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Singapore's
Story...
The original seaport of Temasek or Singapore was founded in 1297 as one of the three kingdoms of the trading empire of Srivijaya, based in Palembang, in southern Sumatra. Modern Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles, in his search for a new British commercial centre in the East. During the Second World War, Singapore was under the Japanese from February 15, 1942 till September 5, 1945. Thereon, Singapore was accorded a new status as a separate crown colony. On September 16, 1963, Singapore, with Sabah and Sarawak, join Malaysia to form the Federation of Malaya. Due to differences between the Malaysian and the Singapore governments on a 'Malaysian Malaysia', this led to the separation of Singapore from the federation on August 9, 1965. Independent, sovereign Singapore was admitted to the United Nations on September 21, 1965, and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations on October 15, 1965, sponsored by Malaysia. On December 12, 1965, Singapore became a republic. The modern Singapore today is one of the world's busiest port and best airport. Singapore's national airline, Singapore Airline and its Singapore Girls are also well known through the world. Singapore is also known as a "Garden City" with greenish everywhere.
Singapore consists of the island of Singapore and some 57 odd islets within its territorial waters. It is situated between latitudes 1o 09'N and 1o 29'N, and longitudes 103o 38'E and 104o 06'E, approximately 136.8 km north of the Equator. Singapore's immediate neighbours are Peninsular Malaysia to the north, East Malaysia to the east and Indonesia to the south. Singapore is linked with Peninsular Malaysia by a 1,056 meter causeway which carries a road, a railway and a water pipeline across the Strait of Johor. The main features of the climate of Singapore are relatively uniform temperature, high humidity and abundant rainfall due to the maritime exposure of the island and its close proximity to the Equator. The average daily temperature is 26.6oC. Malay, Mandarin, Tamil and English are the official languages. Malay is the national language and English is the language of administration.
The red and white flag was first used as a symbol of statehood when Singapore gained internal self-government from the British in 1959. It was retained as the National Flag when Singapore became independent in 1965. The red half of the flag symbolises universal brotherhood and equality of man, while white signifies pervading and everlasting purity and virtue. The crescent moon represents a rising young nation on the ascent, illuminated by the deals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality as signified by the five stars. The ratio of the width to the length of the flag is two to three.
Our State Crest (Coat of Arm)...
Supporting the shield are a lion on the left and a tiger on the right. Below the shield is a banner inscribed with the Republic's motto, Majulah Singapura (Let Singapore Flourish or Onward Singapore). The while crescent moon and five stars mirror the Singapore Flag. The lion represents Singapore, the Lion City, and the tiger represents Malaya, a recognition of Singapore's close historical ties with its neighbour.
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The
flag of Singapore consists of two equal horizontal sections, red above
white. In the upper left canton is a white crescent moon beside five white
stars within a circle.
The
State Crest consists of a shield emblazoned with a white crescent moon
and five white stars against a red background.
