singapore
Singapore officially the
Republic of Singapore, is a
Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the
Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the
equator. An
island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from
Malaysia by the
Straits of Johor to its north and from
Indonesia's
Riau Islands by the
Singapore Strait to its south. Singapore is highly urbanised but almost half of the country is covered by greenery. More land is being created for development through
land reclamation.
Singapore had been a part of various local empires since it was first inhabited in the second century AD. Modern Singapore was
founded as a trading post of the
East India Company by
Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 with permission from the
Sultanate of Johor. The British obtained full sovereignty over the island in 1824 and Singapore became one of the British
Straits Settlements in 1826. Singapore was
occupied by the Japanese in
World War II and reverted to British rule after the war. It became internally self-governing in 1959. Singapore united with other former British territories to form Malaysia in 1963 and became a fully independent state two years later after separation from Malaysia. Since then it has had a massive increase in wealth, and is one of the
Four Asian Tigers. The economy depends heavily on the industry and service sectors. Singapore is a world leader in several areas: It is the world's fourth-leading
financial centre, the world's second-biggest casino gambling market, and the world's third-largest oil refining centre. The
port of Singapore is one of the five
busiest ports in the world, most notable for being the
busiest transshipment port in the world. The country is home to more US dollar millionaire households per capita than any other country. The World Bank notes Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business. The country has the world's third highest
GDP PPP per capita of
US$59,936, making Singapore one of the world's wealthiest countries.
Singapore is a
parliamentary republic with a
Westminster system of
unicameral parliamentary government. The
People's Action Party (PAP) has won every election since the British grant of internal self-government in 1959. The
legal system of Singapore has its foundations in the
English common law system, but modifications have been made to it over the years, such as the removal of
trial by jury. The PAP's popular image is that of a strong, experienced and highly qualified government, backed by a skilled
Civil Service and an
education system with an emphasis on achievement and
meritocracy; but it is perceived by some voters, opposition critics and international observers as being authoritarian and too restrictive on individual freedom.
Some 5 million people live in Singapore, of whom 2.91 million were born locally. Most are of
Chinese,
Malay or
Indian descent. There are
four official languages:
English,
Chinese,
Malay and
Tamil. One of the five founding members of the
Association of South East Asian Nations, Singapore also hosts the
APEC Secretariat, and is a member of the
East Asia Summit, the
Non-Aligned Movement, and the
Commonwealth.
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Merlion
Merlion atau
Singa laut adalah patung yang berkepala
singa dengan badan seperti ikan. Namanya merupakan gabungan dari
ikan duyung dan singa. Merlion dirancang oleh Fraser Brunner untuk
Badan Pariwisata Singapura (STB) pada
1964 dan dipergunakan sebagai
logonya hingga 1997. Perdana Menteri saat itu,
Lee Kuan Yew, meresmikan upacara pemasangan Merlion di
Singapura pada
15 September 1972. Merlion tetap menjadi lambang
merek dagangnya hingga sekarang. Ia juga seringkali muncul dalam
suvenir yang disetujui oleh STB. Patung asli Merlion berdiri di mulut
Sungai Singapura sementara sebuah replika yang lebih tinggi dapat ditemukan di
Pulau Sentosa.
Tinggi Merlion ini 8,6 meter dan beratnya 70 ton. Patung Merlion dibangun dari campuran semen oleh seniman Singapura
