History of The Republic of Singapore - 2000 To Present

2000 To Present

In the first few years of the 21st century, Singapore went through some of its most serious postwar crises, including the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the threat of terrorism. In December 2001, a plot to bomb embassies and other infrastructure in Singapore was uncovered and 15 members of the Jemaah Islamiyah were arrested under the Internal Security Act. Major counter-terrorism measures were put in place to detect and prevent potential terrorism acts and to minimize damages should they occur. Meanwhile, the economy was affected marginally during the crisis, and in 2003, the average monthly household income was SGD$4,870.

In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister of Singapore. A number of national policy changes have been proposed and carried out since then. One of these changes was the reduction of National Service training requirements from two and a half years to two during 2005. The government also introduced a "Cutting Red Tape" program, which allows citizens to share their views on law, punishment, social and world issues.

The general election of 2006 has been considered by analysts to be a landmark election in the history of Singapore, because of the heavy use of the internet and blogging that covered the election, which escaped government regulation. Just before the election, on 1 May 2006, the government issued a cash bonus, called the "progress package" to all adult citizens, worth SGD $2.6 billion. The PAP returned to power in the election winning 82 out of 84 seats, and 66% of the votes. During the election campaign period, there were large turnouts at many opposition rallies, with Malaysian newspaper The Star estimating that over ten thousand people attended one rally held on 30 April 2006.

Singapore's bilateral post-independence relationship with Malaysia is complex and rocky at times. Despite their differences, Malaysia remains an important, albeit partial, economic hinterland and a regional ally, especially due to both their memberships in ASEAN. This importance becomes especially apparent when considering that much of Singapore's water supply comes from Malaysia, and that fresh produce not otherwise grown in Singapore domestically is imported from Malaysian farms. Singapore has signed treaties in 1961 and 1962 to buy water from Malaysia, which expire in 2011 and 2061 respectively. It currently appears both may not be renewed. Malaysia and Singapore have been known to chide or even issue threats to each other in the course taken after independence, but fortunately this has never become serious enough to develop into embargo or hostility.

There are increasing reforms in the Education system. Primary education was made compulsory in 2003. This style of educational policy was still extremely competitive, and favoured those that did well initially, and tended to ignore the suffering students, in the process of streaming. This remained a controversial issue even today, being for instance brought up in the successful local film I Not Stupid which also addresses the culture of competition induced by the post-independence education policy. Although the education policy has evolved over the years to address such concerns, the streaming issue is still prominent.