SINGAPORE – Small but terrible is this city-state.
One of the 20 tiniest countries in the world in terms of land area, Singapore is slightly bigger than the whole of Metro Manila.
Composed of one main island and 63 others, its size is about 710 square kilometers. Its biggest island is about 617 square kilometers which, in turn, is smaller compared to Metro Manila.
Does size really matter? Not quite.
The smallest nation in Southeast Asia is the 5th wealthiest country in the world in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita. As of January 2009, its official reserves stand at US$170.3 billion.
The low average of crime rate per year compared to all nations, including the Philippines, suggests that residents in general are satisfied and happy. One consideration is that only a few individuals here do not have jobs.
Over the past few years, the unemployment average rate is about three percent (the percent of the labor force that is without job). In the Philippines, the unemployment rate was more than seven percent in the last two years.
In Canada, the average unemployment rate is about six percent over the past few years.
The population of Singapore is 4.99 million as of the latest data gathered this year. Of which, 3.2 million are native citizens and 533,000 are permanent residents.
Along with Monaco and Hong Kong, it’s one of the densely populated places in the world.
LION CITY
One of the three surviving sovereign city-states, Singapore is also known as Lion City derived from the English language “Singapore” meaning “lion-city” in Malay Singapura. But never did lions roam this place since time in memoriam.
Nevertheless, Singapore’s nickname suits it best – lions are indeed kings.
With respect to other nations in Asia I have seen and read about, this country dominated by various Chinese linguistic groups (74 percent of the total population) is by far the best.
Well-travelled, well-read fellow journalist Ashley Manabat of Pampanga may dispute me on my “best rating” for Singapore. He has travelled not just in Asia but in Europe.
Singapore is the best for me and many others who have experienced it because it’s one of the safest, cleanest and friendliest countries in the universe.
What the use and significance of all the popular destinations and sites in all parts of the world if the host people are not as courteous, honest and kind as the Singaporeans?
PINOYS LOVE IT
Carol Condat gave up her job as casino floor manager to find her future in this country which achieved total independence on August 9, 1965.
“I chose to work in Singapore because you can jog around at any time of the day and no one will harm you,” said Carol, who teaches elementary students at Hougang here.
She lives with five other Filipinos – Lawrence Narciso, Red Esparagoza, Jojo Natividad, Arianne Sunega and Rissa Martinez – in a government-owned Housing Development Board (HDB) condominium in Woodlands, here.
Red, a computer engineering graduate at the Adamson University in Manila, agreed with the comments of Carol about their second home. But his experiences are quite different when the topic is about how safe and great it is to live in the country whose form of government is parliamentary republic.
Red disclosed that he could not count how many times he had lost his wallet but was returned by local folk, mostly riding with him in Mass Railway Transit (MRT) trains.
“There was even a time I was already rushing out of a MRT station when someone yelled at me to get my attention and returned my wallet containing money and bank checks for payment to our unit,” said Red, who works for Apple computers here. He disclosed that there are at least 200,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the petite nation whose sea port is regarded as one of the busiest in the world.
Lawrence, a native of Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga, said what he liked most is that the government and private firms treat all races and their workers equally.
“As long as you can do the job and you are qualified they will hire you here. But they prefer those with experiences,” added Lawrence, who was with Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) company as a Revenue Assurance Engineer for eight years before settling here in 2007. He and Jojo are now with MobileOne Ltd., a wireless mobile service provider.
This reporter roamed Singapore alone for a few days and realized why all the praises for the nation developed as a trading port for the so-called ‘spice route’ by the British East India Company led by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819.
I have asked some people a couple of times about directions and they really helped me. In some cases, they even walked with me even If they were supposed to travel in the opposite direction to make sure I ride the correct bus or MRT train.
The public transportation system– reliant on the MRT which carries about 1/3 of the total population daily — has made travelling in all places easy combined with equally reliable buses and taxis.
Discipline is implanted deep among the citizens and residents– it’s like a habit for them to follow rules even if no one sees them. No wonder this nation is peaceful and progressive.
Credit, of course, is due to the father-and-son Lee who ruled the country with an iron fist but with a, well, they call it ‘tough love’ in one of those values formation and rehabilitation centers back home.
“How come you are friendly to strangers?” so I asked Aizsa Wong, a 17-year-old female college student who was taking a tourism course here.
“It’s my personality. My parents teach me to be courteous. Besides, I have not seen any bad things happening to us talking with strangers and tourists in my entire life in Singapore,” she said. She even helped this reporter get access to the free city-wide wi-fi service.
(To be concluded)
One of the 20 tiniest countries in the world in terms of land area, Singapore is slightly bigger than the whole of Metro Manila.
Composed of one main island and 63 others, its size is about 710 square kilometers. Its biggest island is about 617 square kilometers which, in turn, is smaller compared to Metro Manila.
Does size really matter? Not quite.
The smallest nation in Southeast Asia is the 5th wealthiest country in the world in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita. As of January 2009, its official reserves stand at US$170.3 billion.
The low average of crime rate per year compared to all nations, including the Philippines, suggests that residents in general are satisfied and happy. One consideration is that only a few individuals here do not have jobs.
Over the past few years, the unemployment average rate is about three percent (the percent of the labor force that is without job). In the Philippines, the unemployment rate was more than seven percent in the last two years.
In Canada, the average unemployment rate is about six percent over the past few years.
The population of Singapore is 4.99 million as of the latest data gathered this year. Of which, 3.2 million are native citizens and 533,000 are permanent residents.
Along with Monaco and Hong Kong, it’s one of the densely populated places in the world.
LION CITY
One of the three surviving sovereign city-states, Singapore is also known as Lion City derived from the English language “Singapore” meaning “lion-city” in Malay Singapura. But never did lions roam this place since time in memoriam.
Nevertheless, Singapore’s nickname suits it best – lions are indeed kings.
With respect to other nations in Asia I have seen and read about, this country dominated by various Chinese linguistic groups (74 percent of the total population) is by far the best.
Well-travelled, well-read fellow journalist Ashley Manabat of Pampanga may dispute me on my “best rating” for Singapore. He has travelled not just in Asia but in Europe.
Singapore is the best for me and many others who have experienced it because it’s one of the safest, cleanest and friendliest countries in the universe.
What the use and significance of all the popular destinations and sites in all parts of the world if the host people are not as courteous, honest and kind as the Singaporeans?
PINOYS LOVE IT
Carol Condat gave up her job as casino floor manager to find her future in this country which achieved total independence on August 9, 1965.
“I chose to work in Singapore because you can jog around at any time of the day and no one will harm you,” said Carol, who teaches elementary students at Hougang here.
She lives with five other Filipinos – Lawrence Narciso, Red Esparagoza, Jojo Natividad, Arianne Sunega and Rissa Martinez – in a government-owned Housing Development Board (HDB) condominium in Woodlands, here.
Red, a computer engineering graduate at the Adamson University in Manila, agreed with the comments of Carol about their second home. But his experiences are quite different when the topic is about how safe and great it is to live in the country whose form of government is parliamentary republic.
Red disclosed that he could not count how many times he had lost his wallet but was returned by local folk, mostly riding with him in Mass Railway Transit (MRT) trains.
“There was even a time I was already rushing out of a MRT station when someone yelled at me to get my attention and returned my wallet containing money and bank checks for payment to our unit,” said Red, who works for Apple computers here. He disclosed that there are at least 200,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the petite nation whose sea port is regarded as one of the busiest in the world.
Lawrence, a native of Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga, said what he liked most is that the government and private firms treat all races and their workers equally.
“As long as you can do the job and you are qualified they will hire you here. But they prefer those with experiences,” added Lawrence, who was with Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) company as a Revenue Assurance Engineer for eight years before settling here in 2007. He and Jojo are now with MobileOne Ltd., a wireless mobile service provider.
This reporter roamed Singapore alone for a few days and realized why all the praises for the nation developed as a trading port for the so-called ‘spice route’ by the British East India Company led by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819.
I have asked some people a couple of times about directions and they really helped me. In some cases, they even walked with me even If they were supposed to travel in the opposite direction to make sure I ride the correct bus or MRT train.
The public transportation system– reliant on the MRT which carries about 1/3 of the total population daily — has made travelling in all places easy combined with equally reliable buses and taxis.
Discipline is implanted deep among the citizens and residents– it’s like a habit for them to follow rules even if no one sees them. No wonder this nation is peaceful and progressive.
Credit, of course, is due to the father-and-son Lee who ruled the country with an iron fist but with a, well, they call it ‘tough love’ in one of those values formation and rehabilitation centers back home.
“How come you are friendly to strangers?” so I asked Aizsa Wong, a 17-year-old female college student who was taking a tourism course here.
“It’s my personality. My parents teach me to be courteous. Besides, I have not seen any bad things happening to us talking with strangers and tourists in my entire life in Singapore,” she said. She even helped this reporter get access to the free city-wide wi-fi service.
(To be concluded)
