originating from Chinese, Malay, Indian, Eurasian and Arab ethnicities.

The Orchard Road district, which is dominated by multi-storey shopping centres and hotels, is the centre of tourism in Singapore. Popular tourist attractions include the Singapore Zoo and its Night Safari along with the tourist island of Sentosa. Another famous must visit Singapore landmark are the Merlion and the Singapore Esplande. The Esplanade is a durian shaped art theatre located at the mouth of Singapore river.

Also in 2005, the Singapore government decided to legalized gambling much to Singaporean's dismay. Singapore already legalized sports betting and 4-digits toto betting through government linked companies.

According to the government, this U-turn of policy was made in effort to generate employments and attract more tourism dollars. However, several new laws will be introduced to curbed excessive gambling habits and other social ills. For example, Singaporeans will have their credit history being scrutinised and are required to pay annual membership fee. For hardcore gamblers, they will be subjected to debt management and other professional help.

Even though the Singapore government legalize gambling, only 2 casino licenses will be issued with both of the casinoes to be built on designated sites on the southern part of the republic - Marina South and Sentosa Island. Not much details pertaining to the types of games made available but regular casino games like slot machines, roulette, poker, blackjack and baccarat will be featured. Internet gambling however is still illegal in Singapore.