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Estimated population of Singapore citizens and permanent residents - 3,163,500 as at June 1998.

Chinese            77%

Malays             14%

Indians            7.6%

Other ethnic groups 1.4%

Working Language: English

Other official languages: Mandarin, Malay & Tamil.

Planners expect the population of Singapore to reach 5.5 million by 2040 or 2050, taking into account an expected increase in the number of foreigners working here. From just 3 million in 1990, the number has swelled to 3.9 million today, including 700 000 foreigners.

A high-level working committee is now looking at ways to encourage more couples to have babies. Demographer Saw Swee Hock says that if the fertility rate continues to stay below two, the population here, minus the foreigners, will peak at about 3.3 million in 2025 and then begin to drop.

 

Singapore's water is clean and safe to drink from the tap. There is no need to boil it.

 

The Editor

Raymond Han

You can e-mail him at editor@getforme.com

 

 

The WEATHER TODAY: Showers with thunder over many areas in the late morning and early afternoon. WATER TIDES High tide  12.13am 2.7m  11.26pm 3.1m SUN Sunrise 6.57 am Sunset 7.09 pm MOON Moonrise 7.31am  Moonset  8.06pm   PSI: 35 (good) TEMPERATURE: 24-31  degrees Celsius (The weather is updated daily at 7am Singapore time)    

Previous FrontPages 

Yesterday   June 2000   May 2000   Apr 2000   Jan-Mar 2000  1999   

Currency Converter      Singapore Currency Notes      My E-mail Account

     Int'l Dragon Boat Festival opens at Marina Bay!

Coming This Weekend

Singaporean Cooking with Madam Kang

She will show you how to prepare some dishes Singaporeans eat at home.

Take a stroll with our photographer down to the Central Fire Station in Hill Street.

Click logo to enter

  The International Dragon Boat Race is here again. Now into its 22nd consecutive year, the Race is being held today and tomorrow at Marina Bay.

  The first Dragon Boat Races were recorded in the Tsin period. Traditionally, a paddler stands in the boat while a drummer beats a big drum. The boat is typically decorated with ferocious dragon designs to frighten away evil water spirits. Dragon Boat Races have been around for thousands of years. They are part and parcel of the Dumpling Festival.

  Legend has it that about 2300 years ago in China, a well-respected poet and statesman, Qu Yuan, served as a Minister of State in the kingdom of Chu. He was disturbed by the corruption and the court intrigues of many courtiers who resented his talent, popularity and sense of righteousness.

  It has been said that these officials convinced the emperor that Qu Yuan was corrupt and the emperor banished him from the kingdom. Dejected, he wandered through the countryside, composing poems which expressed his patriotism and love of the people.

  Finally, he threw himself into the Mei Lo river (in the present day Hunan Province) on the 5th day of the 5th month in the year 278 BC. He composed two famous poems, Ai Ying and Huai Sha, before jumping into the river with a large stone tied to himself. Local fishermen who witnessed this sailed up and down the river looking for him. Desperately, they thrashed the water with their oars to scare off hungry fish.

  To remember this patriotic man, the fishermen and villagers threw cooked rice dumplings, wrapped in silk or banana leaves, into the river to appease the spirits of the river on his death anniversary.

  So, it is up till today that this custom has prevailed. Next Tuesday, 6 June 2000, is the 5th day of the 5th month in the lunar calendar. All Chinese families around the world, except those in mourning, remember Qu Yuan by wrapping rice dumplings. Chinese communities also commemorate the occasion by hosting Dragon Boat Races.

  So, if you are free this weekend, why not make a trip to Marina Bay to join in the excitement.

If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail us at editor@getforme.com. Our regular Mid-Week Banking Column has been held over due to the Singapore Arts Festival.

NEW WEBSITES

sailing.org.sg is the website of the Singapore Yachting Association. You can also find useful tide tables.

singnet.com.sg/~scfinfo is the website of the Singapore Canoe Federation.

focus-asia.com/home/liping is a homegrown Sign Language website. It has more than 150 pictures illustrating commonly used local hand signs in 14 categories.

CircleShop.com.sg helps you find the perfect gift for your loved ones.

FilmWorks.com.sg is the place to visit for short films by local and international directors.

17play.com.sg is an online computer-game website launched on 29 May 2000. You can play games, such as Rogue Spear, and even create your own chatrooms.

concavescream.com.sg is the website of homegrown music band Concave Scream. 

ProfessionWeb.com is a legal web portal which aims to meet the needs of lawyers, both in Singapore & around the world. It also offers law firms help in designing websites and putting them on the Internet.

chessgallery carries a wide range of chess sets and accessories.

Eyeball.com.sg or the print version, a morning tabloid, Project Eyeball, is a new newspaper set to hit the streets and the cyber-highways in the middle of the year. Coming to you from Singapore Press Holdings (SPH).

one-99shop.com is coming to you soon! This shop already has nine branches selling everything at S$1.99 each. Items range from crockery, utensils, confectionery,  household accessories, artificial flowers to Hello Kitty stationery.

BANKmates: Get a Personal Assistant to do your errands in Singapore.

SporesCity www.sporescity.com 

The Singaporean website community Set up your company's website here. More...

We are now 642 pages thick and growing.

Public Holidays NATIONAL DAY is the next public holiday. It falls on Wednesday 9 August 2000.

General Message Board

Singapore Cemetery Warren Message Board 

BackPackers' Message Board

MyEPB bookstore opened on 1 Jun 2000 at Suntec City Mall #B1-025. It has an area of 23000 sq ft.

GOVERNMENT SNIPPETS

* Singapore Film Society's new address, effective 10 May 2000, is 5A Raffles Ave #03-01 Marina Leisureplex Singapore 039801.

NEW: Subscribe to our Weekly Internet Edition mailing list so that we can keep you informed of the latest happenings in Singapore. To subscribe, click SINGAPORE.

Please sign our guestbook... Thank you.

GOVERNMENT MATTERS

Singapore Government Website   Police Ministry Of Education  Consular Matters & Migrating (known as permanent residency)

Setting up a business? Do a free Name Search first to see whether the name you want is available. Click RCB.

BUILDINGS TO BE PULLED DOWN

The 17-storey Cathay Building, which houses Cathay Cinema (opened on 3 Oct 1939), is to make way for a new 15-storey shopping-office-cinema complex. It was completed in 1941.

EscapeArtist.Com  The website on overseas living for international job seekers and expatriates.  

ExpatSingapore  For expatriates planning to relocate to Singapore. Provides excellent information on Singapore.  

ContactSingapore  Step-by-step guide to applying for a job, getting an employment pass, remuneration structure and corporate culture. 

Useful Services  Relocating to Singapore?

Singapore International Dragon Boat Festival 3 - 4 Jun 2000 at Marina Bay.

The Dumpling Festival is coming! It falls on 6 June 2000. From now till then, every Chinese family in Singapore (except those in mourning) will be busy making rice dumplings to celebrate the occasion.

AF2000 is Temasek Polytechnic's 3rd international Singapore Animation Fiesta 2000 website. The festival runs from 9 - 11 June 2000 at SICEC Suntec City.

Singapore Arts Festival 2000

1 - 25 Jun 2000

See Entertainment for more local happenings!

TOURISTS

Tourism Board

Tourist Arrival Statistics

BackPackers' Corner

Luggage Repair

Rent A Car

To get free copies of brochures on Singapore, including Singapore Official Guide, please click HERE.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Low Lying Areas In Singapore  Lists the flood-prone areas in Singapore.

Things you should know  Tells you things you need to be aware of. 

Good Eats

10 MUST VISIT places

FleaMarts

Shopping Complaints

Nature

The top ten fiction and non-fiction titles sold at these bookstores last week

This website is updated throughout the day every day and the Frontpage is updated between 10.00 pm and 12.00am Singapore time (+8 hours GMT).  

    
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Copyright ©1999, 2000  All rights reserved  Just A Click Away™

 

 Saturday 3 June 2000

The average monthly household income of Housing Board residents has risen by about 40% from S$2653 in 1993 to S$3719 in 1998. According to the Housing Board's latest household survey, practically every household has a television set, telephone, and refrigerator.

DBS Bank yesterday confirmed it had shut down 45 branches since its merger with POSBank in November 1998, and plans to close another 12 by next month, to cut costs and encourage greater use of electronic banking channels.

Retired Sr police staff sergeant Goh Teck Yong, 57, was yesterday charged with corruptly giving Koh Chee Wah, 43, two bottles of liquor worth S$720 at Popular KTV Karoake Lounge in Serangoon Shopping Centre. He allegedly gave Koh the bribe on 9 November 1994 when he was still a policeman. Goh retired in 1998 and is now a security officer. 

Asia

Taipei: Taiwan yesterday signalled its readiness to resume dialogue with China, with its Prime Minister telling Parliament that his government was willing to start comprehensive cross-strait talks, including those of a political nature, as well as review its policy on direct links. 

Around the world

Washington: Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that the United States and Russia jointly develop a missile shield to protect against nuclear attacks by 'rogue states'.

Courtesy of The Straits Times

News updated by 8.00 am daily.

 

SINGAPORE SLING

30ml Gin

15ml Cherry Brandy

120ml Pineapple Juice

15ml Lime Juice

7.5ml Cointreau

7.5ml Dom Benedictine

10ml Grenadine

A dash of Angostura Bitters

Garnish with a slice of pineapple & cherry

The Singapore Sling was created by Raffles Hotel bartender Mr Ngiam Tong Boon.

ECONOMY

The consumer price index (CPI) for March 2000 dipped by 0.3% compared to February 2000. Food prices fell by 1.6% due mainly to cheaper seafood, vegetables and fresh pork. The cost of transport and communications fell by 0.2% due to falling car prices.

The CPI is used as an inflation gauge by measuring the change in the prices of a fixed basket of goods purchased commonly by most households.

The Government has forecast that inflation will be within 2% this year.