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RE:
SINGAPORE

Essential information about our homeland Proudly presented to you by Kevin Koh and Jerrold Soh

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RE: Singapore Why should we care about Singapore? Firstly, its the place that we live, grew up, and probably will grow old in. More importantly, its the country we're expected to know best especially for H2 Economics and H1 General Paper. In order to cater to the desperate needs of the student population in having handy statistics, facts and examples to give to our beloved Cambridge examiners, we humbly present RE: Singapore, a fact booklet covering our little island nation from as many perspectives as we had free time to research on. The booklet will be formatted in a way so as to best cater to your essay writing needs. Sections will be split into SPERMs social, political, economic, religious, and moral to give you a holistic understanding of how to score at least a B for your essay. 1. Singaporean government a. Democracy b. Media and Press c. Our leaders 2. Singaporean economy a. Biotech b. Trade 3. Singaporean society a. Everything to do with race b. Heritage c. Culture and the Arts 4. Singaporean technology and science a. Organ Trading b. Stem cell research c. Defense technology

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Politics
Democracy in Singapore The parliament
The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament (NCMPs) and Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) who are appointed. In 2006 general election, 84 MPs were elected, and one NCMP and nine NMPs were appointed. Out of this, two were opposition MPs Low Thia Kiang of Hougang constituency and Chiam See Tong of Potong Pasir, as well as NCMP Sylvia Lim. Members of parliament may hark from either the ruling or opposition parties. As with all parliaments the ruling party (government) will sit on the right of Cabinet whilst the opposition on the left, giving rise to the term leftists and rightists. The primary function of parliament is basically for the rightists to propose and suggest policies and for the leftists to attack, challenge, and thereby refine them. A metaphorical party whip (which is actually a position filled by a person) is used in Parliament to enforce party discipline and ensure that sufficient numbers of MPs from his or her political parties attend sittings of the House and vote along party lines. A whip also schedules the MPs that will speak for each item of Parliamentary business. To put things in perspective, it is a common feature of democracy practiced in countries such as the USA and not unique to Singapore.

Administration remuneration
A Reuter's report on the government pay hikes in 2007 read: Singapore government officials' salaries are set by different wage formulas, depending on their seniority. The figures are not readily available to the public, but the prime minister earned S$1.94 million in 2000, according to the Straits Times. Ministerial pay is based on a system created in 1994 by MM Lee Kuan Yew, pegging the salaries of government ministers and top civil servants to the money they might earn at the top of the private sector. The rationale behind it is to attract the elites of the country to work in the public administration instead of in the private sector.

Party Time
The People's Action Party (PAP) was formed in 1954 by Lee Kuan Yew, Fong Swee Suan, and Lim Chin Siong, amidst other founding members. The latter two were eventually labelled Communists and expelled from the party and Lee Kuan Yew became the party's "first secretary-general" (exact appointment from www.pap.org.sg). In the 1959 elections, the PAP won 3 out of 25 contestable seats.

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The following are extracts from the party's website (as of 2010): "The party now has 15,000 members. We now have a Women's Wing (set up in 1989) and Young PAP (the youth wing, set up in 1986). We continue to operate out of a modest headquarters in Upper Changi, on the outskirts of the city centre." The 1991 election was based on our manifesto, The Next Lap, which saw the second generation of political leaders such as Mr Goh Chok Tong, taking on a bigger role. In that year, we won 60.97 per cent of the votes. The Party shall be a national movement dedicated to the service of our nation and to the advancement of the well-being of our people. Towards this end, the Party's objectives shall be: (a) To preserve, protect and defend the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Singapore. (b) To safeguard the freedom, and advance the well-being, of Singaporeans through representative and democratic government. (c) To forge a nation of Singaporeans; to build a multiracial society, fair, just, and tolerant to all, whatever their race, language, and religion; to infuse into Singaporeans a sense of national identity and to bind them together by patriotism and commitment to Singapore." There are also a number of opposition parties in Singapore including the Worker's Party formed in 1957 by David Marshall, and currently headed by NCMP Sylvia Lim. The Singapore Democratic Alliance (comprising Singapore Malay National Organisation, Singapore People's Party) was formed in 2001 and led by MP Chiam See Tong. Also, there are the Democratic Progressive Party, National Solidarity Party, Reform Party, and the Singapore Democratic Party

Media and Press

Media freedom in Singapore is ranked 154th in the world. Observers claim that media freedom is constrained to such a degree that the vast majority of journalists practice self-censorship rather than risk being charged with defamation or breaking the country's criminal laws on permissible speech. It is worth noting that these 'observers' take the lack of dissent in Singapore to be a sign of repression rather than genuine contentment. The Newspaper and Printing Presses Act of 1974 states clearly that "No person shall, on or after 2nd September 2002*, become a substantial shareholder of a newspaper company without first obtaining the approval of the Minister". The same act also states that "no memorandum or articles of association of a proposed newspaper company shall be presented for registration unless there is lodged with them the

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written approval of the Registrar". The Ministry here refers to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, whilst the Registrar is the Registrar of Newspapers appointed none other than the Minister. Ex-President S R Nathan, first Director of the Security and Intelligence Division, served as SPH's Executive Chairman from 1982 to 1988, whilst the first President (19952002) of SPH was Tjong Yik Min, former chief of the Internal Security Department. The next Chairman of SPH, now President Dr. Tony Tan, was Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore from 1995 to 2005. In 1993, William Gibson, the dude who coined the term cyberspace, published an article, "Disneyland with the Death Penalty", in Wired, opining that "The local papers ... are essentially organs of the state, instruments of only the most desirable propagation." A few years ago, British author Alan Shadrake published "Once a Jolly Hangman" - a criticism on Singapore's judiciary system and capital punishment, for which he was charged for contempt of court, with the Attorney-General's Chambers alleging that Mr Shadrake's book contained statements which called into question the impartiality, integrity and independence of the judiciary.

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Our leaders
In this section, you will find key stuff that our leaders have said which can be used in your GP essay or AQs to substantiate certain aspects of Singaporean culture, politics, and whatnot.

Mr. Lee Kuan Yew

If you believe in democracy, you must believe in it unconditionally. If you believe that men should be free, then, they should have the right of free association, of free speech, of free publication. Then, no law should permit those democratic processes to be set at nought. - as an opposition leader, April 27, 1955 If I were in authority in Singapore indefinitely without having to ask those who are governed whether they like what is being done, then I would not have the slightest doubt that I could govern much more effectively in their interests. - 1962 Youre talking about Rwanda or Bangladesh, or Cambodia, or the Philippines. Theyve got democracy, according to Freedom House. But have you got a civilised life to lead? People want economic development first and foremost. The leaders may talk something else. You take a poll of any people. What is it they want? The right to write an editorial as you like? They want homes, medicine, jobs, schools. - Lee Kuan Yew, The Man and His Ideas, 1997 They say people can think for themselves? Do you honestly believe that the chap who cant pass primary six knows the consequence of his choice when he answers a question viscerally, on language, culture and religion? But we knew the consequences. We would starve, we would have race riots. We would disintegrate. - Lee Kuan Yew, The Man & His Ideas, 1997 "You can take a Chinese or an Indian, bring them to America and, as a minority in the American milieu, he will begin to absorb the American ethos. But you bring a few Americans to China or India and you think you can spread this ethos into India and China, you're dead wrong.' -making his point at the Singapore Human Capital Summit in 2010 that cultural barriers do not come down easily in Asia "In this little island, weve got to keep pollution down because theres no way to say these are high-quality areas, thats low-quality areas. If you pollute one part of Singapore, youve polluted the whole of it" At a dialogue with the Singapore Energy Conference

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Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

Singapore is a "Paranoid Government" that "worries all the time", and with good reason Channel NewsAsia reports "They have to be on top of their ministry. He's the full-time chairman and sometimes the CEO. He makes the decisions and directs the Permanent and Deputy Secretaries. On top of that, he goes out and deals with constituency issues and hugs babies from time to time. It's all part of the job. These are the types of ministers we look for." Channel NewsAsia reports What will Singapore be like 40 years from now? I cant tell you. Nobody can. But I can tell you it must be a totally different Singapore because if it is the same Singapore as it is today, were dead. We will be irrelevant, marginalised... Therefore, we have to remake Singapore our economy, our education, our mindsets, our city. -National Day Speech of 2005, reiterating the survival instinct Singapore has never completely shaken off "Our combined efforts to deal with the water challenge have turned our vulnerability into a strength,"-At the opening of Hyflux's S$200million desalination plant.

Significant others
For Singapore, its test for its own democracy must be whether it fit and serve the interests of its people and conditions, and not serve some abstract ideal that the Western media thought it ought to conform to. If in 10 years, Philippines, Taiwan and Korea were better societies because they adopted the US model, Singapore would hurry to catch up. SM Goh Chok Tong, 1995 National Day Rally To become a great centre for the arts and culture, like New York or London, Singapore needs unbridled freedom of speech and expression, and some tolerance for the creative messiness that accompanies it. It is freedom of speech in all its manifestations that enables a nation to generate an abiding grand narrative or a myth that binds its people. -Narain Batra, a professor of communications at Norwich University in the US, arguing in the Times of India that the Singapore government needs to loosen up if it is to fulfill its goal of becoming a "leading cultural capital".

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Economy
Singapore's economy, much like its system of governance, treads a fine line between a free market and a state controlled one. Government intervention in the economy is minimised, but state-run firms account for over 60% of our GDP. Key Facts - The Singapore Model : A combination of economic planning with free market concepts - Exports are our main source of revenue - Value added entrepot trade - purchasing raw goods and refining them for reexport (eg. Oil and Wafer Fabrication) - This is aided by the strategic location of our port, the busiest one in the world - Unemployment Rate hovers at around 2.2% (2009 figures) - In 2009, our GDP contracted -2.1%. In contrast, growth in 2007 was 7.9% - GDP Per Capita stands at $50,300, one of the highest in the world

Bio-technology / High-tech
Singapore is aggressively developing both its bio-technology and traditional technology sectors. Leading drug makers, such as GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Pfizer and Merck & Co., have set up plants in Singapore. Pharmaceuticals now account for more than 16% of the country's manufacturing production. Tax holidays and government grants are also provided for traditional technological companies aim to lead Singapore to surpass other tech centres in East Asia, although competing with inventors and product designers in Japan and South Korea may prove difficult due to Singapore's small base.

Trade and Investment

Singapore's total trade in 2000 amounted to S$373 billion, an increase of 21% from 1999. In 2000, Singapore's imports totalled $135 billion, and exports totalled $138 billion. Malaysia was Singapore's main import source, as well as its largest export market, absorbing 18% of Singapore's exports, with the United States close behind. Re-exports accounted for 43% of Singapore's total sales to other countries in 2000. Singapore also has FTAs with various countries such as New Zealand, the United States, and the European Free Trade Association.

For more information, please refer to your economics department.

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Society
Salient concerns related to Singaporean society cannot escape discussion on its unique characteristics, namely as a melting pot of different races, and as a young nation still grappling with its identity. Questions with regard to this aspect generally revolve around the extent to which a unique Singaporean Culture can be described, the benefits/problems associated with multiculturalism, the potential problems we may face if we do not ascertain our identity, and the extent to which the idea of "Singaporeaness" will be challenged by globalization.

Social composition
Singapore started out as a Malay state: In 1821, it was estimated that there were nearly 3,000 Malays and more than 1,000 Chinese. Singapore's multi-ethnic nature was a result of British colonization in the 1800s, bringing in immigrants from across the region to work as labourers, etc. The first Raffles Town Plan envisioned a Singapore divided across ethnic lines. Modern day Chinatown, Kampong Glam, Little India, Bugis, etc derived its roots from the way these places were allocated as living spaces for the respective races The 2009 composition of Singaporean locals: 74.2% Chinese, 13.4% Malay 9.2% Indians The number of foreigners on short-term permits (termed 'non-residents') has grown from 30,900 in 1970 to 797,900 in 2005 Malay fertility-rate is ~70% higher than Chinese and Indians Singapore has been termed by the US Congress as a 'melting pot' of different cultures Singapore is a secular state

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Heritage
Ancient knowledge
The first written records of Singapore date to the 2nd century. The Greek astronomer, Claudius Ptolemaeus, located a place called Sabana in the area where Singapore lies and identified it as a designated foreign trading port. A 3rd century Chinese written record described the island of Pu Luo Chung (), probably a transliteration of the Malay Pulau Ujong, "island at the end" (of the Malay peninsula) In 1330, the Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan, described a small Malay settlement called Dan Ma Xi (, from Malay Tamasik) containing a number of Chinese residents. The island was apparently a haven for pirates preying on passing ships (which explains what Chow Yun Fatt was doing in Singapore in Pirates of the Caribbean). The Nagarakretagama, a Javanese epic poem written in 1365, also referred to a settlement on the island, which it called Temasek (Sea Town). The most important story which is taught is how The Malay Annals describe a tale where Sang Nila Utama lands on the island after surviving a shipwreck in the 13th century. The prince saw a strange creature, which he was told was a lion. Believing this to be an auspicious sign, he decided to found a settlement called Singapura, which means "Lion City" in Sanskrit Interestingly, there was a town in Michigan, USA, which was named Singapore as well. It is now a ghost town.

Modern history
Singapore was founded by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1819. It remained a colony of the British until 1963 In 1923, Lee Kuan Yew was born In 1942, Japanese bombers raid the nation over Chinese New Year celebrations. The battle for Singapore lasts around a week until General Percival surrenders to the Japanese at Ford factory It is a terrible defeat for the British who had termed the island "The impregnable fortress" Singapore is occupied by the Japanese and renamed Syonan-to (light of the south), and remains so until 1945. Singapore became part of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. Starts to have problems with the Kuala Lumpur government's policy of preferential treatment to the Malays (bumiputera, or sons of the soil doctrine) Over disagreements with the Central government over initial clauses in the merger agreement and other issues, Singapore splits from Malaysia on August 9, 1965

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Key events December 11, 1950. Riots break out over court ruling which gave custody of Dutch born, Muslim raised Maria Hertogh to her biological Christian parents. 18 people were killed and 173 injured. 1956: Chinese middle school riots incited by communists. 21 July 1964, about 25,000 Malays gathered at the Padang, Singapore to celebrate the Muslim prophet Muhammad's birthday. After the speeches, the procession went on to Geylang. Along the way, a policeman asked a group that was dispersed to rejoin the main procession. Instead of obeying the orders, the group attacked the policeman. This incident led to a race riot after the group of Malays attacked ethnic Chinese-Malay passers-by and spectators. The government declared a curfew at 9.30 p.m. to restore order, but in the first day of rioting, four people were killed and 178 injured The NS (Amendment) act was passed on 14 March 1967, making conscription compulsory for all males aged 18-20 1969: Communal violence in Malaysia spills over to newly independent Singapore resulting in riots killing 4 and wounding 80.

Culture and the Arts

Names Galore Local writers include Simon Tay (Stand Alone), Catherine Lim (the bondmaid), Collin Cheong (The Stolen Child) Poets: Alfian Sa'at (The Merlion), Heng Siok Tian (teaches in HCI), Edwin Thumboo Playwrights: Michael Chiang (Army Daze) Filmmakers: Jack Neo (Home Run), Royston Tan (881) Art schools: Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), Lasalle College of the Arts, School Of the Arts (SOTA) Events: Singapore film festival, World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD), Singapore Biennale Media stations: Channel 5, 8 and Okto, under Mediacorp

Arts Scene a. Singlish features greatly in local productions b. The Esplanade cost us SGD 600 million c. www.give2arts.com.sg is a site which allows people to donate for the betterment of arts and culture

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Demographics in Singapore
As on 2012, Singapore has an estimated population of 5.321 million, of which 3.285 million are citizens (according to singstats.gov.sg). This is a result of the government's policy of importing talent and labour from abroad to fuel our economy. We have about 710 square kilometers of land. Singapore faces an ageing population problem. Our support ratio is 6.7, meaning that for every 6.7 working adults there is 1 dependent aged over 65. This statistic however has not taken into account young dependents aged below 14. To compound matters, our fertility rate is 1.22 (every female will give birth on average to about 1.22 children). As a result, the government is trying to encourage people to give birth to more children, producing the baby bonus package which promises "a cash gift of up to $4,000 each for your 1st and 2nd child and $6,000 each for your 3rd and 4th child. All your children born on or after 17 August 2008 will also enjoy Government contributions in the form of a dollar-for-dollar matching for the amount of savings you contribute to your childs Children Development Account (CDA)"

Social wellness
o o o o o o There are 970 males for every 1000 females The average life expectancy for males is 79, about 5 years less than females Our literacy rate is 96.4% USA has 99.0% and Uzbekistan 96.7% There are 1518 mobile phone subscriptions for every 1000 people Our crime rate is 581 per 100000 people We have 258,174 million in our Official Foreign Reserves Account Note that this is not exactly spare money sitting around in banks, but a result of our trade surplus We have 14369000 visitor arrivals per year That's about thrice our total population, or four times our resident population Our Gini coefficient, a summary measure of income inequality, declined from 0.448 in 2011 to 0.459 in 2012 meaning that the income gap has grown larger over the past year.

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Science and technology

Organ Trading
Organ Trading is officially banned in Singapore under the Human Organ Transplant Act (Chapter 131A of the Singapore statutes). The same act also entitles the designated officers of hospitals to remove any organ from the body of a deceased person for transplantation into a living individual, assuming he did not tender his objection whilst he was alive. In 2008, CK Tang chairperson Tang Wee Sung was charged with attempting to buy a kidney from Indonesian Sulaiman Damanik, who was later jailed for three weeks. Tang, by comparison, was fined $10000 but jailed for 20 days less. Another Indonesian, Toni, was also jailed for three and a half months and fined $2000 for having successfully sold his kidney to Singaporean Juliana Soh for $29390 In both cases, the transactions were brokered by middleman Wang Chin Sing, who instigated the parties to make false claims to the hospital ethics committee such that it would be taken as a non-transactional organ donation. Long serving Minister of Health Mr Khaw Boon Wah has not rejected the idea of legalising organ trading in Singapore, but he said it must be studied more carefully. Mr Khaw said: "If you allow trading, currently those who volunteer for the family members or under HOTA, they may then object and say, 'since you can now buy organs, then why should I volunteer to save my family members?' He also said that while Iran is the only country which legalises organ trading, it has not been able to achieve self-sufficiency in organ transplants, unlike Spain and Norway where organ sale is a crime but the supply almost matches demand. Associate Professor Lee Wei Ling, director of the National Neuroscience Institute: "Organ selling should be allowed in a properly controlled system, and in fact this is long overdue" Between 1998 and 2003, there was only an average of 7.3 liver transplants per annum and 1.8 heart transplants per annum. Due to the shortage of organs, an average of 14.7 patients per annum died while waiting for a liver transplant, and 2.7 patients per annum died while waiting for a heart transplant In 2009, Parliament passed an amendment to allow "reimbursement for altruistic living organ donations". When it came to voting on the amendment Bill, the Whip was lifted to allow MPs to vote according to their conscience. The last time this was done was also for amendments to Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA), to include Muslims in the law on organ donation in January 2008

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Stem Cell Research

The New York Times: "You cant buy Wrigleys Spearmint gum in Singapore. But human embryonic stem cells? Thats a different matter." Alan Colman (part of the 1997 team which created Dolly the sheep): Singapore is creating ``a center of excellence in stem cell research" The government has established a $600 million fund to invest in startups engaged in research on stem cells and other cutting-edge life-sciences projects. In late 2003, Singapore opened Biopolis, a 2 million-square-foot, seven-building biomedical hive at a cost of 500 million Singapore dollars. ES Cell International is amongst the top stem cell research companies that are housed within Biopolis The Bioethics Advisory Committee of Singapore recommends that research may only be conducted on an embryo before it reaches the 14 th of after the fusion of the gametes as, although it must be recognised as more than just a collection of cells, it cannot be accorded status equivalent to a living person prior to the 14th day. In 2001 Singapore doctors were the first in the world to succeed in curing a young boys congenital anemia by using stem cells from the umbilical cord of an unrelated child. In 2008, Singapore was ranked fourth in terms of breakthroughs in stem cell research by leading industry journal Cell Stem Cell. It's global share of published work in this field was 2.9% which was far higher than expected given the size of the country.

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Defense technology
Actually, there isn't much to this section. Not that most of it isn't classified anyway. We just wanted you to know that MINDEF received a budget of S$12.3b for 2013. The Ministry of Education is close behind with S$11.6b.

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Disclaimer: The above information is appended to the best of what the writers believe is accurate reliable information. Where necessary or appropriate, opinionated or questionable information have been identified. Whilst we have tried to portray the facts and nothing but the facts occasional lapses into judgmental writing may have occurred and should not be taken to represent the anything but the personal opinions of the writers.

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