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Singaporean Culture
The culture of Singapore has changed greatly over the millennia. Its contemporary modern culture consists of a combination of Asian and European cultures, mainly by Malay, South Asian, East Asian and Eurasian influences. Singapore has been dubbed as a country where "East meets West", "Gateway to Asia" and a "Garden city". History Singapore's indigenous culture originates primarily from the Austronesian people that arrived from the island of Taiwan, settling between 1500 to 1000 BCE. It was then influenced during the Middle Ages primarily by multiple Chinese dynasties such as the Ming and Qing, as well as by other Asian countries such as the Majapahit Empire, Tokugawa shogunate, and the Ryukyu Kingdom. In the near-contemporary history after the British arrived, Singapore was also influenced by western countries. Repeated influence, absorption and selection in various ways have added to the development of a distinct and unique culture. It has a diverse populace of over 5.4 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raffles Place
Raffles Place is the centre of the Financial District of Singapore and is located south of the River, mouth of the Singapore River. It was first planned and developed in the 1820s as Commercial Square to serve as the hub of the commercial zone of Singapore in Jackson Plan, Raffles Town Plan. It was renamed Raffles Place in 1858 and is now the site of a number of major banks. It is located in the Downtown Core within the Central Area, Singapore, Central Area, and features some of the tallest buildings and landmarks of the country. History Beginning The founder of modern Singapore, Sir Stamford Raffles, intended Singapore to become a "great commercial Marketplace, emporium". As part of his plan, he gave instructions in 1822 that a commercial area be created on the southwest side of the Singapore River. The Garrison Engineer Lieutenant R.N. Philip Jackson (surveyor), Philip Jackson, was tasked with drawing up a Jackson Plan, Town Plan based on Raffles' instructions. This commerci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the Muhammad in Islam, main and final Islamic prophet.Peters, F. E. 2009. "Allāh." In , edited by J. L. Esposito. Oxford: Oxford University Press. . (See alsoquick reference) "[T]he Muslims' understanding of Allāh is based...on the Qurʿān's public witness. Allāh is Unique, the Creator, Sovereign, and Judge of mankind. It is Allāh who directs the universe through his direct action on nature and who has guided human history through his prophets, Abraham, with whom he made his covenant, Moses/Moosa, Jesus/Eesa, and Muḥammad, through all of whom he founded his chosen communities, the 'Peoples of the Book.'" It is the Major religious groups, world's second-largest religion behind Christianity, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malay Singaporeans
Malay Singaporeans ( ms, Melayu Singapura, Jawi: ) are a local ethnic group in Singapore. Recognised as the indigenous people of the country, the group is defined as Singaporean who is of Malay ethnicity or, whose ancestry originates from the Malay world. Local Malay Singaporeans constitute 15% of the country's citizens, making them the second largest ethnic group in Singapore after Chinese Singaporeans. Prior to the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles, the Malays were the majority living on the island under the Johor Sultanate. From the 19th century until World War II, the Malays enjoyed favourable treatment and disproportionate employment to colonial governmental posts; this was concurrent with a sharp increase in the Malay population due to immigration to Singapore from the other part of Malay Peninsula, Brunei and the Indonesian archipelago such as Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi. Though coming from various backgrounds from the Malay world, many are nonetheless tied together by a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little India, Singapore
Little India ( ta, லிட்டில் இந்தியா) is an ethnic district in Singapore. It is located east of the Singapore River – across from Chinatown, located west of the river – and north of Kampong Glam. Both areas are part of the urban planning area of Rochor. Little India is commonly known as ''Tekka'' in the Indian Singaporean community. History Little India is distinct from the Chulia Kampong area, which, under the Raffles Plan of Singapore, was originally a division of colonial-era Singapore where ethnic Indian immigrants would reside under the plan's outline of the formation of ethnic enclaves. However, as Chulia Kampong became more crowded and competition for land escalated, many ethnic Indians emigrants moved into what is now known as Little India. (The Chulia Kampong district no longer exists as a distinct area.) The Little India area is reported to have developed around a former settlement for Indian convicts. Its location along the Serango ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinatown, Singapore
Chinatown (, Yale: ''Ngàuhchēséui'', ms, Kreta Ayer, ta, சைனா டவுன்) is a subzone and ethnic enclave located within the Outram district in the Central Area of Singapore. Featuring distinctly Chinese cultural elements, Chinatown has had a historically concentrated ethnic Chinese population. Chinatown is considerably less of an enclave than it once was. However, the precinct does retain significant historical and cultural significance. Large sections of it have been declared national heritage sites officially designated for conservation by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Etymology Singapore's Chinatown is known as ''Niu che shui'' () in Mandarin, ''Gû-chia-chúi'' in Hokkien and '' Ngàuh-chē-séui'' in Cantonese - all of which mean "bullock water-cart" - and Kreta Ayer in Malay ( Post-1972 spelling: ''kereta air''), which means "water cart". This is due to the fact that Chinatown's water supply was principally transported by animal-driven car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geylang East
Geylang East, more commonly known as Eunos, is a subzone located in Geylang in the Central Region of Singapore. The vicinity is served by both Paya Lebar and Eunos MRT stations. "Eunos" is also the name given to a street called which spans the area. Etymology and History The settlement was originally named Kampong Melayu, a large Malay village that used to include Kampong Ubi and Kaki Bukit areas. It was later renamed Eunos in honour of its founder, . Eunos was the Chairman and co-founder of the Singapore Malay Union and the first Malay representative of the Legislative Council, the then governing body of Singapore. In 1927, he appealed to the government and was granted $700,000 that the Singapore Malay Union used for the purchase of 670 hectares of land, which later became known as Kampong Melayu. This land was used to provide a home for Malays who were affected by the building of Singapore’s first airport at Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kampong Glam
Kampong Glam (Malay: Kampung Gelam; Jawi: کامڤوڠ ڬلم ; ; Tamil: கம்போங் கிளாம்) is a neighbourhood and ethnic enclave in Singapore. It is located north of the Singapore River, in the planning area of Rochor, known as the Malay-Muslim quarter. History The name of the area is thought to be derived from the cajeput tree, called "gelam" in Malay. "Kampong" (modern spelling "kampung") simply means "village". Prior to colonisation by the British in 1819, the area was home to the Malay aristocracy of Singapore. It became prominent and more populous after the signing of a treaty between the British East India Company, Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor and Temenggong Abdul Rahman in 1819. The company was given the right to set up a trading post in Singapore under this treaty. During the colony's early history, under the Raffles Plan of 1822, the settlement was divided according to different ethnic groups which included European Town, Chinese, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katong
Katong, also known as Tanjong Katong, is a residential neighbourhood in the eastern portion of the Central Region of Singapore, within the Marine Parade planning area. It used to be located by the sea, before land reclamation towards the south to East Coast Park was created for housing and recreational purposes beginning in the 1960s to 1970s. Katong was the location of many villas and mansions of the wealthy elite in the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries. They made their fortunes in the Far East and built seaside resorts, villas and manors along the beachfront of Katong, beginning from Katong Park to the end of the East Coast. Katong's rich cultural mix has contributed to its unique cuisine. Katong is well known among locals as a food district with a variety of shophouse restaurants serving Peranakan cuisine and particularly, a spicy Singaporean noodle soup known as Katong laksa. Etymology ''Tanjong Katong'' was a popular beach along the East Coast. ''Tanjong'' means cape i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Press Freedom Index
The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to reflect the degree of freedom that journalists, news organisations, and netizens have in each country, and the efforts made by authorities to respect this freedom. Reporters Without Borders is careful to note that the index only deals with press freedom and does not measure the quality of journalism in the countries it assesses, nor does it look at human rights violations in general.How the index was compiled , Reporters Without Border, 2013 Methodology The report is partly based on a questionnaire[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as founded on the belief that everyone requires access to the news and information, in line with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that recognizes the right to receive and share information regardless of frontiers, along with other international rights charters. RSF has consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the International Organisation of the Francophonie. Activities RSF works on the ground in defence of individual journalists at risk and also at the highest levels of government and international forums to defend the right to freedom of expression and information. It provides daily briefings and press releases on threats to media freedom in French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freedom In The World
''Freedom in the World'' is a yearly survey and report by the U.S.-based non-governmental organization Freedom House that measures the degree of civil liberties and political rights in every nation and significant related and disputed territories around the world. Origin and use ''Freedom in the World'' was launched in 1973 by Raymond Gastil. It produces annual scores representing the levels of political rights and civil liberties in each state and territory, on a scale from 1 (most free) to 7 (least free). Depending on the ratings, the nations are then classified as "Free", "Partly Free", or "Not Free". The report is often used by researchers in order to measure democracy and correlates highly with several other measures of democracy such as the Polity data series. The Freedom House rankings are widely reported in the media and used as sources by political researchers. Their construction and use has been evaluated by critics and supporters. Country rankings The rankings ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Of Singapore
The Flag of Singapore was adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. It remained the national flag upon the country's independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. The design is a horizontal bicolour of red above white, overlaid in the canton (upper-left quadrant) by a white crescent moon facing a pentagon of five small white five-pointed stars. The elements of the flag denote a young nation on the ascendant, universal brotherhood and equality, and national ideals. Vessels at sea do not use the national flag as an ensign. Merchant vessels and pleasure craft fly a civil ensign of red charged in white with a variant of the crescent and stars emblem in the centre. Non-military government vessels such as coast guard ships fly a state ensign of blue with the national flag in the canton, charged with an eight-pointed red and white compass rose in the lower fly. Naval warships fly a naval ensign similar to the state ensign, but in white w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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