Brief History - From Wikipedia
The earliest known settlement on Singapore was in the second century AD. It was an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire, named Temasek ("sea town"). Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, it was part of the Sultanate of Johor. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burnt down the settlement and the island sank into obscurity for the next two centuries.[13]In 1819, Thomas Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore, arrived and signed a treaty withSultan Hussein Shah on behalf of the British East India Company to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post. In 1824, the entire island became a British possession under a further treaty whereby the Sultan and the Temenggong transferred it to the British East India Company. In 1826, it became part of the British Straits Settlements, becoming its capital in 1836.[14] Before Raffles arrived, there were around 1,000 people living in Singapore, mostly Malays and a few dozen Chinese.[15] By 1869, due to migration from Malaya and other parts of Asia, Singapore's population had reached 100,000. Many Chinese and Indian immigrants came to Singapore to work in the rubber plantations and tin mines, and their descendents later formed the bulk of Singapore's population.[16]During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya culminating in the Battle of Singapore. The British were defeated, and surrendered on 15 February 1942. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history".[17] The Sook Ching massacre of ethnic Chinese after the fall of Singapore claimed between 5,000 and 25,000 lives.[18] The Japanese occupied Singapore until the British repossessed it in September 1945 after the Japanese surrender.[19]Singapore's first general election in 1955 was won by the pro-independence David Marshall, leader of the Labour Front. Demanding complete self-rule he led a delegation to London but was turned down by the British. He resigned when he returned and was replaced by Lim Yew Hock, whose policies convinced Britain to grant Singapore full internal self-government for all matters except defence and foreign affairs.[20]During the May 1959 elections, the People's Action Party won a landslide victory. Singapore had become an internally self-governing state within the Commonwealth, with Lee Kuan Yew as the first Prime Minister.[21] Governor Sir William Allmond Codrington Goodeserved as the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara, and was succeeded by Yusof bin Ishak who in 1965 became the first President of Singapore.[22] During the 1950s, Singapore started to face a Communist threat which lasted till the early 1970s. The Communists, mostly supported by the Chinese-speaking group, with strong ties to the trade unions and Chinese schools, carried out an armed struggle against the state, resulting in the Malayan Emergency and later, the Communist Insurgency War. The 1954 National Service Riots, Chinese middle schools riots and Hock Lee bus riots in Singapore were all linked to the Communists [23]On 31 August 1963, Singapore declared independence from Britain and joined with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form the newFederation of Malaysia as the result of the 1962 Merger Referendum. Singaporean leaders joined Malaysia for various reasons. Firstly, as a small country, they did not believe that the British would find it viable for Singapore to become independent by itself. Secondly, they also did not believe that Singapore could survive on its own, due to scarcity of land, water, markets and natural resources. And lastly, the Singapore government wanted the help of the Malaysian government to flush out the Communists. The two years that Singapore spent as part of Malaysia were filled with strife and bitter disagreements. The Malaysians insisted on a pro-Malay society, where Malays were given special Bumiputera rights, which still exists to this day. The Malaysians were also suspicious about Singapore's majority of ethnic Chinese and worried that Singapore's economic clout would shift the centre of power from Kuala Lumpurto Singapore. There were also linguistic and religious issues. The Singaporeans, on the other hand, wanted an equal and meritocratic society, where all citizens were given equal rights. As part of Malaysia, Singapore's economic and social development came to a halt as the Malaysian parliament blocked many bills. Race riots broke out in Singapore in 1964. After much heated ideological conflicts between the two governments, in 1965, the Malaysian parliament voted 126 to 0 to expel Singapore from Malaysia.[3][24][25]Singapore gained independence as the Republic of Singapore (remaining within the Commonwealth) on 9 August 1965[3] with Yusof bin Ishak as president and Lee Kuan Yew as prime minister. Every one who was present in Singapore on the date of independence was offered Singapore citizenship. In 1967, it helped found the Association of Southeast Asian Nations[26] and in 1970 it joined the Non-aligned movement. In 1990, Goh Chok Tongsucceeded Lee as prime minister. During his tenure the country faced the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the 2003 SARS outbreak and terrorist threats posed by Jemaah Islamiyah. In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the country's third prime minister.[27]
Weather and Languages
For my fellow Pinoy, there's nothing much adjustment on weather. Almost the same as Pinas so in any case you will be coming over - for pleasure or to work, just bring jacket, scarf or shawl to make you warm in the airport or plane. Do not over dressed like there are some who come here in ala Matrix or fur coat. Lol.
Local language is in Chinese - I didn't bother to research if Mandarin or Cantonese, basta Chinese but everybody at least almost, can speak English probably because of the British colony.
Food and Transportation
So far, I didn't get alienated with the food. Almost all are the same with Pinoy dishes. This blog will share some food trip in details for your information, guidance and drooling also.
Cars are right hand drive. Be watchful when crossing the street as you need to look at your right side first unlike in Pinas where we look at the left side. There is a bus ticket called EZ link which you can use to their public transportation like bus, mrt and even taxi. It is reloadable in bus interchanges (stations), mrt stations and even 7-Eleven. High tech!
Updated as of 1st of April 2012.
