History UsefulNotes / Singapore

It is notable that, of all the countries established in the 1960s, it went from a third-world-country to an incredibly prosperous and rich island nation. The typical Singaporean citizen is multilingual, highly-educated, and well-paid, with good exposure to several different cultures. The pollution is pretty much non-existent, the infrastructure is highly-developed and still being improved, and the overall cleanliness is stunning, seemingly impossible to attain considering its urban AND tropical nature. The homeless, poor, and the elderly are generally well-cared for, yet the economy takes the burden in its stride. It commands a respectable military, and there are enough policemen for each square kilometre, combined with government protocols, means that safety and law enforcement remain extremely high. All in all, it is an extremely successful and efficient First World Country, especially considering where it was fifty years ago, with a booming economy, great prosperity, and much general comfort despite the humidity.

Sounds amazing, right? Wouldn't mind going there to study or work, or for a holiday? Well, there are some things you'll need to watch out for. It IS a great place to live in, but it does have a dark side.

In addition to the humidity, hot sun, and mosquitoes, Singapore has garnered a fairly infamous reputation for being incredibly strict and conservative when it comes to its laws - with very frequent use of the death penalty (400 hangings between 1991 and 2004 - note that the place had a population of ''4 million'' at the time), including for drug trafficking. (The crime rate in Singapore is pathetically low though, so depending on your point of view the death penalty may or may not be a neccessary evil or even a good thing to keep citizens in line. The use of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_in_Singapore caning]] is also common as a punishment, as an American tourist by the name of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_P._Fay Michael Fay]] found out the hard way in 1994 after being arrested for theft and vandalism. It has several notably restrictive laws: discouraging homosexuality and banning same-sex marriages, issuing fines for intentional littering, outlawing the possession of porn, and banning [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the sale of chewing gum]],[[note]]although not possession, so bringing in a stick or two for yourself or friends is acceptable unless you go around sticking wads of gum on public property[[/note]] amongst others. Fortunately, the penalties for all but the first are simply fining and/or community service; the goal is to keep the city clean and safe, not to lock people up. Creator/WilliamGibson once memorably described the place as "[[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.04/gibson.html Disneyland with the death penalty]]"[[note]]He was dissatisfied later that he managed to convey the city's "creepy anal retentive" authoritarianism better than its "unrelenting dullness"[[/note]], and the locals make jokes about this - you can get T-shirts saying "Singapore is a [[IncrediblyLamePun fine city]]", enumerating most of the fines one is likely to incur for various misdemeanours. The government finally passed laws allowing controlled gambling a couple of years back, and two large casino resorts have been completed ([[InsistentTerminology though the term "Integrated Resort" is preferred]]). With the new tourism spike, the government is loosening some of their stricter laws.

[[quoteright:329:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/singapore-map_6544.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:329:Don't be fooled by the map. It's all one big city.]]

* Flocculencio from ''Script/AHDotComTheSeries'' (and see below)

* ''Script/AHDotComTheSeries'' featured a futuristic cyberpunk version of Singapore that has been launched into space and now orbits the Earth; it is the original home of crew member Flocculencio.

The ''Republic of Singapore'' ('''Malay:''' ''Republik Singapura''; '''Chinese:''' ''新加坡共和国, Xīnjiāpō gònghéguó''; '''Tamil:''' ''சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு, Ciṅkappūr kuṭiyaracu''), is an island city-state in Southeast Asia, about 700 square kilometers in total land area, splitting from Malaysia in 1965, a state it still has some disputes with. Ties between the citizens of both countries remain extremely close, since almost everyone has friends, family, and/or business on the other side of the causeway.

Singapore, officially known as the Republic of Singapore ('''Malay:''' ''Republik Singapura''; '''Chinese:''' ''新加坡共和国, Xīnjiāpō gònghéguó''; '''Tamil:''' ''சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு, Ciṅkappūr kuṭiyaracu''), is an island city-state in Southeast Asia, about 700 square kilometers in total land area, splitting from Malaysia in 1965, a state it still has some disputes with. Ties between the citizens of both countries remain extremely close, since almost everyone has friends, family, and/or business on the other side of the causeway.

** ''VideoGame/Battlefield2042'': The multiplayer map "Manifest" is set at a port in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulau_Brani Pulau Brani]], Singapore.

Special mention must be made of the local flavor of "English" - while {{engrish}} is also commonplace due to [[BlindIdiotTranslation lazy translators]], '''Singlish''' is what gives the Singaporean experience its unique, 101% genuine feel ([[DontExplainTheJoke the extra 1% is because we're kiasu (scared to lose out)]]). Singlish is a bizarre amalgamation of a language, made mostly of English with choicy bits of Malay, Mandarin, and various Chinese dialects like Hokkien mixed in. Don't mock the language by speaking it poorly, as it'll only make you sound even sillier than we do.

Singapore is ostensibly a representative democracy, although some political science professors would disagree rather vehemently. The primary political party, the People's Action Party (PAP), has dominated elections since self-government in 1959 much like Malaysia, but their lead slipped in the 2006 election. However, since the 2008 Malaysian election where opposition parties achieve significant gains, the PAP has become wary of changing political tides. In the 2011 election, the PAP's lead slipped once more, with various important constituencies nearly taken by the opposition. There is speculation that Singapore might end up as a two-party system with the Worker's Party (WP), especially with the first leader of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew (and remaining the unofficial leader of the PAP), finally retiring and then proceeding to die in 2015 at the age of 91. [[note]]Yes, he was around 35 years old when Singapore achieved self-rule in 1959, and 42 when Singapore became fully independent.[[/note]] Despite this, much of Singapore's influence and prosperity comes from initially unpopular policies started by the PAP. Politically, it is now one of the USA's best buds in the Pacific, especially in South-East Asia. In fact, it maintains good relationships with an abundance of other nations, generally ranging from 'friendly acquaintance' to BFF.

Singapore is ostensibly a representative democracy, although some political science professors would disagree rather vehemently. The primary political party, the People's Action Party (PAP), has dominated elections since self-government in 1959 much like Malaysia, but their lead slipped in the 2006 election. However, since the 2008 Malaysian election where opposition parties achieve significant gains, the PAP has become wary of changing political tides. In the 2011 election, the PAP's lead slipped once more, with various important constituencies nearly taken by the opposition. There is speculation that Singapore might end up as a two-party system with the Worker's Party (WP), especially with the first leader of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew and unofficial leader of PAP, finally retiring and then proceeding to die. Despite this, much of Singapore's influence and prosperity comes from initially unpopular policies started by the PAP. Politically, it is now one of the USA's best buds in the Pacific, especially in South-East Asia. In fact, it maintains good relationships with an abundance of other nations, generally ranging from 'friendly acquaintance' to BFF.

Clearly, the writers of ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' hadn't either... the place is depicted as a large town at the close of the era of pirates, when it was in fact a swampy island (which had ''formerly'' been a major trading hub until the Majapahit Empire had enough of ''that'' and invaded, with the fleeing rajah founding the Sultanate of Melaka, which ''itself'' fell to the Dutch, who finished the job the Majapahit started in about 1612, terminating any large-scale trade for two centuries) until being bought up at the start of the era of empires by Sir Stamford Raffles, who was just about the opposite of Lord Cutler Beckett and quite a guy[[note]]His deputy and co-founder of the British colony there, Major-General William Farquhar, would probably disagree given that Raffles sacked him as the Resident four years into his term, condemning him to a life of obscurity[[/note]]. To be fair, though, they got other things right: Chinese formed a big part of the population of Singapore when it did exist and the Straits of Malacca by which its sits are even today a (comparative) pirate hotspot. Also, prior to becoming a Crown Colony in the latter part of the 19th Century, it ''did'' have a reputation of being a WretchedHive with rampant crime, corruption and opium; a derisive nickname given to it at the time was "Sin Galore."

In 1963, Singapore declared independence from the British Empire as part of UsefulNotes/{{Malaysia}}, but this didn't stick due to the Malaysian-Indonesian ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia%E2%80%93Malaysia_confrontation Konfrontasi]]'' (the only armed conflict where Singaporean soldiers died), where Indonesian leader Sukarno attempted to forcibly incorporate Malaysia into his "Greater Indonesia", leading to acts of state-sponsored terrorism and border clashes in Borneo and the ''very'' violent racial riots between Chinese and Malays, exacerbated by the political squabbling between the central Malaysian government and Singapore. As such, on 9 August 1965, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew tearfully announced Singapore's independence from Malaysia.

In 1963, Singapore declared independence from the British Empire as part of UsefulNotes/{{Malaysia}}, but this didn't stick due to the Malaysian-Indonesian ''Konfrontasi'' (the only armed conflict where Singaporean soldiers died), where Indonesian leader Sukarno attempted to forcibly incorporate Malaysia into his "Greater Indonesia", leading to acts of state-sponsored terrorism and border clashes in Borneo and the ''very'' violent racial riots between Chinese and Malays, exacerbated by the political squabbling between the central Malaysian government and Singapore. As such, on 9 August 1965, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew tearfully announced Singapore's independence from Malaysia.

In addition to the humidity, hot sun, and mosquitoes, Singapore has garnered a fairly infamous reputation for being incredibly strict and conservative when it comes to its laws - with very frequent use of the death penalty (400 hangings between 1991 and 2004 - note that the place had a population of ''4 million'' at the time), including for drug trafficking. (The crime rate in Singapore is pathetically low though, so depending on your point of view the death penalty may or may not be a neccessary evil or even a good thing to keep citizens in line. We'll mention the Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment and leave it at that.) The use of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_in_Singapore caning]] is also common as a punishment, as an American tourist by the name of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_P._Fay Michael Fay]] found out the hard way in 1994 after being arrested for theft and vandalism. It has several notably restrictive laws: discouraging homosexuality and banning same-sex marriages, issuing fines for intentional littering, outlawing the possession of porn, and banning [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the sale of chewing gum]],[[note]]although not possession, so bringing in a stick or two for yourself or friends is acceptable unless you go around sticking wads of gum on public property[[/note]] amongst others. Fortunately, the penalties for all but the first are simply fining and/or community service; the goal is to keep the city clean and safe, not to lock people up. Creator/WilliamGibson once memorably described the place as "[[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.04/gibson.html Disneyland with the death penalty]]"[[note]]He was dissatisfied later that he managed to convey the city's "creepy anal retentive" authoritarianism better than its "unrelenting dullness"[[/note]], and the locals make jokes about this - you can get T-shirts saying "Singapore is a [[IncrediblyLamePun fine city]]", enumerating most of the fines one is likely to incur for various misdemeanours. The government finally passed laws allowing controlled gambling a couple of years back, and two large casino resorts have been completed ([[InsistentTerminology though the term "Integrated Resort" is preferred]]). With the new tourism spike, the government is loosening some of their stricter laws.

* '''Highest point:''' Bukit Timah Hill (164 m/537 ft) (201st)

* '''Highest point:''' Bukit Timah Hill (164 m/537 ft) (186th)

* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' SG

* Singapore is the central location of ''[[Manga/DetectiveConan Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire]]'', where the titular detective is whisked there by Kaito Kid to solve a mystery. Obviously, this being a NonSerialMovie, a monument is destroyed - in this case Marina Bay Sands.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' has a part set in Singapore.

* '''Capital and largest city:''' Singapore

* '''Area:''' 728.3 km (281.2 sq mi) (176th)

** ''VideoGame/Battlefield2042'': The multiplayer map "Manifest" is set at Brani Island port in Singapore.

** ''VideoGame/Battlefield2042'': The multiplayer map Manifest is set in the fictional Brani Island port at Singapore.

* ''VideoGame/Battlefield''

** ''VideoGame/Battlefield2042'', multiplayer map Manifest is set in a fictional Singaporean port of Brani Island.

* ''VideoGame/Battlefield4'', a First-Person Shooter that features [[UsefulNotes/ChineseWithChopperSupport Chinese]]-[[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs occupied]] Singapore in one of its campaign missions.

There is also the Singapore Civil Defense Force, which started as a normal fire brigade and was made what it has become when the government decided to upgrade the organisation following the infamous Hotel New World incident in the 1980s, coincidentally the time when the murderer Adrian Lim was at large (he has since been made to dance the hemp fandango, and is known for infamous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toa_Payoh_ritual_murders Toa Payoh ritual murders]]). The SCDF is also manned by conscripted full-time NS men, and now encompasses the handling of biochemical and radioactive materials, as well as first aid.

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There is also the Singapore Civil Defense Force, which started as a normal fire brigade and was made what it has become when the government decided to upgrade the organisation following the infamous Hotel New World incident in the 1980s, coincidentally the time when the murderer Adrian Lim was at large (he has since been made to dance the hemp fandango). The SCDF is also manned by conscripted full-time NS men, and now encompasses the handling of biochemical and radioactive materials, as well as first aid.

Singapore, officially known as the Republic of Singapore ('''Malay:''' ''Republik Singapura''; '''Chinese:''' ''新加坡共和国 ''; '''Tamil:''' ''சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு''), is an island city-state in Southeast Asia, about 700 square kilometers in total land area, splitting from Malaysia in 1965, a state it still has some disputes with. Ties between the citizens of both countries remain extremely close, since almost everyone has friends, family, and/or business on the other side of the causeway.