Republic of Singapore

Island/Nation/City

Singapore: Location in SE Asia

Size of Rhode Island

Location and Population• Island/Nation/City at the southern tip of the

Malay Peninsula, 3 degrees north of the Equator, tropical climate

• Near Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand at the crossroads of trade, navigation

• Population of 3.8 million on area the size of Rhode Island

• Diverse, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural populace

Government• Former British Colony, separated from

Malaysia in 1965

• Member of the United Nations, currently a non-voting member of the UN Security Council

• Parliamentary system of government based on the West, Prime Minister, Supreme Court, President

• Government and Business use English

Media- Asian hub for foreign tv, newspapers, magazines, newswires which relocated from Hong Kong after 1997.

- Most of MTV’s viewers are in Asia (over 500 million)

Singapore Consumer Culture

Laws

• Strict laws, little drugs, no guns, low crime

• Death penalty for dealing drugs

• Chewing gum sales banned for years, now allowed.

• Strict laws make Singapore the safest city in Asia

• Strict laws make Singapore attractive to 30,000 Americans and over 400,000 expatriates

Do Strict Laws = Quality of Life?• Rated as the #1 Quality of Life in Asia

ahead of Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and Hong Kong

• Ranked ahead of London and New York in Quality of Life (Economist)

• Top rated infrastructure in air, sea, telecommunications

• K-12 Education System ranked #1 or #2 in international math and science testing

Business Environment

Profitable Place for Investors

World Competitiveness

Other world rankings

Michael Fay

• Michael Fay was given 4 months jail and 6 strokes of the cane

• President Clinton requested concern so Fay was given a 33% discount

• Ed Koch, Mayor of New York “Bring back caning in US”

• Usual stereotypes about “Oriental Torture”

Michael Fay - what the US media left out

• 9 foreign students arrested for vandalizing 67 cars, one which belonged to a member of Singapore’s Supreme Court

• A student from Hong Kong got 8 months jail and 12 strokes of the cane)

• Singapore laws allow caning for vandalism (there is little vandalism in Singapore)

Michael Fay - the inside story

• The Hong Kong student kept his mouth shut, did his jail time, got in good physical shape, and went to study law in England

• Michael Fay went back to America, punched his father, and was arrested for drug possession

Why is Singapore Relevant to the USA?

• U.S.-Singapore trade supports over 220,000 export-related American jobs

• Singapore is the 11th largest U.S. export market worldwide

• Gateway to 500 million consumers in ASEAN (nations of Southeast Asia)

Relevance to USA continued

• Over 1500 American companies operate in Singapore today, with over 300 of these having made Singapore their regional Asia Pacific headquarters.

Understanding Singapore

• Diverse, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural populace developed as a result of Singapore’s free trade status since the 1800’s which attracted immigrants

• No natural resources, information economy

• Singapore is run like a corporation and depends on global trade

US Chamber of Commerce

• “Singapore operates the world’s busiest port. Singapore’s participation in free trade agreements allow US companies to effectively use Singapore as a regional hub and manufacturing center.”

2003 Free Trade Agreement

• “The US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement will be America’s first free trade agreement with an Asian country. It will have historical ramifications and it will send a strong signal that the United States intends to remain heavily engaged in Asia for a long time to come in business, economics, security and international politics.”

Media- No censorship of foreign media but circulation requires a license and can be restricted.

- Domestic media is government owned, local newspapers tend to “self-censor”

Singapore: Ethnic Groups

• Chinese - majority; 76%, largest Chinese city outside China [but not part of China!]

• Malay, 14% - indigenous islanders

• Indian, 8% - traders, merchants

• Others - mixed Asian-European ancestry

Singapore: 4 Official Languages

• English: Standard and Colloquial/Singlish

• Mandarin, various dialects: Cantonese,

Hokkien, Teochewz

• Malay: Bahasa, Arabic (Islamic Studies)

• Tamil

Singlish: Features

• Pragmatic particles - ah, lah, what. example: Prisoners also go on tour, ah?

• Verb groups with out subjects - example: Fall down, got then blood!

Non-English Root Words

• Singapura - Malay name for Singapore - Singa = Lion and pura = city

• Ice Kachang - Malay dessert of shaved ice topped with syrup, nuts (kachang), sweet corn and bits of jello

• Ketchup - from Malay word kecap

When is Singlish Used?

• Taxi from airport - possibly Singlish

• Arrive at the Ritz - Standard English

• Government office – Standard English

• TV - local; imported – American, British, & Singlish

Phua Chu Kang Pte. Ltd.

Description of PCK• Local caricature--verges on being a hick by

Singapore standards

• Stereotype -- high-school educated and in remodelling (contracting) business

• Appearance: permed hair, pinkie nail, dress

• Situations portrayed mirror social, cultural life of large segment of population

Singlish Usage: Controversy

• Use widens in mainstream television, radio broadcasts - example PCK Pte. Ltd.

• Becomes defining thread of Singapore identity

• Government cracks down on Singlish use

Singlish or Standard English?• College-educated individuals can switch

seamlessly between Standard English and Colloquial English

• The average ‘man in the street’ cannot determine proper use of these two varieties of English

• Worrisome trend of low proficiency in command of English, speak Good English campaign

Singapore Food

• Chinese (Hong Kong, Taiwan, South China)

• Malaysian

• Indian (north and south)

• Indonesian• Thai

• Japanese, Korean

Chicken Rice - Chinese

Bee Hoon - rice noodles, veggies, shrimp, eggs (shiok!)

Steamboat - fish, shrimp, tofu, vegetables, ginger, hot pepper

Ice Kachang - shaved ice, sweet condensed milk, jello bits, corn, beans

Laksa - (Malay-Straits Chinese dish) spicy noodle soup, eggs, lime

Satay - Malay (meat on a stick), peanut sauce

Lee Kuan Yew

• Senior Prime Minister and founder of modern Singapore

• Respected for modernizing Singapore

Lee Kuan Yew

• “You think, or you say, that we are too authoritarian. We … say this excessive respect for the individual, at the expense of the community, has brought a great deal of social disruption, pain on the public, insecurity, loss of a sense of well-being”

Lee Kuan Yew on Michael Fay

• “We don’t deal with criminal behavior the way Americans do. We don’t have the concept of ‘victim of society’ either in the Chinese, Malay, or Tamil language.”