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REPUBLIC OF SINGAPOREPrepared By:AGUILAR, SARAH JANE R.AB Political Science

SINGAPORE FLAG:Officially adopted on Dec. 3, 1959. The white crescent represents Singapore as a new nation, the five stars symbolize democracy, equality, justice, peace and progress. White represents purity and virtue of the people and red stands for universal brotherhood.

SINGAPORE:Derived from Singa-Pura means City of The LionMAIN CULTURAL TRADITIONS:MalayIndianChineseLOCATION AND GEOGRAPHY:Borders are Malaysia, Indonesia and BruneiClimate: Tropical with highly humidity and abundant rainfallDEMOGRAPHY:Population: About 3 million, 2.7 million are citizens and permanent residents, and three hundred thousand are foreign workers.Chinese 78%Malays- 14%Indians- 7%others 1%

LINGUISTIC AFFILIATION:Singapore is a multilingual state. Its national language is Malay.Four Official Languages:1. Malay2. English the administrative language and medium of instruction in school3. Indian (Tamil)4. Chinese (Mandarin)RELIGION:One of the most religious countries in the world.Major Religion:1. Islam (Malay)2. Hinduism (Indians)3. Buddhism4. Taoism

FOOD: Rice, fish, chicken and vegetables.Malays do not eat pork.Indians do not eat beefMany Buddhist Chinese are part-time vegetarian. HISTORY:For nearly 150 years, Singapore was a British colony. It became independent in 1963.From 1945 to early 1970s, the island had severe housing shortages and a poor infrastructure, high criminality, unemployment, racial riots and communist uprisings.In 30 years, Singapore changed from a rough trading port to a rich, orderly, industrialized society. The remembrance of social and economic difficulties influenced the development of a national culture with a focus on wealth and stability and the idea of multiculturalism.

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES, MAJOR ACTIVITIES ND TRADE:

Manufacturing is the most important economic sector, followed by financial and business services, commerce, transportation and communications.Production is mainly for exports.MAIN EXPORTS:1. Electronics2. Refined Petroleum products3. Natural Rubber4. Palm oilMAIN PARTNERS:1. Malaysia5. European Union (EU)2. Hong Kong3. United States4. Japan

MARRIAGE, FAMILY AND KINSHIP:Marriage:Polygamy is allowed among Muslim Malays.Divorce

TRIVIAS:1. Nickname of Singapore: FINE CITY-The strategy of the government has used is to impose fines on offenders.-There are fines on thousand offences such as smoking in public place, jaywalking, not flushing the public toilet, littering, eating on public transport and possessing a chewing gum.

2. Many Singaporeans have a habit of adding la to the end of their sentences. Example: okay-la (example of Singlish)

3. The government has its own matchmaking department called the Social Development Unit (SDU). Detractors call it Single, Desperate and Ugly.

4. Homosexual acts are illegal.5. To own a car, you must purchase a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) which gives you the right to drive a car onthe streets. The COE charge varies depending on the size of the vehicle and the demand at the time. When we were there, the COE for a small car was more than US$50,000 (and it had been as high as US$75,000 recently). This is in addition to the cost of the car, which is also at a premium.6. The COE is valid only for ten years. After that, most people decide that it is not worth to renew the COE on an old car. At that point, cars are scrapped (literally chopped down the middle) or sold abroad.7. The largest tropical orchid garden in the world is found in Singapore8. Singapore has transformed itself from a third-world, swampy island to a first-class, modern city in just fifty years. Its a regional hub for corporations, with its own high tech centers, biomedical facilities and so on.

9. Singapore is a rapidly growing city-state of nearly 6 million people. It is one of the smallest countries in the world.10. In spite of its small size, the city has six digit zip codes.11. Most of the population, about 85%, live in public housing developments and, of these, 95% own their flats. Living in public housing is not considered a sign of poverty and some sell for more than one million $US.

GOVERNMENT:Parliamentary SystemPresident- Head of the State.- elected for fixed term of six years.Parliament- elected in general compulsory election every 5 years- 6 nominated members of parliament-The cabinet is the executive organ of the state, and the execution of government policies is carried out by ministries and statutory boards.There are 3 Branches of government such as Executive, Legislative and Judiciary.

3 BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT:Executive:Executive power rests with the Cabinet. TheCabinetis led by the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President. On the advice of the Prime Minister, the President appoints other Ministers from among the Members of Parliament to form the Cabinet. The Cabinet is responsible for all government policies and the day-to-day administration of the affairs of state.Prime Ministers of Singapore1959 to 1990: Mr. Lee Kuan Yew1990 to 2004: Mr. Goh Chok Tong2004 to Present: Mr. Lee Hsien Loong

LEGISLATIVE:The SingaporeParliamentis unicameral and together with the President of Singapore, is known as the Legislature. It is modelled after the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy, where Members of Parliament (MPs) are voted in at regular General Elections. In Singapore, a General Election must be held at least once every five years. The leader of the political party that secures the majority of seats in Parliament will be asked by the President to become the Prime Minister. MPs consist of either Elected, Non-Constituency or Nominated members.The present 12th Parliament of Singapore, which opened its first session on 10 October 2011, has 99 MPs, comprising 87 elected MPs, 3 Non-Constituency MPs and 9 Nominated MPs.

PresidentThe Constitution provides for a President who is the Head of State. Prior to 1991, the President was appointed by Parliament and had a largely ceremonial role. In January 1991, the Constitution was amended to allow for the election of a President by the citizens of Singapore. Under the revision, the President is empowered to veto government budgets and key appointments to public office. The elected President will hold office for a fixed term of six years. There are no term limits to the presidency.

The first Presidential election was held on 28 August 1993. Mr. Ong Teng Cheong was elected, and he served a six-year term from 1 September 1993 to 31 August 1999. His successor, Mr. S R Nathan, served for two terms. The current elected President, Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam, was sworn in as the seventh President of Singapore on 1 September 2011.Presidents of Singapore1965 to 1970: Mr. Yusof bin Ishak1971 to 1981: Mr. Benjamin Sheares1981 to 1985: Mr. Devan Nair1985 to 1993: Mr. Wee Kim Wee1993 to 1999: Mr. Ong Teng Cheong1999 to 2011: Mr. S R Nathan2011 to Present: Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam

DR. TONY TAN KENG YAM

7th PresidentServed as a member of the Singapore Parliament from 1979 to 2006 and held various ministerial portfolios, including defense, finance, Arts, Trade and Industry.75 years oldParty: Independent

JUDICIARY:The Judiciary is made up of theSupreme Courtand theState Courts. The Judiciary administers the law independently of the Executive and this independence is safeguarded by the Constitution. The Supreme Court consists of the Court of Appeal and the High Court. The Chief Justice, Judges of Appeal, Judicial Commissioners and High Court Judges are appointed by the President from candidates recommended by the Prime Minister.Singapore practices the common law legal system, where the decisions of higher courts constitute binding precedent upon courts of equal or lower status within their jurisdiction, as opposed to the civil law legal system in continental Europe. The current criminal code was preceded by the Indian Penal Code which was adopted when Singapore was a Crown Colony.

SINGAPORE LATEST NEWS:Hosted the 2015 SEA GAMESSEA GAMES: Singapore break 50 gold- medal haul record.Singapore resumes sale of India-made Maggi noodlesSingaporehas allowed the sale of Maggi noodles manufactured in India after safety tests by food authorities here found that the popular instant snack does not pose any health risk to consumers.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) informed local importers that sale of the brand's noodles from India may be resumed, The Straits Times reported.

AVA had last week advised importers to withhold sales while it conducted laboratory tests, following concerns over higher-than-permissible levels of lead in the product.

COE prices end mostly lower at latest tenderSINGAPORE - Certificates of entitlement (COE) prices for cars ended mostly lower in the latest tender on Thursday.COE for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp closed at $66,000, down from $66,590. COE for cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp finished at $75,000, down from $75,002.Open COE, which can be used for any vehicle type but ends up mainly for bigger cars, closed at $75,801, down from $78,001.Motorcycle premium ended slightly higher, climbing from $6,501two weeks ago to settle at $6,509.Commercial vehicle COE also ended lower, closing at $50,900, down from $52,001previously.

SEA Games: Swimmers' four-gold haul on Wednesday takes Singapore tally to 60 Singapore's swimmers won four of six golds to take the Republic's tally to 60 golds at the 28th SEA Games.Roanne Ho started the gold rush by winning the country's first breaststroke gold of this Games.Ho, who set a Games and national record of 32sec in the heats, touched home in 31.45 to win and rewrite her own mark. Malaysia's Phee Jing En was second on 32.46, while Phee's team-mate Erika Kong finished third in 32.58sec.Joseph Schooling kept up his golden run, adding two golds for the Republic. He won the 50m butterfly in a Games record time of 23.49, just outside his Asian record of 23.43.Schooling added another gold in the 200m individual medley, clocking a Games record 2min 00.66sec (2:00.66). Compatriot Quah Zheng Wen was second in 2:02.22.Singapore's fourth and 60th gold came from the women's 4x100m medley relay team of Ho, Tao Li, Quah Ting Wen, and Amanda Lim.Vietnam won the remaining two golds of the night. Swimming machine Nguyen Thi Anh Vien won her seventh gold of the meet in the 400m freestyle, while colleague Lam Quang Nhat won the men's 1500m freestyle.