Religion in Singapore

Singapore is a secular multi-religious country due to its diverse ethnic mix of peoples originating from various countries. Most major religious denominations are present in Singapore. The most followed religion is Buddhism, with 33%[1] of the resident population declaring themselves as adherents at the most recent census. The majority of Malays are adherents of Islam[1] with a substantial community of Indian Muslims.

Culture of Singapore
The culture of Singapore has evolved down the years since the island country itself represents a wonderful blend of cultures as diverse as Malay, Chinese, Indian, and European. Naturally, Singapore, which was once a fishing village under the British Empire, is a composite and cohesive portrait of various cultures. The most striking part of Singapore culture is its rich ethnic multiplicity that has brought about a seamless diffusion in the way Singaporeans go about their everyday lives. As a result of the variegated backgrounds of Singaporeans, the country was originally divided into several ethnic areas such as Kampong Glam, Little India, and Chinatown. Now, however, these divisions no longer exist but traces of each individual culture remain in specific areas of Singapore.

Legal Framework
The Republic of Singapore has a legal system largely based on the British Westminster model, where the power to govern and administer the country is divided between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. Generally speaking, executive power of the government is vested in the President of the republic and a Cabinet of Ministers comprising a Prime Minister and other appointed Ministers. The power to legislate for the country is vested in Parliament with the President having a role to formally assent to bills and therefore give new pieces of legislation their legal effect. The President also has the role of keeping Parliament in check with regards to laws that may affect the financial resources of the country. The machinery to administer justice is the judiciary, which comprises the Supreme Court and the Subordinate Courts. The Supreme Court consists of the High Court, which exercises both original and appellate civil and criminal jurisdiction and the Court of Appeal, which exercises appellate civil and criminal jurisdiction. Any courts constituted under the Subordinate Courts Act (Chapter 321) and any other tribunal or judicial or quasi-judicial body that has a right of appeal to the Supreme Court are subordinate courts.

There are two major sources of law in Singapore. They are legislation and case law, or common law. Legislation refers to acts enacted by Parliament and subsidiary legislation made by various administrative bodies pursuant to powers given to them by statutes. In contrast, the common law is not embodied in any statutes; they are judgements that courts have delivered. Once a case has been decided, future cases with similar fact scenarios will be bound by the earlier decision if the earlier decision is made by a higher court in the same hierarchy. This ability of judges to make law is an identifying feature of countries like Singapore that follow the "common law" system as opposed to the "civil law" system. In civil law jurisdictions like France, Indonesia and Japan, all laws are codified by the legislature and there is an absence of judge-made law. Singapore's contract law is generally based on the common law of contract in England. Save for some situations where the common law has been specified or modified bylegislation, much of the law of contract in Singapore remains in the form of judge-made laws. Since 1970, Singapore has moved towards creating an autochthonous legal system. 1993 saw the abolishment of appeals to the Judicial Committee of Her Britannic Majesty's Privy Council as the highest court. The Court of Appeal, presided by the Chief Justice and 2 Justices of Appeal became the highest court in Singapore. These changes are largely due to the increasing confidence, recognition and standing of Singapore's legal system and the potential incompatibility of English law given the development of the European Union.
(Back to top)

Political and Legal Environment

Political System

Parliamentary Republic - the president is head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Legal system - based on English common law. Government structure - has three branches legislature, executive, and judiciary. Peoples Action Party (PAP) - the peoples party has won every general election since 1959. The Economist Intelligence Unit classifies Singapore as a hybrid country with both authoritarian and democratic elements.
Regulations and Laws that Impact Commerce

Censorship laws - the PAP employs censorship laws against opposition in order to impede their success, however, this does not have a major impact on commerce. Level of government intervention with business is low. Singapore offers a corruption free business environment with low tax rates.
Protectionism, subsidies, and barriers

Singapore protects and subsidizes some of its domestic airline, health care, and university industries. There are few trade barriers, Singapore is consistently rated as one of the best countries to do business. Singapore encourages investment and international business activity since it is highly dependent on imports and exports. Singapore employs low trade tariffs, efficient customs services, efficient import/export procedures, transparent border administration, top quality transport infrastructure, and efficient regulatory environment.
Political and economic alliances

Singapore is on of the participating nations in the ASEAN free trade area, the Singapore-European Free Trade Association (ESFTA), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GSFTA) with Japan, Korea, and the US. Singapore has many free trade area agreements with China, India, Japan, Korea, and Australia