2013, riddled with many firsts for Singapore — some good, some really bad — was a manic year. Here’s a summary of the main events that happened in chronological order.
January — Two boys were killed by a cement truck in a fatal road accident at Tampines St. 45. The incident brought to attention even the Prime Minister, after which a review of the road junction passed by heavy vehicles at the time due to housing projects, was called for by Member of Parliament (MP) for Tampines GRC Mr. Baey Yam Keng.
February — The announcement of the Population White Paper in January invited many negative responses from the community, prompting the set-up of a Facebook page Say No to an Overpopulated Singapore, now deactivated. The first protest against the White Paper saw about 4,000 citizens gathering at Hong Lim Park, quite a feat for what is sometimes described as a ‘sleepy nation’.
March — Full-time national serviceman second lieutenant Kamalasivam was recognised for his act of valour during a hand grenade practice which went wrong. During the practice, a recruit had accidentally released the lever of the grenade. Quick as a flash, Kamalasivam had ordered the recruit to take cover and had shielded him as the grenade exploded in mid-air. Both men suffered minor injuries.
April — Cartoonist Leslie Chew, creator of popular satire cartoon strip Demon-cratic Singapore, was arrested for alleged sedition. All charges against him — including that for contempt of court — were dropped, following his apology to the Singapore judiciary.
May — The second White Paper protest became the biggest this year with a turnout of about 6,000 people.
May — Singapore’s first dengue death was recorded on May 29 at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
June — Singapore experienced its worst haze ever, with the Pollutants Standard Index (PSI) showing an all-time high of 401 on Jun. 21, well beyond the hazardous range.
June — When the haze cleared, the city experienced a rare hailstorm in its northern and western parts. For about half an hour, citizens saw hailstones the size of 50-cent coins falling from the sky.
July — Internationally acclaimed Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay lost the overall Hawker Heroes Challenge held in Singapore. Though Ramsay may have scored with his chilli crab, Singaporeans still preferred their laksa and chicken rice cooked by their favourite hawkers.
August — St. Joseph’s Church got into a bit of controversy when Reverend Father Michael Teo was asked to leave the parish for filing a police report with the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) in relation to a million-dollar stained glass project.
September — We saw our fair share of floods this year, but the biggest by far is probably the one reported to have caused a complete closure to a section on the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE). Commonwealth Avenue was also hit the hardest during that time.
September — The third and final White Paper Protest was held at Hong Lim Park, but the turnout was abysmal.
October — The People’s Action Party (PAP) Community Foundation website was allegedly hacked by “The Messiah” from the Anonymous collective. It was the first government website to be defaced following, which a series of attacks were launched on other government websites including the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Istana. Since then, the culprit behind the attacks on PAP Community Foundation website and others like the Ang Mo Kio Town Council’s website and even the Straits Times blog, James Raj has been arrested and charged. The brothers responsible for defacing the PMO’s website and the two men who hacked the Istana website, have also been arrested. On a seperate account, five vandals who were arrested for defacing public properties with quotes linked to the Anonymous group will go on trial in January 2014.
November — A dating site promoting infidelity Ashley Madison, was adamant about breaking into the Singapore market despite heavy protests, but eventually got banned by the Media Development Authority (MDA).
December — The biggest thing to happen in 2013 is probably the Little India riot, Singapore’s first of its kind in 40 years. It was recently confirmed that 53 foreign workers will be deported back to their home countries and 28 have been charged for their involvement.
