Medisave is a national savings scheme in which individuals contribute part of their monthly wages to their Medisave accounts to meet their personal or immediate family’s hospitalisation expenses. Implemented on 1 April 1984 by the Ministry of Health, the scheme ...
Singapore is served by a modern sanitation system in which all used water is collected through a network of sewers and channelled to water reclamation plants. But this was not always so. In the 1800s, the sewage collection and disposal system in Singapore relied ...
Singapore is considered to be one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. It is heavily dependent on rainfall due to the lack of natural water resources, and limited land is available for water storage facilities. Prolonged dry spells cause or threaten ...
The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated on 1 July 1969 with a grand parade and march-past at the Jalan Besar Stadium presided over by then Minister for the Interior and Defence Lim Kim San. Public outreach activities such as camp “open houses”, exhibitions, selling ...
The Four National Taps, a term used by then Minister for the Environment Lim Swee Say in 2004, refer to the four sources that Singapore relies on for its water supply. They comprise water from local catchment, imported water, high-grade reclaimed water known as ...
Singapore River communities were people living by or around the Singapore River. In ancient times, Singapore, then known as Temasek, was a fishing village. The orang laut (sea gypsies) were the earliest known inhabitants in Singapore. Later, in the early 1800s, ...
Launched by then prime minister Goh Chok Tong at the National Stadium on 3 October 1993, the Great Singapore Workout is a fitness routine that formed part of the month-long National Healthy Lifestyle Programme. The workout is a specially designed low-impact aerobic ...
The Singapore River is located within the island’s Central Region. The 3.2-kilometre-long waterway – from its mouth to Kim Seng Bridge – has been the lifeline of Singapore for almost 200 years. Proof of its ancient beginnings lies in the Singapore Stone, which ...
In the midst of World War I, on 15 February 1915, the Right Wing (Rajput) of the 5th Light Infantry (Indian Army) which was stationed in Singapore, revolted, killing more than 40 British officers, British residents and local civilians. The mutiny was originally ...
The Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) was formed on 1 April 1964 to take over the functions, assets and liabilities of the Singapore Harbour Board. It was operating five maritime gateways by 1990, including Keppel Wharves, Jurong Port, Sembawang Wharves, Tanjong ...
In 1959, a new state flag was created to represent Singapore shortly after it became a self-governing state under British rule. Developed by a committee led by then Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye, the flag was unveiled on 3 December 1959, the day when Singapore’s ...
The Singapore River is about 2.95 km long, starting from Kim Seng Bridge to its mouth at the Esplanade, where it empties into the Marina Reservoir. A comparison of the old map of the river with a current one seems to show more sources and the river seems longer ...
Michael and Sonya Fong were Singapore's first couple to set out on a world motorcycle trip, which they called "Baby Quek's Big Adventure", on 17 September 1995. They travelled for nearly two years, returning on 14 May 1997. Riding their 1,000 cc BMW motorcycle, ...
Strikes and other forms of labour unrest were common in 1950s Singapore. The year 1955 saw 57 cases of labour unrest involving bus company workers, including the Hock Lee bus workers’ strike and riot. That same year, bus workers of the Singapore Traction Company ...
In 1966, Singapore celebrated its 9 August National Day for the first time. It was a week-long string of festivities that included a big parade, fireworks displays, cultural shows, and dinner parties. It was actually Singapore’s second National Day. The very first ...
Established on 27 October 1954, Singapore Polytechnic (SP) was Singapore’s first polytechnic. Initially concerned with producing skilled technicians to support the nation’s move toward industrialisation, SP has since evolved to meet changing manpower needs as Singapore’s ...
Opium (Papaver somniferum) contributed significantly to the general trade in Singapore’s pioneering years. Encouraged by the British colonial government, it reaped great profit from opium licenses. However, many Chinese coolies succumbed to this vice as an escape ...
Freemasonry, a fraternal society, was first set up in Singapore on 8 December 1845 with the establishment of Lodge Zetland in the East, the oldest surviving Freemason lodge here. Its members are called Freemasons or Masons, and belong to lodges or temples. The ...
Iranian twin sisters, Laleh and Ladan Bijani, were the world’s first adult Siamese twins to undergo surgical separation. The 52-hour marathon operation began on 6 July 2003 at Raffles Hospital in Singapore. However, 29-year-old twins, who were born conjoined at ...
The Singapore Indian Education Trust (SIET) is an Indian community trust fund that supports the education of local Indians, particularly those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. It was set up in 1967 with trade unionist Govindasamy Kandasamy as one of ...