Singapore

[Radu]

Hi all

I just received this message below. I know nothing about Singapore politics, nor its natal chart (what time on Aug 9, 1965?), but there are forum members from Singapore, who might help with more information.

Please calculate the country chart for Singapore. 9th August 1965. Singapore will be having a general election on 6th of may this coming sat. I\'m interested to know the about the election from the astrological perspective. Thanks!

[Draco]

Hi Radu,

As you know I am not from Singapore. However, as there has as yet been no response from a Singaporean, I decided that I would try and have a look to see what information I could find out about Singapore's mundane data, and Singaporean politics.

There are two dates which are probably the most significant in Singapore's history as far as the country as it exists today is concerned.

The first is the 31st of August in 1963, when Singapore declared it's independance from the British.

The second is the date that the person who sent the message stated: 9th August 1965. This is the date that Singapore's independace from the British was made official, as opposed to the declaration of it's independance, so is probably a more significant chart, especially as this is the date that the person who sent you the message wishes you to consult.

I tried to look for a time of day at which this making official of Singapore's independance as a nation, but I could not find any information.

I feel that the significant moment in this case would most probably have been midnight, and so the first moment of the 9th of August in that year.

This is because usually when authorities determine a date at which something will happen, such as a new law, or in this case a new, independant nation, they will set a date in the near future, and it is the first moment of this date in which the new law is implemented, so midnight for the 9th August is probably your best bet. This is because those in power would have said 'So..we will make Singapore officially independant on the 9th of August'. It is unlikely that they will have set an official time for this occurance, but would have concentrated solely on that particular date, so the midnight chart would be the best, as this date's first moment, as so the birth of a new Singapore.

Upon the relevant history of Singapore, I found this in Wikipedia:

Singapore became a self-governing state in 1959 with Yusof bin Ishak as its first head of state and Lee Kuan Yew from the People's Action Party (PAP) as its first Prime Minister, after the 1959 elections. The Merger Referendum passed in 1962 and led to Singapore joining the Federation of Malaysia along with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak as a state with autonomous powers in September 1963. Singapore was expelled from the federation on 7 August 1965 after heated ideological conflict developed between the state government formed by PAP and the Federal government in Kuala Lumpur. It gained official sovereignty two days later on 9 August 1965, which later became Singapore's National Day. Malaysia was the first country to recognise it as an independent nation.

This mentions nothing about a particular time at which this event took place, no signing of papers, no shaking of hands. So I imagine that this independance was set as a date, and not as particular time on this date, so I feel that the independance would have become effective at midnight, the first moment of August 9th.

On Singaporean politics:

Singapore is a republic with a Westminster system of a unicameral parliamentary government. The bulk of the executive powers rests in the hands of the Cabinet of Singapore, which consists of ministers led by the Prime Minister of Singapore. The office of the President of Singapore was, historically, a ceremonial one as head of state, but the Constitution of Singapore was amended in 1991 to create the position of a popularly elected President and also to grant the President veto powers in a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of key judiciary positions.[9] The legislative branch of government is the Parliament.

Singaporean politics have been dominated by the People's Action Party (PAP) since the country's independence in 1965.[10] Foreign political analysts and several opposition parties including the Workers' Party of Singapore and the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) have argued that Singapore is a de facto one-party state. Many consider the form of government in Singapore to be closer to authoritarianism such as illiberal democracy or procedural democracy rather than true democracy. Reporters Without Borders ranked Singapore 140th out of 167 countries in its 2005 Worldwide Press Freedom Index. It has also been alleged that the PAP employs censorship, gerrymandering and the filing of civil suits against the opposition for libel or slander to impede their success. Several former and present leaders of the opposition, including Francis Seow, J.B. Jeyaretnam and Chee Soon Juan perceive the Singaporean courts as favourable towards the government and the PAP due to a lack of separation of powers. Nevertheless, there are a few cases where the courts ruled in favour of the opposition.[11]

Singapore has what its government considers to be a highly successful and transparent market economy. The PAP's policies contain some aspects of socialism. The Housing Development Board oversees a large-scale public housing programme and education in Singapore is a rigorous compulsory public education system, and the dominance of government-controlled companies in the local economy. Although dominant in its activities, the government has a clean, corruption-free image. Singapore has consistently been rated as the least-corrupt country in Asia and amongst the top ten cleanest in the world by Transparency International.[12]

Although Singapore's laws are inherited from British and British Indian laws, including many elements of English common law, the PAP has also consistently rejected liberal democratic values, which it typifies as Western and states that there should not be a 'one-size-fits-all' solution to a democracy. Laws restricting the freedom of speech are justified by claims that they are intended to prohibit speech that may breed ill will or cause disharmony within Singapore's multiracial, multi-religious society. For example, in September 2005, three bloggers were convicted with sedition for posting racist remarks targeting minorities.[13] Some offences can lead to heavy fines or caning and there are laws which allow capital punishment in Singapore for first-degree murder and drug trafficking. Amnesty International has criticised Singapore for having "possibly the highest execution rate in the world" per capita.[14] The Singapore Government responded by asserting it had the right as a sovereign state to impose the death penalty for serious offenses.[15] Most recently, the PAP has relaxed some of its socially conservative policies and encouraged entrepreneurship.

Hope this helps.

Draco :wink: