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Capital: Singapore
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Singapore was a quiet fishing village when the British arrived in 1819. They turned it into a great trading city and naval base but lost it to the Japanese in 1942. Singapore became independent in 1959 and joined Malaysia in 1962 but it broke away in 1965 when the island's Chinese majority realised that their culture, values and goals were profoundly different from those of the Muslim Malays. Singapore prospered under Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew but his iron-fisted government turned it into an antiseptic beehive. He stepped down in 1990 but the government has remained very strict and the people hard working and highly disciplined. |
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I have spent almost a week here in 1975 on my way back from a business trip to Tokyo. This time I stayed overnight, flew to Penang, came back by bus stopping in Kuala Lumpur and Melaka and flew on to Bali after a couple of days.
Taoist and Buddhist temples are common for almost 80% of Singaporeans are Chinese.
I could not tell you weather this is a Taoist or a Buddhist temple for they look alike to me. Confucianist temples also look like this...
This picture shows the well kept residential Bussorah street near the Sultan Mosque with the 5 star Plaza Hotel in the background.
Personally I have the impression that money is the predominant religion in Singapore as it is in many other places where churches and temples serve little more than a decorative function. Here, being Muslim contributes to the identity of the Malay minority as the Hindu religion remains the cultural hallmark of Singapore's Indians.
Below, the prosperous Sultan Mosque founded in 1825 and the colourful Sri Mariamman Temple founded in 1827. There are also a variety of Christian places of worship but few worshipers.
