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Country Commercial Guides for FY 2000: Singapore Report prepared by U.S. Embassy Singapore, released July 1999 Note*

Chapter III. POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT

Nature of Political Relationship With The U.S.
The U.S. and Singapore have a close relationship that is undergirded by cooperation on security issues and active economic ties.

Major Political Issues Affecting Business Climate
Singapore is a parliamentary republic, with a multi-ethnic population, that prides itself on political and social stability, and the predictability this atmosphere offers to foreign investors and traders.

Brief Synopsis of Political System, Schedule for Elections and Orientation of Major Political Parties
The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) has dominated Singapore politics since independence, and currently controls 80 of the 83 regularly-contested seats in Parliament. Opposition parties, which hold two of these seats (one is vacant), and one additional seat reserved to the opposition by the Constitution, do not espouse views that are radically different from mainstream Singapore political opinion. Signs of political change are beginning to be more apparent, but the expression of political difference still is non-confrontational. There has been no political violence in over thirty years. This is attributable, in part, to tough internal security laws, but primarily to the substantial popular support that the effective and well-organized ruling PAP has consistently attracted.