Welcome

History and Culture of Singapore

What do you know about Singapore?

Welcome to Singapore!

Singapore• Facts• History• Culture

QuizTaiwan has a population of 23.4 million.

What is the approximate population of Singapore?

5.6 million

Population (By Gender) 人口

0

5000000

10000000

15000000

20000000

25000000

Males Females

5,674,472

23,415,126

Life Expectancy (years) 預期壽命

70

72

74

76

78

80

82

84

86

88

Males Females

82.06

87.5

76.85

83.33

Gross Domestic Product (USD$)國內生產總值

0

200,000,000,000

400,000,000,000

600,000,000,000

800,000,000,000

1,000,000,000,000

1,200,000,000,000

454,300,000,000

1,079,000,000,000

Gross Domestic Product Per Capita (USD$) 國內生產總值人均

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,00083,100

46,000

History of Singapore in a Nutshell• Founding• British colony• World War II • Self-Government• Merger with Malaysia • Modern Day Singapore

Sang Nila Utama, late 1390s

QuizWhat other names were Singapore also known as?

Singapura (Lion City)Temasek (Sea Town)

QuizWhich European power was Singapore ruled by?

Founding of Modern Singapore, 1819

Signing of the treaty with the local rulersSir Stamford Raffles

British Colony

Planning out the city center People flowed in from all over, attracted by opportunities

QuizDuring World War II, Singapore was occupied by which

country?

Japanese Occupation, 1943-1945

Air raids killed many Shock defeat after just 6 days

QuizDuring the occupation, what was

Singapore was renamed as?

Syonan-to (昭南島 ), "Light of the South"

Japanese Occupation, 1943-1945

Reign of terror began Surrender of the Japanese forces after the drop of the atomic

bombs

Self-Government

Singapore’s first Chief Minister, David Marshall

Singapore’s ruling political party, the People’s Action Party

Merger with and Separation from Malaysia, 1963-1965

A promising start

A bitter divorce

QuizWhen was the independence of Singapore declared?

9 Aug 1945

Independence of Singapore

QuizWhat do the stars on the Singapore flag symbolise?

Democracy, Peace, Progress, Justice & Equality

Modern Day Republic

The ports of Singapore: past and present

Modern Day Republic

The development of the city center

People of Singapore• History: Racial Riots• Multiracial• Multilingual• Multireligious

Racial Riots

• Happened in 1969• Clashes between Malays and Chinese• Started from conflict in Malaysia, spillover into Singapore

QuizWhat are the four major categories of races in

Singapore?

ChineseMalayIndianOthers

Multiracial

• Taiwan has many aboriginal groups while predominated by ethnic Chinese 98%

• Singapore is characterised by many races, namely:- Chinese 74.2%- Malays 13.3%- Indians 9.2%- Others 3.3%

The Chinese in Singapore

• Migrated from southeastern China, namely Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan provinces in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

• 75% of the Chinese population in the 19th Century spoke Hokkien, Teochew & Cantonese dialects.

• Chinatown was formed to house Chinese immigrants.

• Chinese culture here has heavy southern China influence.

The Chinese in Singapore• Currently the largest ethnic group in

Singapore, 75% of total population.

• Most Singaporean Chinese are Buddhists.

• Growing number of Christians and free thinkers as well.

• 14% of the Chinese population in Singapore consider themselves as Taoists.

• Buddhism in Singapore is a mixture of Taoism, Buddhism, Confucian & southern China folk practices.

Malays in Singapore• Malays are the second largest ethnic

group in Singapore.

• Most Singaporean Malays are descendants of immigrants from Indonesia & Malaysia.

• Malays are predominantly Sunni Muslim.

• The Bahasa Melayu or Malay Language spoken by Singaporean Malays are similar to the ones spoken in the Riau Islands in Indonesia & southern Malaysia.

Malays in Singapore• Being Muslims, Singaporean Malays

observe certain restrictions when it comes to consumption of food and drink.

• Muslims cannot eat pork & drink alcoholic drinks. These are ‘Haram’ or forbidden foods.

• Other kinds of food have to be ‘Halal’ or permissible, before it can be consumed. For meat like beef & chicken, it has to be slaughtered according to Muslim customs, before it can be ‘Halal’.

• In Singapore, local food brands and eating places who claim to be ‘Halal’ will have to be certified by the Muslim Religious Council of Singapore, MUIS.

Indians in Singapore• The smallest of the major ethnic groups

in Singapore.

• Most Singaporean Indians are descendants of migrant workers who came in Singapore after 1819. Most of them came from southern India.

• The first Indians in Singapore were the sepoys, who served as soldiers of the British empire.

• 58% of Singaporean Indians are of ethnic Tamil ancestry. English and Tamil are the languages of choice.

• Over 50% of Indians in Singapore are Hindus. The remaining numbers are Muslims, Christians or Sikhs.

Multilingual• English (official)

• Mandarin (official)

• Malay (official)

• Tamil (official)

• Hokkien

• Cantonese

• Teochew

• Other Indian languages

• Other Chinese dialects

• Mandarin Chinese (official)

• Taiwanese (Min)

• Hakka dialects

QuizWhat is unique type of English spoken in Singapore?

Singlish

Multireligious

• Buddhist 33.9%, • Muslim 14.3%, • Taoist 11.3%, • Catholic 7.1%, • Hindu 5.2%, • other Christians 11%, • other 0.7%, • none 16.4%

• Mix of Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist: 93%

• Christian: 4.5%• Others: 2.5%

Multireligious

Multireligious

Religious figures from Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Baha’i faith, Jainism,

and Zoroastrianism came together to pray

Food Culture

Food Culture: Chinese Food

Hokkien Mee

Chicken Rice

Bak Kut Teh

Food Culture: Malay Food

Satay

Nasi Lemak

Kueh

Indian Food

Banana Leaf Curry

Indian Rojak

Roti Prata

Chinese Festivals• Lunar New Year• Qing Ming Festival• Dragonboat or Duanwu Festival• Hungry Ghost Festival• Mid-autumn or Mooncake Festival

Malay Festivals• Singaporean Malays celebrate 2 major

festivals annually.

• Hari Raya Aidilfitri is celebrated after the Ramadhan fasting month.

• During the holy month of Ramadhan, Muslims will fast from dawn to dusk. They are forbidden from taking food and drink during this time period.

• Hari Raya Aidilfitri is celebrated as a day of victory for Muslims who have completed a month of fasting.

• Hari Raya Aidil-adha is celebrated to mark the completion of the Hajj in Mecca.

Indian Festivals• The major Hindu festivals in Singapore are Thaipusam &

Deepavali.

Other Festivals• New Year Day• Good Friday• Christmas Day• Vesak Day• National Day

Unique Cultures• Singlish: Okay Lah!• Singapore: A Fine City• Reserving Seats

Unique Culture: SinglishEnglish Singlish

Do you serve coffee? You got kopi? / kopi wu bo?He is certain to be caught. He sure kena caught one.You can sit over there. There can sit.Can you reserve this table? Can chope this table?Where do I go to collect my luggage?

Go where take bag, ah?

I didn’t really like the movie. I found it rather uninteresting.

Wah lau, the movie damn sian.

I do not understand Catch no ball (liak bo kiu)Oh, my god! Alamak!

Unique Culture: Fines

Unique Culture: Fines

QuizWhat item do people in Singapore commonly use to

reserve at a hawker centre?

Tissue paper

Unique Culture: Tissue Paper

Famous Places in Singapore• Singapore Botanic Gardens• Gardens by the Bay• Sentosa a & Universal Studios• Changi Airport

Singapore Botanic Gardens

Gardens by the Bay

Sentosa & Universal Studios

Changi Airport

Traditional Games!• Chapteh• Five Stones

Traditional Game: ChaptehCapteh is a traditional game that requires great dexterity and balance in keeping a feathered shuttlecock in the air for as long as possible by kicking it up with the heel of the foot, or other parts of the body, except the hands

Traditional Game: Five Stones

This game involves catching pyramidal cloth bags filled with beans/sand.It increases the eye sight, memory power and builds concentration and aiming skills.

The End