[GP] Singapore - Content

ECONOMY

- According to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitveness Report 2013, SG is world's 2nd most economically competitive nation.

- SG has the highest concentration of millionaire households - at 17%.

- SG has the 2nd highest income inequality in the world.

- Our economy is growing at 2-3% per year and continues to attract tens of billions of dollars in foreign direct investment a year. Eg. Rolls Royce aircraft engine manufacturing facility and Procter & Gamble's regional R&D centre. 

- SG deemed to be an economic miracle - a respected player with an outsized influence on the world stage both diplomatically and economically.

- It is a major oil refining and training hub with a growing liquefied natural gas trading and storing industry. World leaders in oil rig building through Keppel Corporation and Sembcorp Marine.

- Airport and Seaport are the busiest in the world, attracts 3x the resident population of tourists each year. Best airport in the world, voted consecutively.

- SG enjoyed double digit growth annually in it's GDP from 1965 to 1985.

- Very high standard of living, one of the most expensive places in the world to live in, a car is very expensive.

GOVERNMENT

- Clean and capable govt, which has built the security, stability, infrastructure, strong rule of law and open economy that makes SG a great place to invest and do business.

- Non-corrupt government; our leaders are elected based on their ability and not because they are related to the ruling elite. This ensured that the interests of the people were put before that of self-interest, allowing Singapore to flourish as a nation-state.

- Allows for limited freedom of speech so as to ensure that harmony remains. Secular - allows for religious freedom but will also take action if the religion does anything to challenge national interests/the authority. Jehovah's Witness was banned as the people refused to undergo NS (they do not partake in military service). The Marxist Conspiracy saw 20-odd catholics being captured.

PEOPLE (Identity, Lang, Characteristics)

- Singaporeans are fluent in both English and Asian languages, such as Chinese, Malay and Tamil, and thus act as an invaluable bridge between the East and the West. This was due to the bilingualism policy that introduced English as a lingua franca and allowing people to retain their ethnic language as their second language.

- Singapore's national ideology is the Shared Values initiative, which is meant to inculcate Asian Values into Singaporeans, after the 1961 bilingualism policy was criticized as having 'Westernized' Singaporeans with the increased usage of the English Language. However, Singapore has also been criticized as a cultural orphan with no unique identity to itself.

- Singaporeans speak colloquial English, better known as 'Singlish'. It is a jargon unique to Singapore, made up of mostly English but mixed with Chinese, Malay, Tami and Chinese dialects. Many Singaporeans hold it close to them.

HISTORY

- Double-minority status: The Singaporean majority is a regional minority, making them more vulnerable to external pressures or tensions. The government will hence take greater precautionary measures such as capping the number of Malays in the SAF and seeks to establish good bilateral relations with Malaysia and Indonesia.

- Focus on: Pragmatism, Meritocracy, Honesty.

- Many of our ancestors came from China or India, in search of better job opportunities and salary. The values of pragmatism - working hard to reap the fruits of our labour - has been passed down generation after generation. Many Singaporeans aim to attain the 5Cs - Condo, Car, Credit Card, Country Club Membership, Career.

- Singaporeans actively pursue material aim, in terms of job promotions, salary increment.

INFRASTRUCTURE

- Excellent transport system as compared to other countries in the world. Provides access to almost any part of SG via MRT and buses.

SPORTS

- Many Singaporeans lament at the lack of local talent. In the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, the ladies table tennis team comprised of Chinese-born paddlers, who were previously rejected by the Chinese National Team. If we had utilized our local talents, we may never have achieved this monumental feat. While many Singaporeans were extremely proud and happy that the ladies team in 2008 won the silver medal, some were upset that they were not truly Singaporean.

- Joseph Schooling, who won the Republic's first olympic gold medal and broke an olympic record in the 100m butterfly event, had his momentuous victory put down by critics who deemed him as not a true-blue Singaporean. He studied and trained in America since he was in his early teens, and some felt that he did not grow up in Singapore and hence, was considered a foreigner in his origin country.

- Sports in Singapore can bind people too. During football matches, especially at the old national stadium or jalan besar stadium, many Singaporeans will turn up to cheer for the local team, especially when Singapore is playing Malaysia. It is an opportunity for them to don national colours and show the pride for their country. Regardless of race or religion, Singaporeans bond over their common love for 'The Beautiful Game' and the pride they have of their nation.

EDUCATION

- SG focuses on STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. This was to boost the value added per worker in order to compensate for our geographical disadvantages, such as having no strategic hinterland and having no natural resources.

- The focus in our education is to get perfect grades to open up our options in University, so that we can get a prestigious degree to attain our dream job - which is defined to be a career which propels us to the top of the corporate ladder and allowing us to earn several hundred grand per year. Many students focus on getting into prestigious schools and competing with other elite students for the top spots, so as to not 'lose out'.

- Many students simply cram information in examinations to regurgitate what they have memorized in the exams, in order to get top marks. Much focus is placed on the students' ability to retain knowledge and write speedily, as opposed to truly understanding the concepts involved and appreciating the thinking process. Despite this, Singapore has constantly been praised to have one of the best education systems in the world, seeing how Raffles Institution churned out more students who attended Ivy League Schools than any other high schools in the world. In fact, Wall Street Journal dubbed RI as the 'Ivy League Machine'. RI is also the top high school for Oxford in terms of student admission.

- SG topped the PISA problem-solving test in 2012 - it was taken by students from around the world.

- Singapore incorporated a shared history of the different races in the NE curriculum by portraying the forefathers of SG to be of different ethnic groups (eg. LKY, Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye, Lim Yew Hock?, Yusof Bin Ishak, Rajaratnam).

TOURISM

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