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142-414: In Singapore, a distinction is made between the ancestral ethno-linguistic identity of a person and the actual language that he or she uses or is able to use. Singapore's census takers make this distinction by capturing both types of data. Ancestral ethno-linguistic identity is captured under the category of 'dialect group' (although this term may be more appropriate for describing the linguistic composition of

284-483: A Vietnamese source from the same time period. The name possibly means Sea Town , being derived from the Malay tasek , meaning 'sea' or 'lake'. The Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan visited a place around 1330 named Danmaxi ( Chinese : 淡馬錫 ; pinyin : Dànmǎxí ; Wade–Giles : Tan Ma Hsi ) or Tam ma siak , depending on pronunciation; this may be a transcription of Temasek , alternatively, it may be

426-561: A hinterland , the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers . As a highly developed country , it has one of the highest GDP per capita (PPP) in the world. It is also identified as a tax haven . Singapore is the only country in Asia with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies . It is a major aviation , financial , and maritime shipping hub and has consistently been ranked as one of

568-524: A snap election ). The 14th and current Parliament has 103 members; 93 were directly elected from the 31 constituencies , nine are nonpartisan nominated members appointed by the president, and three are non-constituency members from opposition parties who were not elected in the last general election but appointed to the legislature to increase opposition party representation. In group representation constituencies (GRCs), political parties assemble teams of candidates to contest elections. At least one MP in

710-536: A GRC must be of an ethnic minority background. All elections are held using first-past-the-post voting . MPs host weekly political surgeries , called " Meet-the-People Sessions ", where they help constituents resolve personal issues which can be related to housing, financial assistance, and immigration. The People's Action Party occupies a dominant position in Singaporean politics, having won large parliamentary majorities in every election since self-governance

852-611: 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 . After World War I , the British built the large Singapore Naval Base as part of the defensive Singapore strategy . 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

994-402: A black urban audience. In 1985, a new service called TV4 was introduced, carrying sports and entertainment programming, using the channel shared by TV2 and TV3, which ended transmissions at 9:30 pm. In 1992, TV2, TV3 and TV4 were combined into a new service called CCV (Contemporary Community Values). A third channel was introduced known as TSS, or Topsport Surplus, Topsport being the brand name for

1136-486: A candidate needs to be a person at least 45 years of age who is no longer a member of a political party, to either have held public office for at least 3 years in a number of specific public service leadership roles, or to have 3 years experience as chief executive of a fully profitable private sector company with at least S$ 500 million in shareholders' equity , be a resident in Singapore for at least 10 years, not have

1278-578: A combination of the Malay Tanah meaning 'land' and Chinese xi meaning 'tin', which was traded on the island. 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. The name Singapura supplanted Temasek sometime before

1420-439: A combination of the two. In Croatia eleven national channels are free-to-air: HRT 1 , HRT 2 , HRT 3 , HRT 4 ( HRT being national broadcaster), Nova TV , Doma TV , RTL , RTL2 , RTL Kockica , CMC and SPTV . There are around 21 local or regional channels. Before June 2020, they used to be transmitted via three OiV (state-owned public broadcasting company) DVB-T and one DVB-T2 ( HEVC/H.265 ) MUXes . As of June 2020,

1562-608: A communist takeover. On 27 May 1961, Malaya's prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman , made a surprise proposal for a new Federation called Malaysia , which would unite the current and former British possessions in the region: the Federation of Malaya , Singapore, Brunei , North Borneo , and Sarawak . UMNO leaders believed that the additional Malay population in the Bornean territories would balance Singapore's Chinese population. The British government, for its part, believed that

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1704-594: A criminal record, and more. Candidates must also "satisfy" the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) that he or she is a person of integrity, good character and reputation. From 2017, the Constitution requires that presidential elections be " reserved " for a racial community if no one from that ethnic group has been elected to the presidency in the five most recent terms. Only members of that community may qualify as candidates in

1846-459: A cut from customers. In response, amendments were made to the Women's Charter by the government in 2019 to legislate more serious punishments for traffickers, including imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine of S$ 100,000. Singapore has a highly developed market economy , based historically on extended entrepôt trade. Along with Hong Kong , South Korea , and Taiwan , Singapore is one of

1988-484: A free-to-air set-top box. In Korea, KBS , MBC (the two main public broadcasters), SBS (privately owned, but available for free to viewers), and EBS (including both TV and radio ) are the free-to-air broadcasting stations. They dominate more than 80% of advertisement profits, according to the recent survey from the agency. Due to the recent government's decision, digital television service for all free-to-air networks would be scheduled before 2012, followed by

2130-526: A handful of Chinese . By 1860 the population had swelled to over 80,000, more than half being Chinese . Many of these early immigrants came to work on the pepper and gambier plantations. In 1867, the Straits Settlements were separated from British India , coming under the direct control of Britain . Later, in the 1890s, when the rubber industry became established in Malaya and Singapore,

2272-475: A local low-power repeater. In 1986, the SABC's monopoly was challenged by the launch of a subscription-based service known as M-Net, backed by a consortium of newspaper publishers on 1 October. However, as part of its licensing restrictions, it could not broadcast news programmes, which were still the preserve of the SABC, although M-Net started broadcasting a current affairs programme called Carte Blanche in 1988. As

2414-461: A local medical degree can opt to defer their draft. Though not required to perform military service, the number of women in the SAF has been increasing: since 1989 they have been allowed to fill military vocations formerly reserved for men. Before induction into a specific branch of the armed forces, recruits undergo at least nine weeks of basic military training. Because of the scarcity of open land on

2556-533: A maritime emporium known as Temasek and subsequently a major constituent part of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrepôt trading post of the British Empire . In 1867, Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements . During World War II , Singapore

2698-652: A mezzanine floor of MacDonald House exploded, killing three people and injuring 33 others. It was the deadliest of at least 42 bomb incidents which occurred during the confrontation. Two members of the Indonesian Marine Corps , Osman bin Haji Mohamed Ali and Harun bin Said , were eventually convicted and executed for the crime. The explosion caused US$ 250,000 (equivalent to US$ 2,417,107 in 2023) in damages to MacDonald House. Even after

2840-460: A multitude of programming channels in many languages, spanning many new channels, so they can get National support, which ultimately leads to carriage by cable systems, to additionally support the high costs of broadcasting signals in this way. Nevertheless, free-to-air satellite TV is a viable addition to home video systems, not only for the reception of specialized content but also for use in locations where terrestrial ATSC over-the-air reception

2982-706: A newly independent country. After being expelled from Malaysia, Singapore became independent as the Republic of Singapore on 9 August 1965, with Lee Kuan Yew and Yusof bin Ishak as the first prime minister and president respectively. In 1967, the country co-founded the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Race riots broke out once more in 1969. Lee Kuan Yew's emphasis on rapid economic growth, support for business entrepreneurship, and limitations on internal democracy shaped Singapore's policies for

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3124-508: A number of ' dialect ' groups. However, these groups included Sikhs , who are a religious rather than linguistic group. Virtually all of the Sikhs are Punjabi , which was also captured as a separate 'dialect' category (comprising mainly Hindu Punjabis). Given their small absolute and relative numbers, the following table adapts the 2010 census data by combining the 'Sikh' (12,952) and 'Punjabi' (5,672) category under 'Punjabi'. The percentages in

3266-430: A number of local channels were available but since have closed, such as Cue TV were also available. Local stations such as CTV and Face TV (previously Triangle TV) were free-to-air analogue PAL transmissions prior to CTV migrating to the free-to-air digital DVB-T service and Face TV's terrestrial free-to-air service shutoff from December 2013. A digital terrestrial version of Freeview was launched in 2008, which, unlike

3408-458: A public service broadcast multiplex and a commercial multiplex, both DVB-T2. The informal term "council telly" is sometimes used for free-to-air television in the UK, evoking a basic service accessible to all. There are a number of competing systems in use. Early adopters used C-band dishes several feet in diameter to receive analog microwave broadcasts, and later digital microwave broadcasts using

3550-452: A quarter of non-Tamil Indians in Singapore use mainly their ancestral language in the home. About half of Indians in Singapore predominantly use a non-Indian language in the home. 39% spoke mainly English , in contrast to 28.1% nationally. This made English the most spoken language in Indian homes, by a small margin. A further 10.6% of Indians reported speaking mainly Malay in their homes. It

3692-595: A reserved presidential election. In the 2017 presidential election , this combination of stringent requirements and a reserved election that required the candidate to be of the 13% Malay ethnic group led to the PEC approving a single candidate for the presidency; Halimah Yacob , considered part of the Malay community, won in an uncontested election. She also became Singapore's first female president. Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected at least every five years (or sooner with

3834-421: 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, drawn from Portuguese sources , postulates that this mythical story is based on the real life Parameswara of Palembang . Parameswara declared independence from Majapahit and mounted a Lion Throne. After then being driven into exile by

3976-512: A subscription is required, e.g., cable television , the Internet , or satellite . These carriers may be mandated (or OPT) in some geographies to deliver FTA channels even if a premium subscription is not present (providing the necessary equipment is still available), especially where FTA channels are expected to be used for emergency broadcasts, similar to the 1-1-2 (112) emergency service provided by mobile phone operators and manufacturers. On

4118-983: Is about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator , off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula , bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia , the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north. Singapore's history dates back at least eight hundred years, having been

4260-855: Is also a founding member of The Forum of Small States (FOSS) , a voluntary and informal grouping at the UN. Singapore maintains membership in other regional organisations, such as Asia–Europe Meeting , the Forum for East Asia-Latin American Cooperation , the Indian Ocean Rim Association , and the East Asia Summit . It is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the United Nations and

4402-835: Is also a member of the United Nations , the World Trade Organization , the East Asia Summit , the Non-Aligned Movement , and the Commonwealth of Nations . The English name of "Singapore" is an anglicisation of the native Malay name for the country, Singapura ( pronounced [siŋapura] ), which was in turn derived from the Sanskrit word for 'lion city' ( Sanskrit : सिंहपुर ; romanised: Siṃhapura ; Brahmi : 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀳𑀧𑀼𑀭 ; literally "lion city"; siṃha means 'lion', pura means 'city' or 'fortress'). Pulau Ujong

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4544-598: Is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics. Singapore is a parliamentary republic in the Westminster tradition of unicameral parliamentary government, and its legal system is based on common law . While the country is de jure a multi-party democracy with free elections , the government under the People's Action Party (PAP) wields widespread control and political dominance . The PAP has governed

4686-575: Is free-to-air, but the more conventional broadcast systems in use mean that SiriusXM style in-car reception is not possible. Cable and satellite distribution allow many more channels to carry sports, movies and specialist channels which are not broadcast as FTA. The viewing figures for these channels are generally much lower than the FTA channels. Various European countries broadcast a large number of channels via free-to-air terrestrial , generally as an analog PAL / SECAM transmission, digital DVB-T / T2 or

4828-690: Is incomplete and additional channels are desired. Australia has five major free-to-air networks: the two public broadcasting networks - ABC and SBS , and three commercial networks - Seven Network , Nine Network , and Network 10 . Traditionally each network had only a single channel in a geographic area, but with the advent of digital television each network started broadcasting several SD multichannels, such as 7two , 9Gem , 10 Bold , and SBS Food , as well as at least one HD channel. There are also free-to-air community television channels in some major cities. Viewers in remote parts of Australia are able to access many Australian free-to-air channels using

4970-494: Is likely that most are Indian Muslims married to ethnic Malays. Although they are counted as Indian in official statistics, a substantial number of these people consider themselves to be ethnically and culturally Malay, and many of them may be racially mixed. Tamil is the most spoken Indian language in Singapore and the only Indian language among Singapore's four official languages , alongside Mandarin , Malay and English, and 3.1% of Singapore residents speak Tamil at home. Singapore

5112-703: Is maintaining security in Southeast Asia and surrounding territories. An underlying principle is political and economic stability in the region. It has diplomatic relations with more than 180 sovereign states. As one of the five founding members of ASEAN , Singapore is a strong supporter of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA); it is also the host of the APEC Secretariat. Singapore

5254-566: Is no concept of paying for a TV license. The acronym used for DVB-T in Spain is TDT ( Digital terrestrial television in Spain  [ es ] ). In the UK, the five main free-to-air television networks are BBC One , BBC Two , ITV , Channel 4 and Channel 5 . Around 108 free-to-air television channels and 30 free-to-air radio channels are available terrestrially via the Freeview DVB-T service. Seven HD channels are also broadcast via

5396-412: Is occupied by pay-TV operators Shaw Direct and Bell Satellite TV , although larger C-band dishes can pick up some content. FTA signals may be scattered across multiple satellites, requiring a motor or multiple LNBs to receive everything. This differs from Europe, where FTA signals are commonly concentrated on a few specific satellites. Another difference between North American FTA and FTA in most of

5538-422: Is one of the three countries in the world to make Tamil an official language, the others being India and Sri Lanka . As part of Singapore's bilingual education policy, Tamil is offered as a second language option in most public schools. As part of a policy to subsidise minority-language television programming, the government subsidises a free-to-air Tamil television channel ( Vasantham ). Similarly, as part of

5680-704: Is regarded as a key factor behind Singapore's political stability, economic growth, and harmonious social order. In 2021, the World Justice Project 's Rule of Law Index ranked Singapore as 17th overall among the world's 193 countries for adherence to the rule of law . Singapore ranked high on the factors of order and security (#3), absence of corruption (#3), regulatory enforcement (#4), civil justice (#8), and criminal justice (#7), and ranked significantly lower on factors of open government (#34), constraints on government powers (#32), and fundamental rights (#38). Singapore's stated foreign policy priority

5822-464: Is the right policy and that there is "clear evidence" of serious deterrence , and that the law should be looked at upon in the wider context of "saving lives", particularly citizens. In 2004, Amnesty International claimed that some legal provisions of the Singapore system for the death penalty conflict with "the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty". The government has disputed Amnesty's claims, stating that their "position on abolition of

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5964-598: The 1964 race riots . On 7 August 1965, Malaysian prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, seeing no alternative to avoid further bloodshed (and with the help of secret negotiations by PAP leaders, as revealed in 2015) advised the Parliament of Malaysia that it should vote to expel Singapore from Malaysia. On 9 August 1965, the Malaysian Parliament voted 126 to 0 to move a bill to amend the constitution, expelling Singapore from Malaysia, which left Singapore as

6106-619: The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami . Since 2009, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has deployed ships to the Gulf of Aden to aid in countering piracy efforts as part of Task Force 151 . The SAF also helped in relief efforts during Hurricane Katrina , and Typhoon Haiyan . Singapore is part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), a military alliance with Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and

6248-679: The Commonwealth . While Singapore is not a formal member of the G20 , it has been invited to participate in G20 processes in most years since 2010. Singapore is also the location of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) Secretariat. In general, bilateral relations with other ASEAN members are strong; however, disagreements have arisen, and relations with neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia have sometimes been strained. Malaysia and Singapore have clashed over

6390-495: The Digital and Intelligence Service . It is seen as the guarantor of the country's independence, translating into Singapore culture, involving all citizens in the country's defence. The government spent 2.7% of the country's GDP on the military in 2024, the highest in the region. After its independence, Singapore had only two infantry regiments commanded by British officers. Considered too small to provide effective security for

6532-437: The Four Asian Tigers , and has surpassed its peers in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. Between 1965 and 1995, growth rates averaged around 6 per cent per annum, transforming the living standards of the population. Free-to-air Free-to-air ( FTA ) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive

6674-521: The INSAT-4B and GSAT-15 satellite covering India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and parts of Afghanistan, and Myanmar. In India, the channels are marketed as DD Direct Plus / DD Free Dish by Doordarshan , India's national broadcaster and other Indian private broadcaster ABS Free Dish from the ABS2 satellite. One can receive free-to-air regional TV channels using a small DTH antenna and

6816-493: The Javanese , he usurped control over Temasek . He may have rechristened the area as Singapura , recalling the throne he had been driven from. Under Japanese occupation , Singapore was renamed Syonan-to ( Japanese : 昭 南 , Hepburn : Shōnan ) , meaning 'light of the south'. Singapore is sometimes referred to by the nickname the "Garden City", in reference to its parks and tree-lined streets. Another informal name,

6958-464: The MATADOR anti-tank weapon. The SAF is being developed to respond to a wide range of issues in both conventional and unconventional warfare. The Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) is responsible for procuring resources for the military. The geographic restrictions of Singapore mean that the SAF must plan to fully repulse an attack, as they cannot fall back and re-group. The small size of

7100-747: The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) maintains a number of overseas bases in Australia , the United States , and France . The RSAF's 130 Squadron is based in RAAF Base Pearce , Western Australia , and its 126 Squadron is based in the Oakey Army Aviation Centre , Queensland . The RSAF has one squadron—the 150 Squadron—based in Cazaux Air Base in southern France. The RSAF's overseas detachments in

7242-549: The Singapore Press Holdings group, which includes the Straits Times as part of its stable. Other Tamil media include the ( Sun TV ) cable television channel, provided by the main cable television operator in Singapore, StarHub , and the local Tamil-language radio station ( Oli 96.8FM ), which is run by the state-owned MediaCorp broadcasting company. Tamil movies are screened in some cinemas, with

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7384-540: The Speakers' Corner . In the Corruption Perceptions Index , which ranks countries by "perceived levels of public sector corruption", Singapore has consistently ranked as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, in spite of being illiberal. Singapore's unique combination of a strong, soft authoritarian government with an emphasis on meritocracy is known as the "Singapore model", and

7526-401: The Strait of Malacca has been a cause of concern for all three countries. Close economic ties exist with Brunei , and the two share a pegged currency value, through a Currency Interchangeability Agreement between the two countries which makes both Brunei dollar and Singapore dollar banknotes and coins legal tender in either country. The first diplomatic contact with China was made in

7668-851: The Telugus ), East India (such as the Bengalis ), and North India ( Hindustanis ). According to the 2005 General Household Survey, Tamil was spoken at home by 3.1% of all Singapore residents. Among Indians residents, 38.8% used Tamil at home. As 58.3% of Indians were deemed to be ethnic Tamils in the 2000 census, this suggests that two-thirds of ethnic Tamils in Singapore used it as the main language in their homes. 11.4% of Indians spoke 'other languages' at home (including non-Tamil Indian languages). In contrast, 41.7% of Indians were deemed to be non-Tamil Indians in 2000. Assuming that most Indians who reported speaking 'other languages' were referring to their (non-Tamil) ancestral languages, this would imply that up to

7810-439: The most expensive cities to live in for expatriates and foreign workers . Singapore ranks highly in key social indicators: education , healthcare , quality of life , personal safety , infrastructure , and housing , with a home-ownership rate of 88 percent. Singaporeans enjoy one of the longest life expectancies , fastest Internet connection speeds , lowest infant mortality rates , and lowest levels of corruption in

7952-597: The " Little Red Dot ", was adopted after an article in the Asian Wall Street Journal of 4 August 1998 said that Indonesian President B. J. Habibie referred to Singapore as a red dot on a map. In 1299, according to the Malay Annals , the Kingdom of Singapura was founded on the island by Sang Nila Utama . Although the historicity of the accounts as given in the Malay Annals is

8094-439: The "benevolent" yet "highly authoritarian" colonial system of governance inherited from Britain rather than forging a full democracy. A conservative ideology of " Asian values " evolved to replace British rule, based on "communal loyalty, distrust of government, and avoidance of individual or collective responsibility for wider public interests", with less regard for human rights in the nascent Western sense. The fact that "neither

8236-422: The 15th century, after the establishment of the Kingdom of Singapura on the island by a fleeing Sumatran Raja (prince) from Palembang . However, the precise time and reason for the name change is unknown. The semi-historical Malay Annals state that Temasek was christened Singapura by Sang Nila Utama , a 13th-century Sumatran Raja from Palembang . The Annals state that Sang Nila Utama encountered

8378-584: The 1970s, with full diplomatic relations established in the 1990s. China has been Singapore's largest trading partner since 2013, after surpassing Malaysia. Singapore and the United States share a long-standing close relationship, in particular in defence, the economy, health, and education. Singapore has also increased co-operation with ASEAN members and China to strengthen regional security and fight terrorism, and participated in ASEAN's first joint maritime exercise with China in 2018. It has also given support to

8520-670: The 3.7-4.2  GHz band. Today, although large C-band dishes can still receive some content, the 11.7-12.2 GHz K u band is also used. Ku-band signals can be received using smaller dishes, often as small as under a meter (3 feet, 3 inches) in diameter, allowing FTA satellite to be picked up from smaller spaces such as apartment balconies (note, however, that these dishes are not quite as small as those commonly used for commercial services such as Dish Network , DirecTV , Bell ExpressVu , Shaw Direct , etc. Dishes intended for those services may not deliver an adequate signal on Ku-band). The European-developed DVB-S and DVB-S2 standards are

8662-582: The DVB-S2 Optus VAST service. New Zealand has a number of FTA broadcasters such as Television New Zealand 's TVNZ 1 and TVNZ 2 , as well as Discovery New Zealand 's Three and Bravo , Sky Network Television 's Sky Open and the government subsidised the Whakaata Māori and Te Reo channels. Four channels, TVNZ 1, TVNZ 2, Three, Bravo are also broadcast timeshifted by +1 hour on Freeview and Sky platforms. A broadcast of parliament and

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8804-604: The DVB-T MUXes were switched off and all eleven national channels are now distributed via two OiV DVB-T2 (HEVC/H.265) MUXes. In Denmark, six channels are as of 2020 free-to-air, distributed via 18 main transmitter sites and 30 smaller, auxiliary transmitters. The six channels ( DR1 , DR2 , DR Ramasjang , Folketinget , TV2 Regionerne, and sign language/local programme) come in one DVB-T2 multiplex . In France, there are 26 national television channels (MPEG-4 HD video) and 41 local television channels broadcast free-to-air via

8946-632: 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

9088-527: The Japanese changed its image in the eyes of Singaporeans. British Military Administration ended on 1 April 1946, and Singapore became a separate Crown Colony . In July 1947, separate Executive and Legislative Councils were established and the election of six members of the Legislative Council was scheduled for the following year. During the 1950s, Chinese communists , with strong ties to

9230-534: The PAL system for colour television, being only the second terrestrial television service in sub-Saharan Africa to launch with a colour-only service, Zanzibar in Tanzania having introduced the first such service in 1973. (Tanzania itself did not establish a television service until the early 1990s, similarly concerned about the expense and perceived threat to cultural norms.) The Government, advised by SABC technicians, took

9372-419: The PAP drop to 61% of the vote, while the Workers' Party took 10 of the 93 seats, the highest number ever won by another party. On 15 May 2024, Lawrence Wong became Singapore's fourth Prime Minister; he is the first prime minister born after independence. Singapore is a parliamentary republic based on the Westminster system . The Constitution of Singapore is the supreme law of the country, establishing

9514-514: The People's Action Party has led to Singapore being described by academics as an illiberal democracy , or a soft-authoritarian state in which the PAP faces little to no feasible political competition to its rule of the country. The multi-party democratic process of Singapore has been described as "minimal" in comparison to the state's focus on economic development and social order. According to Gordon P. Means, professor emeritus of political science at McMaster University , Singapore reinvented

9656-410: The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and the GCE ‘N’, ‘O’ and ‘A’ level examinations Mother-Tongue Language Policy . As with the Tamil community, the other Indian communities also support a number of community groups for the promotion of social and cultural activities catering to each community. For more on this, see Jain & Wee (2018, 2019). Given the long period of contact between India and

9798-401: The Rex Cinemas chain specializing in them. Major blockbusters are occasionally shown in selected Cathay and Golden Village cinemas. The country also has a Tamil theatre scene in the form of groups like Agni Koothu and the Ravindran Drama Group . There is also a small Tamil literary scene. Two Tamil language writers and two Tamil language theatre practitioners have won Cultural Medallions ,

9940-628: The SABC was finally allowed to introduce a television service. Initially, the proposal was for two television channels, one in English and Afrikaans, aimed at white audiences, and another, known as TV Bantu, aimed at black viewers. However, when television was finally introduced, there was only one channel with airtime divided evenly between English and Afrikaans, alternating between the two languages. Test transmissions in Johannesburg began on 5 May 1975, followed in July by ones in Cape Town and Durban. Nationwide services finally commenced on 5 January 1976. In common with most of Western Europe, South Africa used

10082-442: The SABC's sport coverage, but this was replaced by NNTV (National Network TV), an educational, non-commercial channel, in 1994. The main channel, now called TV1, was divided evenly between English and Afrikaans, as before. It also became available in Walvis Bay , an enclave of South Africa in Namibia, which was itself then under South African administration, with a live feed of the channel broadcast via Intelsat being retransmitted on

10224-724: The Singapore Government to create the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) from scratch, and Israeli instructors were brought in to train Singaporean soldiers. Military courses were conducted according to the IDF's format, and Singapore adopted a system of conscription and reserve service based on the Israeli model . Singapore still maintains strong security ties with Israel and is one of the biggest buyers of Israeli arms and weapons systems, with one recent example being

10366-513: The TNT DVB-T2 service. In Germany there are various free-to-air DVB-T services available, the number of which varies by region. Das Erste , ZDF , ZDFneo , ZDFinfo , 3sat , Arte , KiKA and Phoenix are available throughout the country, in addition to at least one region-dependent channel which is provided by the regional ARD member. Additionally, ARD's EinsFestival , EinsPlus and tagesschau24 are variously available in some parts of

10508-471: 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. The Treaty of Singapore

10650-613: The US-led coalition to fight terrorism, with bilateral co-operation in counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation initiatives, and joint military exercises. As Singapore has diplomatic relations with both the United States and North Korea , and was one of the few countries that have relationships with both countries, in June 2018, it hosted a historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ,

10792-632: The United Kingdom. According to the 2024 Global Peace Index , Singapore is the 5th most peaceful country in the world. Capital punishment is a legal and enforced penalty in Singapore. The country is one of four in the developed world to retain the death penalty, along with the United States , Japan and Taiwan . Particularly, its use against drug trafficking has been a source of contention with non-governmental organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch . The government has responded that it has "no doubts" that it

10934-773: The United States are: Luke Air Force Base in Arizona , Marana in Arizona, Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho , and Andersen Air Force Base in Guam . The SAF has sent forces to assist in operations outside the country, in areas such as Iraq , and Afghanistan , in both military and civilian roles. In the region, they have helped to stabilise East Timor and have provided aid to Aceh in Indonesia following

11076-748: The analogue and free-to-air satellite options, supports high-definition broadcasts for TVNZ 1, TVNZ 2, Three and Bravo. While, airing the timeshifted channels also. In Brazil the main FTA satellite is the Star One D2, it holds approximately C-band analog channels (1985-2024), including all major networks like TV Globo (feed nacional digital HDTV ), SBT (feed nacional digital HDTV ), Record (feed nacional digital HDTV ), RedeTV! , Band (feed nacional digital HDTV ), Cultura , Futura (feed nacional digital HDTV ), TV Verdes Mares (feed nacional digital HDTV ), Canal Gov, Canal Libras and others, 36 C-band and KU-band digital HDTV channels. In Chile

11218-528: The cost of free-to-air services is met through various means: Up until 2012, Israel had several free-to-air channels. The major ones rating-wise were Channel 2 , Channel 10 , and Channel 1 . The other ones were Educational , Channel 33 , and Knesset 99 . Since 2018, Israel has several new free-to-air channels that replace their older counterparts. The major ones rating-wise: are Channel 12 , Channel 13 , Kan 11 , and Channel 20 . The others are Kan Educational , Makan 33 , and Knesset Channel . In 1971,

11360-612: The country continuously since full internal self-government was achieved in 1959, and holds a supermajority in Parliament . One of the five founding members of ASEAN , Singapore is also the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council Secretariat, and is the host city of many international conferences and events . Singapore

11502-615: The country's third prime minister. Lee Hsien Loong's tenure included the 2007–2008 financial crisis , the resolution of a dispute over land ownership at Tanjong Pagar railway station between Singapore and Malaysia, the introduction of the two integrated resorts (IRs), located at the Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa , and the COVID-19 pandemic . The PAP suffered its worst ever electoral results in 2011, winning just 60% of votes, amidst debate over issues including

11644-573: The country, and various commercial channels are available in metropolitan areas. In the Republic of Ireland, there are nine television channels and 11 radio channels broadcast free-to-air via the DVB-T Saorview service. Analog PAL versions of some of the channels were also broadcast until October 24, 2012, when all analogue television broadcasting was shut down. All of Malta's national and political party channels are available free-to-air. The national channels TVM and TVM2 , Parliament TV and

11786-750: The death penalty is by no means uncontested internationally" and that the report contains "grave errors of facts and misrepresentations". From 1938 to 2023, sexual relations between men were technically illegal under Section 377A of the Penal Code , first introduced during British colonial rule. During the last few decades, this law was mostly unenforced and pressure to repeal it increased as homosexuality became more accepted by Singaporean society. Meanwhile, sexual relations between women had always been legal. In 2022, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Singapore would repeal 377A, effectively decriminalising homosexual behaviour. Nevertheless, he added that

11928-530: The delivery of fresh water to Singapore, and access by the Singapore Armed Forces to Malaysian airspace. Border issues exist with Malaysia and Indonesia, and both have banned the sale of marine sand to Singapore over disputes about Singapore's land reclamation. Some previous disputes, such as the Pedra Branca dispute , have been resolved by the International Court of Justice . Piracy in

12070-996: The end of analog television broadcasting. European countries have a tradition of most television services being free-to-air. Germany, in particular, receives in excess of 100 digital satellite TV channels free-to-air. Approximately half of the television channels on SES Astra 's 19.2° east and 28.2° east satellite positions, and Eutelsat 's Hot Bird (13° east) are free-to-air. A number of European channels which one might expect to be broadcast free-to-air - including many countries' national terrestrial broadcasters - do not do so via satellite for copyright reasons. (Rights to purchase programs for free-to-air broadcast, especially via satellite, are often higher in price than for encrypted broadcast.) The lack of FTA among public broadcasters are prevalent in countries whose broadcasters tend to use subtitles for foreign language programmes; although Spain's two public domestic channels, La Una and La Dos, are also encrypted despite dubbed foreign programmes being

12212-594: 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 . Archaeological evidence suggests that the main settlement on Fort Canning Hill was abandoned around this time, although a small trading settlement continued in Singapore for some time afterwards. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down

12354-457: The fighting for Singapore were heavy, with a total of nearly 85,000 personnel captured. About 5,000 were killed or wounded, of which Australians made up the majority. Japanese casualties during the fighting in Singapore amounted to 1,714 killed and 3,378 wounded. The occupation was to become a major turning point in the histories of several nations, including those of Japan , Britain , and Singapore. Japanese newspapers triumphantly declared

12496-800: The first-ever meeting between the sitting leaders of the two nations. It also hosted the Ma–Xi meeting in 2015, the first meeting between the political leaders of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1950. The Singaporean military, arguably the most technologically advanced in Southeast Asia, consists of the Army , the Navy , the Air Force and

12638-555: The formal surrender of Japanese forces in the region from General Seishirō Itagaki on behalf of General Hisaichi Terauchi on 12 September 1945. Meanwhile, Tomoyuki Yamashita was tried by a US military commission for war crimes, but not for crimes committed by his troops in Malaya or Singapore. He was convicted and hanged in the Philippines on 23 February 1946. Much of the infrastructure in Singapore had been destroyed during

12780-645: The influx of foreign workers and the high cost of living. On 23 March 2015, Lee Kuan Yew died , and a one-week period of public mourning was observed nationwide. Subsequently, the PAP regained its dominance in Parliament through the September general election , receiving 69.9% of the popular vote, although this remained lower than the 2001 tally of 75.3% and the 1968 tally of 86.7%. The 2020 election held in July saw

12922-439: The introduction of the non-constituency members of parliament in 1984 to allow up to three losing candidates from opposition parties to be appointed as MPs. Group representation constituencies (GRCs) were introduced in 1988 to create multi-seat electoral divisions, intended to ensure minority representation in parliament. Nominated members of parliament were introduced in 1990 to allow non-elected non-partisan MPs. The constitution

13064-546: The island became a global centre for rubber sorting and export. 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. After hearing rumours that they were to be sent to fight the Ottoman Empire ,

13206-498: The legal tradition established during British rule and with substantial local differences. Criminal law is based on the Indian Penal Code originally intended for British India , and was at the time as a crown colony also adopted by the British colonial authorities in Singapore and remains the basis of the criminal code in the country with a few exceptions, amendments and repeals since it came into force. Trial by jury

13348-477: The main island, training involving activities such as live firing and amphibious warfare are often carried out on smaller islands, typically barred to civilian access. However, large-scale drills, considered too dangerous to be performed in the country, have been performed in other countries such as Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand and the United States. In general, military exercises are held with foreign forces once or twice per week. Due to airspace and land constraints,

13490-531: The majority Chinese, rather than Indians). In contrast, actual language use is captured by the term'language most frequently spoken at home'. The various government statistics only refer to residents (citizens and permanent residents) and exclude those classed as "non-residents" who represent about 25% of the total population (mostly foreign students and workers). In 2010, the Singapore census categorised 237,473 Singaporeans and 110,646 permanent residents into

13632-469: The merger would prevent Singapore from becoming a haven for communism. To obtain a mandate for a merger, the PAP held a referendum on the merger . This referendum included a choice of different terms for a merger with Malaysia and had no option for avoiding merger altogether. On 16 September 1963, Singapore joined with Malaya, the North Borneo, and Sarawak to form the new Federation of Malaysia under

13774-672: The merger, the Singaporean government and the Malaysian central government disagreed on many political and economic issues. Despite an agreement to establish a common market, Singapore continued to face restrictions when trading with the rest of Malaysia. In retaliation, Singapore did not extend to Sabah and Sarawak the full extent of the loans agreed to for economic development of the two eastern states. Talks soon broke down, and abusive speeches and writing became rife on both sides. This led to communal strife in Singapore, culminating in

13916-402: The most commonly used broadcast methods, with analog transmissions almost completely discontinued as of mid-2014. The most common North American sources for free-to-air DVB satellite television are: Most of these signals are carried by US satellites. There is little or no free Canadian DVB-S content available to users of medium-size dishes, as much of the available Ku-band satellite bandwidth

14058-637: The nation's highest arts award. Tamil is used in temples, mosques and churches catering to the community. Some business and non-profit groups, especially those in the Little India neighbourhood, use Tamil on a daily basis. Since 1990, public school students were able to take Hindi or some other Indian languages as their second language in major examinations, whereas previously only official languages like Tamil were offered. Students of other non-Tamil Indian language communities can choose to offer Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi or Urdu as their Mother-Tongue at

14200-406: The national public broadcaster, ORF , offers a special free-to-air channel which airs selected programming without (i.e. those without copyright issues) via satellite all over Europe. As Germany and Austria speak the same language and use the same satellite, Austrian viewers are able to receive about 120 free German-speaking channels from both countries. In general, all satellite radio in Europe

14342-527: The new country, the development of its military forces became a priority. In addition, in October 1971, Britain pulled its military out of Singapore, leaving behind only a small British, Australian and New Zealand force as a token military presence. A great deal of initial support came from Israel , a country unrecognised by Singapore's neighbouring Muslim-majority nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commanders were tasked by

14484-761: The new port. The island was then nominally ruled by Tengku Abdul Rahman , the Sultan of Johor , who was controlled by the Dutch and the Bugis . However, the Sultanate was weakened by factional division: Abdul Rahman , the Temenggong of Johor to Tengku Abdul Rahman, as well as his officials, were loyal to the Sultan's elder brother Tengku Long , who was living in exile in Penyengat Island , Riau Islands . With

14626-407: The next half-century. Economic growth continued throughout the 1980s, with the unemployment rate falling to 3% and real GDP growth averaging at about 8% up until 1999. During the 1980s, Singapore began to shift towards high-tech industries, such as the wafer fabrication sector, in order to remain competitive as neighbouring countries began manufacturing with cheaper labour. Singapore Changi Airport

14768-516: The norm in Spain. However, these channels usually provide a scheme to offer free, but encrypted, viewing with free-to-view broadcasts. Certain programming on Italy's RAI , and the majority of Dutch channels are covered by such schemes (although in the case of RAI some programming is transmitted without encryption where there are no copyright issues). In Austria , the main national networks broadcast free-to-view via satellite; however, all regional and some smaller channels are transmitted free-to-air, and

14910-488: The other side, free-to-view (FTV) is generally available without subscription , but it is digitally encoded and may be restricted geographically. Free-to-air is often used for international broadcasting , making it something of a video equivalent to shortwave radio . Most FTA retailers list free-to-air channel guides and content available in North America for free-to-air use. Although commonly described as free,

15052-515: The policy of the National Library Board , community lending libraries in Singapore, as well as the national-level Lee Kong Chian Reference Library , maintain sections of books in all four official languages, including Tamil. Singapore has a commercially run Tamil language daily newspaper, Tamil Murasu . Although Tamil Murasu was founded as an independent private newspaper by Thamizhavel G. Sarangapani , it has since become part of

15194-624: The political party channels NET and ONE, all are broadcast via the free-to-air DVB-T service. Even HD versions of these channels are available free-to-air. The only scrambled channel in Malta is ITV Teleshopping. In the Netherlands, three national public television channels ( NPO 1 , NPO 2 and NPO 3 ) and seven national public radio channels broadcast free-to-air via the DVB-T Digitenne service. The television and radio channels of

15336-517: The population has also affected the way the SAF has been designed, with a small active force and a large number of reserves. Singapore has conscription for all able-bodied males at age 18, except those with a criminal record or who can prove that their loss would bring hardship to their families. Males who have yet to complete pre-university education, are awarded the Public Service Commission (PSC) scholarship, or are pursuing

15478-655: The press as well as some civil and political rights. In 2023, Singapore was ranked 129th out of 180 nations by Reporters Without Borders on the global Press Freedom Index . Freedom House ranks Singapore as "partly free" in its Freedom in the World report, and the Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Singapore as a "flawed democracy", the second freest rank of four, in its " Democracy Index ". All public gatherings of five or more people require police permits, and protests may legally be held only at

15620-442: The public nor elites had experience with democracy" helped create Singapore's political culture, as dominated by status-focused hierarchies committed to economic development. The legacy of Asian values and the limited political culture within Singapore has led to the country being described as "classic illustration of soft authoritarianism", and "profoundly illiberal". The judicial system is based on English common law , continuing

15762-504: The region, as well as the multifarious contact over the centuries between Britain , India , Malaya and China (especially Hong Kong ), Indian influences have crept into a variety on non-Indian Singapore languages through a number of paths - Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore , is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia . The country's territory comprises one main island , 63 satellite islands and islets , and one outlying islet . It

15904-612: The regional public broadcasters are also free-to-air via the DVB-T service. In Spain, there are around 25 national and 40 regional channels, as well as many local channels and radio stations. All television channels are in HD, with at least one UHD channel ( La 1 ). The state broadcaster, Televisión Española , is publicly-funded and does not show commercials. The two major competing networks, Atresmedia and Mediaset , are privately-owned and show commercials. All broadcasts are free-to-air, and there

16046-453: The repeal will not affect the recognition of "traditional familial and societal norms," including how marriage is defined, leaving the legal status of same-sex marriage unchanged for the time, although the possibility of civil unions was not officially ruled out. Lee described this as a compromise between the conservative (and often religious) and progressive elements of Singaporean society to prevent further political fracturing. The law

16188-573: The rest of the world is that in North America , very few of the available signals are actually intended for home viewers or other end-users. Instead, they are generally intended for reception by local television stations, cable system headends, or other commercial users. While it is generally thought to be legal for home viewers to view such transmissions as long as they are not encrypted, this means that there are several unique challenges to viewing FTA signals, challenges not present in other areas of

16330-699: The same sex were not wrong at all or not wrong most of the time, up from 10% in 2013. The survey found that 27% felt the same way about same-sex marriage (an increase from 15% in 2013) and 30% did so about same-sex couples adopting a child (an increase from 24% in 2013). In 2021, six Singaporeans protested for improved trans protections in the educational system outside the Ministry of Education headquarters at Buona Vista . Pimps often traffic women from neighbouring countries such as China , Malaysia and Vietnam at their brothels as well as rented apartments and hostels for higher profit margins when they get

16472-602: The second largest community, making up 7.57% of the Indian population. Tamils and Malayalees are the two main South Indian communities in Singapore, forming two-thirds of the Indian population. Meanwhile, the three main North Indian groups in Singapore (the Punjabi , Gujarati , and Sindhi communities) constitute 7.67% of all Indians. The remaining 29.68% consists of many smaller groups from both South India (such as

16614-481: The settlement, and the island faded into obscurity for the next two centuries. By then, Singapore was nominally part of the Johor Sultanate . The wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control for the following period after the 1641 Dutch conquest of Malacca . The British governor Stamford Raffles arrived in Singapore on 28 January 1819 and soon recognised the island as a natural choice for

16756-432: The signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription , other ongoing cost, or one-off fee (e.g., pay-per-view ). In the traditional sense, this is carried on terrestrial radio signals and received with an antenna. FTA also refers to channels and broadcasters providing content for which no subscription is expected, even though they may be delivered to the viewer/listener by another carrier for which

16898-633: The state-controlled broadcaster, the SABC was accused of bias towards the apartheid regime, giving only limited coverage to opposition politicians. In Hong Kong, the largest and most dominant television channel, Television Broadcasts Limited , was the first free-to-air commercial television channel when it commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967. It may also well be among the oldest and first stations to broadcast over-the-air in East and Southeast Asia. ViuTV and RTHK TV started broadcasting in 2016. Around 600 FTA television channels and 180 radio channels are broadcast from ku-band and c-band transponders on

17040-433: The structure and responsibility of governance. The President is the head of state . The governance of Singapore is separated into three branches: The president is directly elected by popular vote for a renewable six-year term. Requirements for this position, which were enacted by the PAP government, are extremely stringent, such that only a handful of people qualify for the candidacy. These qualifications include that

17182-627: The subject of academic debates, 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, and was a part of the Indosphere . These Indianised kingdoms were characterised by surprising resilience, political integrity and administrative stability. Historical sources also indicate that around

17324-472: The table refer to the proportion of each language group within the larger Resident Indian community in Singapore. Singapore's Indian community is characterised by an ethnic Tamil majority (54.18%) and a large number of smaller groups. Ethnic Tamils in Singapore include both Tamils from India and Sri Lankan Tamils (sometimes referred to as ' Ceylonese '). Malayalees from Kerala in South India form

17466-529: The terms of the Malaysia Agreement . Under this Agreement, Singapore had a relatively high level of autonomy compared to the other states of Malaysia. Indonesia opposed the formation of Malaysia due to its own claims over Borneo and launched Konfrontasi ("Confrontation" in Indonesian) in response to the formation of Malaysia. On 10 March 1965, a bomb planted by Indonesian saboteurs on

17608-606: The trade unions and Chinese schools, waged a guerrilla war against the government, leading to the Malayan Emergency . The 1954 National Service riots , Hock Lee bus riots , and Chinese middle schools riots in Singapore were all linked to these events. David Marshall , pro-independence leader of the Labour Front , won Singapore's first general election in 1955. He led a delegation to London , and Britain rejected his demand for complete self-rule. He resigned and

17750-491: The two. It was thought that reuniting with Malaya would benefit the economy by creating a common market, alleviating ongoing unemployment woes in Singapore. However, a sizeable left-wing faction of the PAP was strongly opposed to the merger, fearing a loss of influence, and hence formed the Barisan Sosialis , after being kicked out from the PAP. The ruling party of Malaya, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO),

17892-627: The victory as deciding the general situation of the war. Between 5,000 and 25,000 ethnic Chinese people were killed in the subsequent Sook Ching massacre . British forces had planned to liberate Singapore in 1945/1946; however, the war ended before these operations could be carried out. After the Japanese surrender to the Allies on 15 August 1945, Singapore fell into a brief state of violence and disorder; looting and revenge-killing were widespread. British, Australian, and Indian troops led by Lord Louis Mountbatten returned to Singapore to receive

18034-572: The view that colour television would have to be available so as to avoid a costly migration from black-and-white broadcasting technology. Initially, the TV service was funded entirely through a licence fee as in the UK, charged at R36. However, advertising began on 1 January 1978. On 1 January 1982, two services were introduced, TV2 broadcasting in Zulu and Xhosa and TV3 broadcasting in Sotho and Tswana, aimed at

18176-410: The war, including those needed to supply utilities. A shortage of food led to malnutrition, disease, and rampant crime and violence. A series of strikes in 1947 caused massive stoppages in public transport and other services. However, by late 1947 the economy began to recover, facilitated by a growing international demand for tin and rubber. The failure of Britain to successfully defend its colony against

18318-452: The world. Among these are: The largest groups of end-users for Ku-band free-to-air signals were initially the ethnic-language communities, as often free ethnic-language programming would be sponsored by Multilingual American Communities and their broadcasters. Depending on language and origin of the individual signals, North American ethnic-language TV is a mix of pay-TV , free-to-air and DBS operations. Today, many American broadcasters send

18460-487: The world. It has the third highest population density of any country in the world , although there are numerous green and recreational spaces as a result of urban planning . With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages : English , Malay , Mandarin , and Tamil . English is the common language , with exclusive use in numerous public services . Multi-racialism

18602-517: Was occupied by Japan in 1942 and 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's expulsion from the federation two years later; Singapore became an independent sovereign country in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and

18744-494: Was abolished in 1970. Singapore is known for its strict laws and conservative stances on crime; both corporal punishment (by caning ) and capital punishment (by hanging ) are retained and commonly used as legal penalties. The right to freedom of speech and association is guaranteed by Article 14(1) of the Constitution of Singapore , although there are provisions in the subsequent subsection that regulate them. The government has restricted freedom of speech and freedom of

18886-420: Was amended in 1991 to provide for an elected president who has veto power in the use of past reserves and appointments to certain public offices. In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee and became Singapore's second prime minister. During Goh's tenure, the country went through the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2003 SARS outbreak. In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong , the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew , became

19028-543: Was fully occupied with defending Britain, leaving Singapore vulnerable to Japanese invasion . During the Pacific War , the Japanese invasion of Malaya culminated in the Battle of Singapore . When the British force of 60,000 troops surrendered on 15 February 1942, British prime minister Winston Churchill called the defeat "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history". British and Empire losses during

19170-456: Was granted in 1959. The PAP, self-described as pragmatic, have a syncretic ideology combining free-market principles , civil nationalism , and welfarism . Despite promulgating restrictions on civil liberties, Singapore under the PAP has seen consistent economic growth and political stability. The most represented and popular opposition party is the centre-left Workers' Party , which holds 8 seats in Parliament. The long-standing hegemony of

19312-403: 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. The base was defended by heavy 15-inch (380 mm) 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

19454-519: Was officially repealed on 3 January 2023. Pink Dot SG , an event held in support of the LGBT community, has drawn thousands of people annually since 2009 with increasing attendance. According to a survey conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies in 2019, Singaporean society has become more liberal on LGBT rights. In the survey, more than 20% of people said that sexual relations between adults of

19596-463: Was one of the earliest references to Singapore Island, which corresponds to a Chinese account from the third century referred to a place as Pú Luó Zhōng ( Chinese : 蒲 羅 中 ), a transcription of the Malay name for 'island at the end of a peninsula '. Early references to the name Temasek (or Tumasik) are found in the Nagarakretagama , a Javanese eulogy written in 1365, and

19738-488: Was opened in 1981 and Singapore Airlines was formed. The Port of Singapore became one of the world's busiest ports and the service and tourism industries also grew immensely during this period. The PAP has remained in power since independence. Some activists and opposition politicians see the government's strict regulation of political and media activities as an infringement on political rights. In response, Singapore has seen several significant political changes, such as

19880-512: Was replaced by Lim Yew Hock in 1956, and after further negotiations Britain agreed to grant Singapore full internal self-government for all matters except defence and foreign affairs on 3 June 1959. Days before, in the 30 May 1959 election , the People's Action Party (PAP) won a landslide victory. Governor Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode served as the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State). PAP leaders believed that Singapore's future lay with Malaya, due to strong ties between

20022-427: Was signed on 6 February 1819. In 1824, a further treaty with the Sultan led to the entire island becoming a part of the British Empire . In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements , then under the jurisdiction of British India . Singapore became the regional capital in 1836. Prior to Raffles' arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with

20164-410: Was staunchly anti-communist, and it was suspected UMNO would support the non-communist factions of PAP. UMNO, initially sceptical of the idea of a merger due to distrust of the PAP government and concern that the large ethnic Chinese population in Singapore would alter the racial balance in Malaya on which their political power base depended, became supportive of the idea of the merger due to joint fear of

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