The editor and authors are grateful to numerous individuals in the international community, in various agencies of the United States government, and in private organizations who gave of their time, research materials, and special knowledge to provide data and perspective for this study. Especially appreciated are the helpful suggestions and economic insights of Edward Chesky and Morris Crawford and the generous assistance of the staff of the Embassy of Singapore, Washington, D.C.

The editor and authors also wish to express their appreciation to staff members of the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, whose high standards and dedication helped shape this volume. These include Martha E. Hopkins, who managed editing; Marilyn L. Majeska, who reviewed editing and managed book production; and Barbara Edgerton and Izella Watson, who did word processing. David P. Cabitto and Sandra K. Ferrell prepared the maps and other graphics for the book, Carolina E. Forrester reviewed the maps, and Arvies J. Staton contributed to the charts on military ranks and insignia. Special thanks go to Kimberly A. Lord, who designed the illustrations for the cover of the volume and the title pages of the chapters, and Donald R. DeGlopper, who assisted with many of the editorial duties.

The following individuals are gratefully acknowledged as well: Shari Villarosa of the Department of State for reviewing all the chapters; Mimi Cantwell for editing the chapters; Cissie Coy for the final prepublication editorial review; Joan Cook for preparing the index; and Linda Peterson of the Printing and Processing Section, Library of Congress, for phototypesetting, under the direction of Peggy Pixley. The inclusion of photographs in the book was made possible by the generosity of private individuals and public agencies, especially Ong Tien Kwan of Kuala Lumpur and Chiang Yin-Pheng and Joyce Tan of the Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information.

Finally, the editor and authors wish to thank Federal Research Division staff members Andrea M. Savada, Sandra W. Meditz, and Richard Nyrop for reviewing all or parts of the manuscript, and Robert L. Worden for assisting in the final stages of editing the completed manuscript.

Preface

The first edition of the Area Handbook for Singapore was published in 1977. Prior to that edition, Singapore was included in the Area Handbook for Malaysia and Singapore, which was published in 1965 just before Singapore became a separate, independent nation. The current volume, a complete revision of the 1977 edition, covers a period of remarkable economic growth and political stability for a nation in existence for only a quarter century. During the 1977-89 period, Singapore moved assuredly into the category of newly industrializing economy, and its reknowned port grew from being fourth in the world in terms of volume of shipping to being the world's busiest port.

Singapore: A Country Study is an attempt to present an objective and concise account of the dominant social, economic, political, and national security concerns of contemporary Singapore within an historical framework. The volume represents the combined efforts of a multidisciplinary team, which used as its sources a variety of scholarly monographs and journals, official reports of government and international organizations, and foreign and domestic newspapers and periodicals.

The authors have limited the use of foreign and technical terms, which are defined when they first appear in the study. Spellings of Singaporean personal names used in the study conform to standard Singaporean usage, and contemporary place names are generally those approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names. All measurements are given in the metric system.

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Source: U.S. Library of Congress