• Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

      The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), previously known as the National Science and Technology Board until January 2002, is Singapore’s driver of scientific research. A statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), A*STAR aims ...

    • Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC)

      The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (originally GSIC, now known as GIC) is a private investment company wholly owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 22 May 1981 under the Companies Act, GIC was set up as the government’s principal ...

    • Public Utilities Board

      PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, formerly known as the Public Utilities Board (PUB), is a statutory board under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR). Its mission is to ensure an efficient, adequate and sustainable supply of water in ...

    • Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS)

      The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport. Set up on 1 September 1984, the mission of this statutory board is to develop Singapore into an international aviation hub. The board’s responsibilities include ...

    • Public Service Division

      The Public Service Division (PSD) was established under the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on 3 January 1983 to serve as the central body dealing with matters relating to personnel management and career development in the civil service. These matters had previously ...

    • Land Acquisition Act 1966

      The Land Acquisition Act was introduced on 17 June 1967 to provide the government with the legal framework to acquire private land compulsorily at market prices. The key objective of the act was to make land available readily and cheaply for the housing, commercial ...

    • Singapore Prison Service

      The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) is a government agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Headquartered at 407 Upper Changi Road North, it administers 14 institutions in Singapore. In addition to ensuring the secure custody of inmates, the prison service works ...

    • Two-child policy

      The two-child policy was a population control measure introduced by the Singapore government during the 1970s to encourage couples to have no more than two children. It was part of the second Five-Year National Family Planning Programme (1972–75) that was unveiled ...

    • Art and music education

      Formal art and music education programmes in Singapore were established by the British colonial government in the 1920s and ’30s respectively. Private Chinese-medium schools also offered art education through courses run by professional artists. After Singapore ...

    • Internal Security Act

      The Internal Security Act (ISA) is a law that enables the government to swiftly act against what it deems to be threats to national security by employing various measures. The law is carried out by the Internal Security Department (ISD), a body under the purview ...

    • National reserves

      Singapore’s national reserves are the net assets (assets minus liabilities) of the country. Being a small nation lacking in natural resources and relying heavily on external trade, Singapore requires ample reserves as its security net to ensure a stable currency ...

    • Vernacular education

      In Singapore, vernacular education refers to education conducted in the native languages of the main resident communities, namely Malay, Chinese and Tamil. From the early 19th to the mid-20th centuries, formal vernacular education was started by philanthropists, ...

    • People's Action Party: Pre-independence years

      The People’s Action Party (PAP) was established on 21 November 1954 with the primary objective of striving for Singapore’s independence from British rule. The political party was first led by Lee Kuan Yew as its secretary-general, with Toh Chin Chye as its founding ...

    • White Paper on bilingual education in Chinese-medium schools

      On 8 December 1953, the colonial government in Singapore issued a white paper titled Chinese Schools Bilingual Education and Increased Aid. The white paper proposed the introduction of bilingual education in Chinese schools in exchange for increased financial aid ...

    • Environmental Public Health Act

      The Environmental Public Health Act became law on 2 January 1969. The act was aimed at setting up a standard code to govern health-related matters in public cleansing services, markets, hawkers, food establishments and the general environment. It also integrated ...

    • Regulating the Use of Fireworks

      The Singapore government started regulating the use of fireworks in 1968 when the practice of lighting celebratory fireworks became a serious public safety issue. Despite the introduction of new regulation banning the use of certain types of fireworks, the problem ...

    • New Singapore Shares

      The New Singapore Shares is a scheme introduced in 2001 by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong as a means of sharing Singapore’s wealth with the people and to help less well-off Singaporeans tide over the economic downturn during that period. The S$2.7-billion scheme ...

    • Censorship Review Committee

      The Censorship Review Committee (CRC) is a government-appointed committee that reviews and makes recommendations regarding Singapore’s censorship policies. First convened in 1991, the committee was to be formed once every decade. However, the government decided ...

    • Straits Settlements Association

      The Straits Settlements Association was founded in London by a group of ex-Straits Settlements residents on 31 January 1868. The association, which mainly comprised members from the mercantile community, aimed to safeguard the commercial and political interests ...

    • Pasar malam

      Pasar malam is the Malay term for night market or night bazaar, and a pasar malam typically opens for business when night falls. Pasar malam has its origins as weekly night markets organised by hawkers in 1950s Singapore. The night markets were phased out in 1978, ...

       

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