Singapur (Singapore)

Singapur Cumhuriyeti, Malay Yarımadası'nın güney ucunda, Ekvatorun 137 kilometre kuzeyinde yer alan bir ada devletidir. Kuzeyde Malezya'nın Johor Eyaleti, güneyde ise Endonezya'nın Riau Adaları ile çevrili, dünyanın az sayıdaki şehir devletlerinden biridir.Târihi Bölgenin bilinen ilk insanları Hanlar ve Malaylılardır. Bunlar bu adalar ülkesine “deniz şehri” anlamına gelen Temasek adını vermişlerdi. Singapur'un asıl modern târihiyse 1819 yılından îtibâren başlatılır. Bu târihte zamânın sömürgeci milleti olan İngilizler, burayı istilâ ederek, 1959 yılına kadar idâreleri altında tuttular. Bu târihte Milletler Topluluğu içerisinde bağımsız (otonom) bir devlet oldu. 1963 yılında Malaya, Saravak ve Sabah ile Malaya Federasyonunu meydana getirmek üzere birleştiler. Fakat bu birleşme fazla uzun sürmedi. Federasyondaki hâkim grup olan Malaylar ile Singapur bölgesindeki ekseriyeti teşkil eden Çinliler arasında anlaşmazlıklar baş gösterdi. Bunun üzerine yeni bir anlaşma yapıldı. Böylece Singapur 9 Ağustos 1965’te ayrı bir devlet oldu.Fakat bölgedeki iç huzursuzluklar devam etti. Antikomünist bir yapıya sâhip olan Singapur’da, Malaylar ve Çinliler olaylar çıkartıyorlardı. 1969 yılında ırkçı bir ayaklanma baş gösterdi. Şiddet eylemleri, birçok tutuklamalar sonucu bastırıldı. Daha sonra ülkedeki idâreyi, 1959 yılında ülkenin ilk başbakanı seçilen Lee Kuan Yew’in kurduğu, Halk Partisi (PAP) rakibi Komünist Burisan Sosyalist Partisi’ni hezimete uğratarak iktidarı ele geçirdi. Ülkeden İngilizler 1971 yılında çekilmek zorunda kaldılar. Bağımsızlıktan sonra iç ve dış politikayı tesbit eden Lee Kuan Yew, 1990 senesine kadar sürdürdüğü başbakanlık görevinden ayrıldı. Yerine Goh Chok Tong başbakan oldu. 1991’de yapılan seçimlerin neticesinde Goh Chok Tong tekrar başbakanlığa getirildi. 12 Ağustos 2004'te, Lee Hsien Loong, Goh Chok Tong yerine üçüncü başbakan olarak seçildi. Halen bu görevini sürdürmektedir.Singapore (Chinese: 新加坡, Xīnjiāpō; Malay: Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர், Cingkappūr), officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands. At 707.1 km2 (273.0 sq mi), Singapore is one of four remaining true city-states in the world.[citation needed] It is the smallest nation in Southeast Asia.[citation needed]Prior to European settlement, the island now known as Singapore was the site of a Malay fishing village at the mouth of the Singapore River. Several hundred indigenous Orang Laut people also lived along the nearby coast, rivers and on smaller islands. In 1819 the British East India Company established a trading post on the island, which was used thereafter as a strategic trading post along the spice route.[4] Singapore would become one of the most important commercial and military centres of the British Empire, and the hub of British power in Southeast Asia. The city was occupied by the Japanese during World War II, which Winston Churchill called "Britain's greatest defeat".[5] Singapore reverted to British rule immediately postwar, in 1945. Eighteen years later the city, having achieved independence from Britain, merged with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. However, less than two years later it seceded from the federation and became an independent republic on 9 August 1965. Singapore joined the United Nations on 21 September that same year. It is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.Since independence, Singapore's standard of living has been on the rise. Foreign direct investment and a state-led drive to industrialisation based on plans drawn up by the Dutch economist Albert Winsemius have created a modern economy focused on electronics manufacturing, petrochemicals, tourism and financial services alongside traditional entrepôt trade.[citation needed] Singapore is the 6th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita.[6] This small nation has foreign exchange reserves of more than US$177 billion.[7]The population of Singapore is approximately 4.84 million.[2] Though Singapore is highly cosmopolitan and diverse, ethnic Chinese form the majority of the population. English is the administrative language of the country.The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore established the nation's political system as a representative democracy, while the country is recognised as a parliamentary republic.[8] The People's Action Party (PAP) dominates the political process and has won control of Parliament in every election since self-government in 1959Singapore consists of 63 islands, including mainland Singapore. There are two man-made connections to Johor, Malaysia — Johor-Singapore Causeway in the north, and Tuas Second Link in the west. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's many smaller islands. The highest natural point of Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill at 166 m (545 ft).The south of Singapore, around the mouth of the Singapore River and what is now the Downtown Core, used to be the only concentrated urban area, while the rest of the land was either undeveloped tropical rainforest or used for agriculture. Since the 1960s, the government has constructed new residential towns in outlying areas, resulting in an entirely built-up urban landscape. The Urban Redevelopment Authority was established on 1 April 1974, responsible for urban planning.Singapore has on-going land reclamation projects with earth obtained from its own hills, the seabed, 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.[29] 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.Under the Köppen climate classification system, Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons. Its climate is characterized by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall. Temperatures range from 22 °C to 34 °C (72° to 93 °F). On average, the relative humidity is around 90% in the morning and 60% in the afternoon. During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100%.[30] The lowest and highest temperatures recorded in its maritime history are 18.4 °C (65.1 °F) and 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) respectively. June and July are the hottest months, while November and December make up the wetter monsoon season. From August to October, there is often haze, sometimes severe enough to prompt public health warnings, due to bushfires in neighbouring Indonesia. Singapore does not observe daylight saving time or a summer time zone change. The length of the day is nearly constant year round due to the country's location near the equator.About 23% of Singapore's land area consists of forest and nature reserves.[31] Urbanisation has eliminated many areas of former primary rainforest, with the only remaining area of primary rainforest being Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. A variety of parks are maintained with human intervention, such as the Singapore Botanic Gardens.The architecture of Singapore is varied, reflecting the ethnic build-up of the country. Singapore has several ethnic neighbourhoods, including Chinatown and Little India. These were formed under the Raffles Plan to segregate the immigrants. Many places of worship were also constructed during the colonial era. Sri Mariamman Temple, the Masjid Jamae mosque and the Church of Gregory the Illuminator are among those that were built during the colonial period. Work is now underway to preserve these religious sites as National Monuments of Singapore.Due to the lack of space and lack of preservation policies during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, few historical buildings remain in the Central Business District (CBD) - the Fullerton Hotel and the previously-moved Lau Pa Sat being some exceptions. However, just outside of Raffles Place, and throughout the rest of the downtown core, there is a large scattering of pre-WWII buildings - some going back nearly as far as Raffles, as with the Empress Place Building, built in 1827. Many classical buildings were destroyed during the post-war decades, up until the 1990s, when the government started strict programmes to conserve the buildings and areas of historic value.Past the shopping malls are streets lined with shophouses. Many other such areas have been gazetted as historic districts. Information can be found at the URA Centre in Maxwell Road, where there are exhibits and several models of the island and its architecture. Singapore has also become a centre for postmodern architecture. Historically, the demand for high-end buildings has been in and around the Central Business District (CBD). After decades of development, the CBD has become an area with many tall office buildings. These buildings comprise the skyline along the coast of Marina Bay and Raffles Place, a tourist attraction in Singapore. Plans for tall buildings must be reviewed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.[87] No building in Singapore may be taller than 280 metres.[88] The three tallest buildings in Singapore, namely Republic Plaza, UOB Plaza One and OUB Centre, are all 280 metres in height