Singapore,officially the Republic of Singapore,is an island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It is located about one degree of latitude north of the equator,off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula,bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west,the Singapore Strait to the south,the South China Sea to the east,and the Straits of Johor to the north. The country's territory comprises one main island,63 satellite islands and islets,and one outlying islet;the combined area of these has increased by 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the second highest population density of any country in the world,although there are numerous green and recreational spaces as a result of urban planning. With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation,Singapore has four official languages –English,Malay,Mandarin,and Tamil. English is the lingua franca,with its exclusive use in numerous public services. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education,housing,and politics.
The People's Action Party is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament,alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and Progress Singapore Party (PSP).
Goh Chok Tong is a Singaporean former politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004,and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Marine Parade SMC between 1976 and 1988,and Marine Parade GRC between 1988 and 2020.
The president of the Republic of Singapore is the head of state of Singapore. The president represents the country in official diplomatic functions and possesses certain executive powers over the Government of Singapore,including the control of the national reserves and the ability to revoke and appoint public service appointments. The president also holds the prerogative to grant pardons.
Tony Tan Keng Yam is a Singaporean politician who served as the seventh president of Singapore between 2011 and 2017.
A Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) is a member of an opposition political party in Singapore who,according to the Constitution and Parliamentary Elections Act,is declared to have been elected a Member of Parliament (MP) without constituency representation,despite having lost in a general election,by virtue of having been one of the best-performing losers. When less than 12 opposition MPs have been elected,the number of NCMPs is the difference to total 12. NCMPs enjoy all of the privileges of ordinary members of Parliament,apart from the salary,which is substantially lower.
Section 377A was a Singaporean law that criminalised sex between consenting adult males. It was introduced under British colonial rule in 1938 when it was added to the Penal Code by the colonial government. It remained a part of the Singapore body of law after the Penal Code review of 2007 which removed most of the other provisions in Section 377. It was subsequently repealed in its entirety in 2023.
The rights of lesbian,gay,bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Singapore have evolved over the decades. Same-sex sexual activity is legal for both males and females;for men it was officially legalised in 2022 after being de facto decriminalised since 2007,and for women it was always legal. Prior to 2022,same-sex sexual activity between males was de jure illegal under the British colonial-era Section 377A of the Penal Code. The law had been de facto unenforced for decades. In February 2022,the Court of Appeal in the Supreme Court reaffirmed that 377A cannot be used to prosecute men for having sex with other men,and that it is "unenforceable in its entirety". Transgender rights in the country is also progressive in the region,which included Singapore being the first country in Asia to legalise sex reassignment surgery in 1973.
Sylvia Lim Swee Lian is a Singaporean politician,lawyer,former police officer and Temasek Polytechnic law lecturer. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP),she is serving as the chairwoman of the WP since 2003. Lim has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Paya Lebar division of Aljunied GRC since 2020.
Indranee Thurai Rajah is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance since 2018,Second Minister for National Development and Leader of the House since 2020. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP),she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Tanjong Pagar–Tiong Bahru division of Tanjong Pagar GRC since 2015.
A group representation constituency (GRC) is a type of electoral division or constituency in Singapore in which teams of candidates,instead of individual candidates,compete to be elected into Parliament as the Members of Parliament (MPs) for the constituency. The Government stated that the GRC scheme was primarily implemented to enshrine minority representation in Parliament:at least one of the MPs in a GRC must be a member of the Malay,Indian or another minority community of Singapore. In addition,it was economical for town councils,which manage public housing estates,to handle larger constituencies.
Halimah Yacob is a Singaporean politician and former lawyer who has been serving as the eighth president of Singapore from 2017 to 2023. Prior to her presidency,she served as Speaker of Parliament between 2013 and 2017. She is the first female president in Singapore's history.
Presidential elections were held in Singapore on 27 August 2011. Incumbent president S. R. Nathan,who had been elected unopposed in 2005,did not seek re-election.
Adrian Tan Cheng Bock is a Singaporean politician and medical doctor. A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP),he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayer Rajah SMC between 1980 and 2006. After leaving the PAP,Tan founded the Progress Singapore Party (PSP),serving as secretary-general between 2019 and 2021 and as chairman since 2021.
The 2012 Hougang by-election was held on 26 May 2012. This was the 16th by-election since the first election,and the first by-election after over 19 years since 1992. This was the first by-election in Singapore since the new millennium and the 21st century.
Alex Tan Zhixiang is an anti-government self-exiled Singaporean political dissident who sought Australian asylum. Tan was a former editor of Temasek Review,a now-defunct socio-political website that mainly produced articles on Singapore. With effect from 7 May 2020,his Facebook pages and website are officially banned in Singapore by the government in accordance with its fake news law,the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).
Presidential elections were scheduled to be held in Singapore on 13 September 2017. Following amendments to the Constitution of Singapore,which resulted in the elections being reserved for candidates from the Malay community,incumbent president Tony Tan,who had been elected in 2011,was ineligible to seek re-election.
Josephus Tan Joon Liang,better known as Josephus Tan,is a Singaporean criminal defence lawyer known for his pro bono work. In 2015,Tan received the Singapore Youth Award.
Ravi Madasamy,better known as M Ravi,is a Singaporean human rights lawyer and activist. Known for his work as a cause lawyer,he has served as counsel in multiple high-profile court cases in Singapore,many of which have become leading cases in Singaporean constitutional law and Singapore's approach toward capital punishment and LGBT rights.
Carrie Tan Huimin is a Singaporean politician. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP),she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Nee Soon South division of Nee Soon GRC since 2020.
