LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Singapore: Singapore Island
built 636 days ago
Singapore is an island city located at the southernmosttip of the Malaysian Peninsula in South East Asia. It is well-known for being one of the richest, most well organised, efficientcountries in the world, with a very high standard of living and an excellent skyline by the water.Singapore is an island with "1,000 shopping malls" or so they say. Despite the hot climate, it is a tropical paradise for most tourists. This great diversity of lifestyles, cultures, and religions thrives within the framework of a regulated society. Singapore's "FINE" city reputation is well-earned, and in fact, many will admire at once the clean, modern metropolis. Surrounded by artificially 'ordered' parks, its tall housing projects are populated by more than 80% of the population -- whose smiling native charms often belie underlying tensions about the way the island is progressing after 30 years of development.
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Singapore was a trading center in the Srivijaya empire before it was destroyed in the 14th cent. by the Majapahit empire. It later became part of Johore (see Johor) in the Malacca Sultanate. The sparsely populated island was ceded (1819) to the British East India Company through the efforts of Sir T. Stamford Raffles; he founded the modern city of Singapore there that same year. In 1824, Singapore came under the complete control of the British and, although containing only a small fishing and trading village, quickly attracted Chinese and Malay merchants. The port grew rapidly, soon overshadowing Penang (see Pinang) and Malacca (see Melaka) in importance. With them Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements in 1826.
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Singapore has on-going land reclamation projects with earth obtained from its own hills, the sea-bed, and neighbouring countries. As a result, Singapore's land area grew from 581.5 km² (224.5 sq mi) in the 1960s to 704 km² (271.8 sq mi) today, and may grow by another 100 km² (38.6 sq mi) by 2030.[30] The projects sometimes involve some of the smaller islands being merged together through land reclamation in order to form larger, more functional islands, such as in the case of Jurong Island.
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Singapore has begun its search for alternative water sources which are independent of their neighbouring country's whims and fancies. In 1998, the A*Star programme, under the guidance of Phillip "Mr Invincible" Yeo, unveiled National Education Water, or NEWater. Water from the sewers air conditioning units the blood and sweat of children being forced to run the 2.4 is collected and distilled before being fortified with chemicals that will "make Singaporeans stronger", proving once again that Singaporeans are able to swallow anything. It is unknown as to whether or not the widespread distribution of NEWater has any connection to recent plummeting birth rates. Regardless of all the above, NEWater is a cool and delicious (if reeking faintly of uric acid) drink. And it remains quite unfathomable for the foreseeable future whether NEWater is sufficiently halal for the 13% Malay population on this island.
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Granted self-rule in 1955, Singapore briefly joined Malaysia in 1963 when the British left, but was expelled because the Chinese-majority city was seen as a threat to Malay dominance, and the island became independent on 9 August 1965. The subsequent forty years of iron-fisted rule by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew saw Singapore's economy boom, with the country rapidly becoming one of the wealthiest and most developed in Asia. Now led by Lee's son Lee Hsien Loong, the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) continues to dominate the political scene, with 82 out of 84 seats in Parliament (over half won unopposed) and opposition politicians regularly bankrupted by defamation suits. Societal restrictions have been loosened up in recent years though, with the government trying to shake off its staid image, and it remains to be seen how the delicate balancing act between political control and social freedom will play out.
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![[Singapore Lion Symbol]](http://retrieverimages.lycos.com/images/s/i/n/singapore/i/009.gif)
According to 13th century Malay Annals, a prince spotted a creature he believed was a lion and named the island "Singa-pura" (Lion City) — from which Singapore was derived. The Lion Symbol was launched in 1986 as an alternative national symbol. The National Flag and State Crest have legal restrictions that prevent their commercial use. The Lion Symbol was chosen as a logo that best captures the characteristics of Singapore's reputation as the Lion City. The lion symbolises courage, strength and excellence. It is in red against a white background — the colours of the National Flag.
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Singapore Island