Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that answer the question.
Query: Was Singapore ever formerly occupied?
Stamford Raffles founded colonial Singapore in 1819 as a trading post of the British East India Company. After the company's collapse in 1858, the islands were ceded to the British Raj as a crown colony. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan. It gained independence from the UK in 1963 by federating with other former British territories to form Malaysia, but separated two years later over ideological differences, becoming a sovereign nation in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce.
Singapore is the United Kingdom's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia, with two thirds of UK exports to this region flowing into Singapore. UK exports of goods only to Singapore in 2010 were valued at £3.29billion, a 15% increase from 2009 while imports of goods from Singapore in 2010 were valued at £3.99billion, an 18% increase from 2009. The top exports of UK goods to Singapore are power generating machinery, beverages and general industrial machinery while the top exported goods from Singapore were organic chemical, power generating machinery and office machines. As of 2009, Singapore was the UK’s 11th largest market for services exports. 
There are few import tariffs from Singapore who supports the World Trade Organization process fully. Singapore was the first ASEAN country to commence negotiations with the EU for a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The Philippines and Indonesia strenuously objected to this development, with Indonesia claiming Malaysia represented a form of neocolonialism and the Philippines claiming Sabah as its territory. The United Nations sent a commission to the region which approved the merger after having delayed the date of Malaysia's formation to investigate. Despite further protests from the Indonesian President, Sukarno, the formation of Malaysia was proclaimed on 16 September 1963. Indonesia then declared a "confrontation" with Malaysia, sending commandos to perform guerilla attacks in East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). The confrontation was ended when a military coup replaced Sukarno with Suharto. The Philippines, which had withdrawn diplomatic recognition from Malaysia, also recognised Malaysia around the same time.
In the 17th century, porcelain and spices were found in several Malay states and were actively traded. Large deposits of tin were found in several Malay states. Later, as the British started to take over as administrators of Malaya, rubber and palm oil trees were introduced for commercial purposes. Instead of relying on the local Malays as a source of labour, the British brought in Chinese and Indians to work in the mines and plantations and provide professional expertise. Although many of them returned to their respective home countries after their agreed tenure ended, some remained in Malaysia and settled permanently. These three commodities along with other raw materials firmly set Malaysia's economic tempo well into the mid-20th century. As Malaya moved towards independence, the government began implementing economic five-year plans, beginning with the First Malayan Five Year Plan in 1955. Upon the establishment of Malaysia, the plans were re-titled and renumbered, beginning with the First Malaysia Plan in 1965.
The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong (香港日據時期) began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surrender occurred after 18 days of fierce fighting against the overwhelming Japanese forces that had invaded the territory. The occupation lasted for three years and eight months until Japan surrendered at the end of Second World War. The length of this period (三年零八個月) later became a metonym of the occupation.
In 1956, members of the Legislative Assembly held constitutional talks with the Colonial Office in London. The talks broke down as Marshall did not agree to the British Government's proposal for the casting vote on a proposed Defence Council to be held by the British High Commissioner to Singapore, who would only exercise it in an emergency. Marshall resigned as Chief Minister in June 1956, and was replaced by Lim Yew Hock. The following year, Lim led another delegation to the UK for further talks on self-government. This time, agreement was reached on the composition of an Internal Security Council. Other constitutional arrangements were swiftly settled in 1958, and on 1 August the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the State of Singapore Act 1958, granting the colony full internal self-government. Under Singapore's new constitution which came into force on 3 June 1959, the Governor was replaced by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State), who had power to appoint as Prime Minister the person most likely to command the authority of the Legislative Assembly, and other Ministers of the Cabinet on the Prime Minister's advice. The Constitution also created the post of the British High Commissioner, who was entitled to receive the agenda of each Cabinet meeting and to see all Cabinet papers. In the 1959 general elections, the People's Action Party (PAP) swept to power with 43 out of the 51 seats in the Assembly, and Lee Kuan Yew became the first Prime Minister of Singapore. Nine other Ministers were appointed to the Cabinet.
The earliest predecessor of the Cabinet was the Executive Council of the Straits Settlements, introduced in 1877 to advise the Governor of the Straits Settlements. It wielded no executive power. In 1955, a Council of Ministers was created, made up of three "ex officio" Official Members and six Elected Members of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore, appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Leader of the House. Following the general elections that year, David Saul Marshall became the first Chief Minister of Singapore. Constitutional talks between Legislative Assembly representatives and the Colonial Office were held from 1956 to 1958, and Singapore gained full internal self-government in 1959. The Governor was replaced by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, who had power to appoint to the post of Prime Minister the person most likely to command the authority of the Assembly, and other Ministers of the Cabinet on the Prime Minister's advice. In the 1959 general elections, the People's Action Party swept to power with 43 out of the 51 seats in the Assembly, and Lee Kuan Yew became the first Prime Minister of Singapore. The executive branch of the Singapore Government remained unchanged following Singapore's merger with Malaysia in 1963, and subsequent independence in 1965.
Singapore's total trade in 2014 amounted to S$982 billion. Despite its small size, Singapore is currently the fifteenth-largest trading partner of the United States. In 2014, Singapore's imports totalled $464 billion, and exports totalled $519 billion. Malaysia was Singapore's main import source, as well as its largest export market, absorbing 18% of Singapore's exports, with the United States close behind.
After the First World War, the British built the large Singapore Naval Base as part of the defensive Singapore strategy. Originally announced in 1923, the construction of the base proceeded slowly until the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. When completed in 1939, at the very large cost of $500 million, it boasted what was then the largest dry dock in the world, the third-largest floating dock, and having enough fuel tanks to support the entire British navy for six months. It was defended by heavy 15-inch naval guns stationed at Fort Siloso, Fort Canning and Labrador, as well as a Royal Air Force airfield at Tengah Air Base. Winston Churchill touted it as the "Gibraltar of the East" and military discussions often referred to the base as simply "East of Suez". Unfortunately, it was a base without a fleet. The British Home Fleet was stationed in Europe, and the British could not afford to build a second fleet to protect its interests in Asia. The plan was for the Home Fleet to sail quickly to Singapore in the event of an emergency. However, after World War II broke out in 1939, the fleet was fully occupied with defending Britain.
In 1956, members of the Legislative Assembly held constitutional talks with the Colonial Office in London. The talks broke down as Marshall did not agree to the British Government's proposal for the casting vote on a proposed Defence Council to be held by the British High Commissioner to Singapore, who would only exercise it in an emergency. Marshall resigned as Chief Minister in June 1956, and was replaced by Lim Yew Hock. The following year, Lim led another delegation to the UK for further talks on self-government. This time, agreement was reached on the composition of an Internal Security Council. Other constitutional arrangements were swiftly settled in 1958, and on 1 August the United Kingdom Parliament passed the State of Singapore Act 1958, granting the colony full internal self-government. Under Singapore's new constitution, which came into force on 3 June 1959, the Legislative Assembly consisted of 51 elected members and the Governor was replaced by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State), who had power to appoint as Prime Minister the person most likely to command the authority of the Legislative Assembly, and other Ministers of the Cabinet on the Prime Minister's advice. In the 1959 general elections, the People's Action Party swept to power with 43 out of the 51 seats in the Assembly, and Lee Kuan Yew became the first Prime Minister of Singapore.
Group C
Throughout the Imperial Japanese occupation, Hong Kong was ruled as a detained terrain and was subjected to martial law. Headed by General Rensuke Isogai, the Imperial Japanese established their administration and commanding post at the Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon. The military government, composed of the departments of politics, civilian, economy, judiciary, and navy, enacted stringent regulations and established executive bureaus to have power over all residents of Hong Kong. They also set up the puppet Chinese Representative Council and Chinese Cooperative Council consisting of local leading Chinese and Eurasian community leaders. On top of Governor Mark Young, 7,000 British soldiers and civilians were kept in prisoner-of-war or internment camps, such as Sham Shui Po Prisoner Camp and Stanley Internment Camp. Famine, malnourishment and sickness were pervasive. Severe cases of malnutrition among inmates occurred in the Stanley Internment Camp in 1945. Moreover, the Imperial Japanese military government blockaded Victoria Harbour and controlled warehouses.
The word "ringgit" is an obsolete term for "jagged" in Malay and was originally used to refer to the serrated edges of silver Spanish dollars which circulated widely in the area during the 16th and 17th century Portuguese colonial era. In modern usage "ringgit" is used almost solely for the currency. Due to the common heritage of the three modern currencies, the Singapore dollar and the Brunei dollar are also called "ringgit" in Malay (currencies such as the US and Australian dollars are translated as "dolar"), although nowadays the Singapore dollar is more commonly called "dolar" in Malay. To differentiate between the three currencies, the Malaysian currency is referred to as "Ringgit Malaysia", hence the official abbreviation and currency symbol "RM". Internationally, the ISO 4217 currency code for Malaysian ringgit is "MYR".
After the British acquired Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories from the Qing between 1841 (officially 1842) and 1898, large numbers of merchants and workers came to Hong Kong from the city of Canton, the main center of Cantonese. Cantonese became the dominant spoken language in Hong Kong. The frequent migration between Hong Kong and mainland Cantonese-speaking areas did not cease up until 1949, when the Communists took over Mainland China. During this period, the Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong was very similar to that in Canton.
Malaysia and Vietnam are two Southeast Asian countries with maritime boundaries which meet in the Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea. The two countries have overlapping claims over the continental shelf in the Gulf of Thailand. Both countries have, however, come to an agreement to jointly exploit the natural resources in the disputed area pending resolution of the dispute over sovereignty.
The origin of the Second Sino-Japanese War can be traced to the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, in which China, then under the Qing dynasty, was defeated by Japan and was forced to cede Formosa, and to recognize the full and complete independence of Korea in the Treaty of Shimonoseki; Japan had also allegedly annexed the Diaoyudao/Senkaku Islands in early 1895 as a result being the victors of this war (Japan claims the islands to have been uninhabited in 1895). The Qing dynasty was on the brink of collapse from internal revolts and foreign imperialism, while Japan had emerged as a great power through its effective measures of modernization.
While the Republic of Formosa issued a declaration of independence, Western powers were unable to recognize it due to its legal cession to Japan in the treaty of Shimonoseki. Because Formosa intended to rely upon China for troops and defenses, it had to recognize China as sovereign, which alienated powers in Europe. Meanwhile, China refused to acknowledge the republic on the basis of not offending Japan, which also served to prevent the support of Chinese troops to Formosa. Tang Jingsong was even ordered to return to Peking.
Singapore's foreign policy is aimed at maintaining security in Southeast Asia and surrounding territories. An underlying principle is political and economic stability in the region. It has diplomatic relations with more than 180 sovereign states. Singapore hosted the first ever 2018 North Korea–United States summit.
Initially, postage stamps of India were used here and throughout the Straits Settlements. This lasted until 1867 when Straits Settlements stamps were first produced. When Honorary Postmaster Gardner complained in 1881 that he should be compensated for the increasing amount of work that was required of him it was agreed that a portion of the revenue for stamp sales would be retained. This led to the overprinting during 1882 of Straits Settlement with the letter B, representing Bangkok, for use there. The Bangkok 30mm diameter circular date stamp postmark was also introduced during this period. Most outbound mail was still sent to enter the postal system at Singapore (for European destinations). Some Hong Kong stamps continued to be used throughout this time for mail forwarded through Hong Kong to Chinese, Japanese, and United States destinations. A few British stamps are also known to have been used in Bangkok. Inbound mail from steamboats was kept at the post office for people to come to pick up.
Malaysia consists of two distinct geographical regions: Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. Malaysia was formed when the Federation of Malaya merged with North Borneo (today the province of Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore (seceded 1965) in 1963, and cultural differences between Peninsular and East Malaysia remain. During the formation of Malaysia, executive power was vested in the Perikatan (later the Barisan Nasional) coalition of three racially based political parties, namely the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). UMNO has dominated the coalition from its inception. Although Islam is the official state religion, the Constitution of Malaysia guarantees freedom of religion.
Originally announced in 1923, the construction of the base proceeded slowly at Sembawang until the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. It was completed in 1938, at a staggering cost of £60 million – equivalent to £2½ billion in 2006. The base covered and had what was then the largest dry dock in the world, the third-largest floating dock, and enough fuel tanks to support the entire British Navy for six months.
After Nanyang University was merged with the University of Singapore, the grounds formerly occupied by Nanyang University were occupied by a similarly-named technical institute, the Nanyang Technological Institute (NTI), in 1981. In 1991, the NTI was upgraded to the status of a university as Singapore's second English-medium university and became the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
This enzyme belongs to the family of oxidoreductases, specifically those acting on paired donors, with O2 as oxidant and incorporation or reduction of oxygen. The oxygen incorporated need not be derived from O2 with 2-oxoglutarate as one donor, and incorporation of one atom o oxygen into each donor. The systematic name of this enzyme class is N6,N6,N6-trimethyl-L-lysine,2-oxoglutarate:oxygen oxidoreductase (3-hydroxylating). Other names in common use include trimethyllysine alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenase, TML-alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenase, TML hydroxylase, 6-N,6-N,6-N-trimethyl-L-lysine,2-oxoglutarate:oxygen oxidoreductase, and (3-hydroxylating). This enzyme participates in lysine degradation and L-carnitine biosynthesis and requires the presence of iron and ascorbate.
In pointing out the that the Judges of Appeal had also stated in their opinion that it was even “conceptually possible for the fundamental doctrines of the College to differ from the objects of the charitable purpose trust,” the Editorial Board omitted mentioning that in the instant case “the charitable purpose trust over the Premises was not established by a single identifiable donor whose intent could be easily ascertained, be it by way of a trust deed or any other less formal way,” “[r]ather, the funds received to acquire the Premises were raised by donations from members of the Christian community whose intentions could not be ascertained with any degree of certainty” but “what is clear is that the appeals for donations were made in the joint names of the Church and the College, without any further elaboration” and “there was no indication as to whether any one body would exercise any form of control over the other,” “[n]either … any specific reference to any religious doctrine other than the fact that both entities were Bible Presbyterian entities” and “[i]n such circumstances, the objects of the College, as well as those of the Church, would serve as strong evidence of the presumed objects of the charitable purpose trust, because it would be natural and reasonable to infer that the donors intended their donations to benefit both the College and the Church” and, “[a]s we [the Judges] see it, the charitable purpose trust upon which the Premises are impressed, as far as the College is concerned, must be that the Premises be used in accordance with its Constitution” and “[t]here is nothing to suggest that the College can only enjoy the use of the Premises if it is aligned to the Church.” After concluding that “the College has not deviated from its fundamental doctrines/tenets [in its constitution] … [and] is entitled to continue using the Premises,” the Judges of Appeal went on to say, albeit also noted by the Editorial Board, that “the College's status as a beneficiary under that purpose trust over the Premises was not conditioned on its continued doctrinal alignment with the Church” (see [108]-[110], and also [107] and [95]-[105] pointed to in [107] ).
A 24.4 ha piece of land beside Singapore Botanic Gardens was formerly the site of both Istanas for the Sultan of Johor and his wives. It was acquired by Sultan Abu Bakar in 1857 from prominent newspaper editor and lawyer William Napier and has been passed down for generations since then. It still remains a property of the Sultan of Johor. Istana Tyersall has since been demolished while Istana Woodneuk still stands in a dilapidated condition, due to the lack of maintenance. The Istana and the surrounding compounds have been cordoned off in view of safety and access is restricted. There are no plans by the Singapore authorities to acquire the land, despite it sitting on large areas of prime land in land scarce Singapore and it also being in proximity to a section of the former KTM railway tracks in Buona Vista.