Singapore – an island city-state that has blossomed into one of the world’s great global cities.
Singapore is an island city-state south of Malaysia, a global financial center with a tropical climate and multi-ethnic population. Its colonial core revolves around Padang, originally a cricket ground dating from about 1830 and now flanked by large buildings, such as City Hall with its eighteen Corinthian columns.
In Singapore’s Chinatown, dating from about 1820, is the Buddha’s Tooth Relic Temple.
Despite its small size, Singapore has a diversity of languages, religions, and cultures.
Former prime ministers of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, have stated that Singapore does not fit the traditional description of a nation, calling it a society-in-transition, pointing out the fact that Singaporeans do not all speak the same language, share the same religion, or have the same customs.
Singaporeans who speak English as their native language would likely lean toward Western culture (along with either Christian culture or secularism), while those who speak Chinese as their native language mostly lean toward Chinese culture, which has linkages with Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.
Malay-speaking Singaporeans mostly lean toward Malay culture, which itself is closely linked to Islamic culture.
Tamil-speaking Singaporeans mostly lean toward Tamil culture, which itself is mostly linked to Hindu culture. Racial and religious harmony is regarded as a crucial part of Singapore’s success, and played a part in building a Singaporean identity.
