Year 1997

Politics

Mas Selamat bin Kastari Escaped

Wednesday, 27th February 2008

At 4.05pm Mas Selamat bin Kastari, the JI leader, escaped from the Internal Security Department's Whitley Detention Camp where he was being detained. His family was visiting him at the time, and he was being led to a room to meet them when he asked for a toilet break. Mas Selamat had escaped through an unsecured bathroom window and fled. A massive manhunt comprising personnel from the Singapore Police Force, the Gurkha Contingent, the Police Tactical Unit and the Police National Service Key Installation Protection Unit were deployed in the vicinity of the area immediately after the escape. Followed by thousands of Singapore Armed Forces Personnel combing the forested area (very much like time the black panther escaped from the Singapore Zoo).


PAP Won 2006 General Election

Saturday, 6th May 2006

Singapore’s incumbent PAP (People’s Action Party) won the 2006 General Election. It was the 10th General Election in Singapore since independence.


Nathan As Second Term President

Thursday, 1st September 2005

Sellapan Ramanathan Nathan aka SR Nathan was sworn in for a second term of office. He and 3 other people ("Tom, Dick & Harry") had submitted their application for this S$2.5 Million a year job in the Istana. A straw poll showed that nearly 80 per cent of Singaporeans hoped for a contest. But on August 13, 2005, the Committee announced that the other three applicants had been rejected as ineligible. Nathan returned unopposed on nomination day, 17 August 2005.


Dr. Chee was fined for speaking at Speakers' Corner

Tuesday, 12th February 2002

Dr. Chee Soon Juan was fined S$3,000 for speaking at the Singapore's "Speakers' Corner" on 15 February 2002, which requires prior registration and where discussion about race and religion is prohibited. Dr. Chee was commenting about the suspension of three Muslim schoolgirls whose parents wanted them to wear headscarves in school. Dr. Chee commented that it is against the parents' personal choice to force their children not to wear headscarves. As a result of this conviction, Dr. Chee was ineligible for the 2006 general election.


Ong Teng Cheong Died

Friday, 8th February 2002

Mr Ong Teng Cheong, Singapore’s fifth President and the first President to be popularly elected by the people, died. He is also the first President in Singapore not to have an artillery carriage at his funeral that was normally according to prominent statesmen in Singapore. During his term as President, he questioned his role and responsibilities. And also openly queried the national reserve in order to protect it.


Members of Jemaah Islamiyah arrested

Sunday, 9th December 2001

Members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) arrested for bomb plot. JI was formally founded on 1 January 1993 by JI leaders, Abu Bakar Bashir and Abdullah Sungkar while hiding in Malaysia from the persecution of the Suharto Government. After the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998, both men returned to Indonesia. Where it gained a terrorist edge when one of its founders, the late Abdullah Sungkar, established contact with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.


PAP Won 2001 General Election

Saturday, 3rd November 2001

Singapore’s incumbent PAP (People’s Action Party) won the 2001 General Election. It was the 9th General Election in Singapore since independence.


HSA Formed

Sunday, 1st April 2001

Formation of Health Sciences Authority (HSA) with the integration of 5 highly specialised agencies under the Ministry of Health; Centre for Drug Evaluation, Institute of Science and Forensic Medicine, National Pharmaceutical Administration, Product Regulation Department and Singapore Blood Transfusion Service. This multidisciplinary agency in health sciences expertise with its core capabilities encompass administering the national regulatory frameworks for pharmaceuticals, complementary medicines, medical devices and other health products; the running of the national blood bank and provision of transfusion medicine services; and the provision of forensic medicine expertise, investigative forensic and analytical science services.


S R Nathan As President

Wednesday, 1st September 1999

Mr S. R. Nathan (Sellapan Ramanathan Nathan) was sworn in as the Republic of Singapore’s sixth President and the second popularly elected President. The President of the Republic of Singapore is the Presidency of popularly-elected office. In the 1991 constitutional amendments gave the President certain reserve powers over government expenditure of financial reserves and appointments to key public offices. The President’s official residence is the Istana.


PAP Won 1997 General Election

Thursday, 2nd January 1997

Singapore’s incumbent PAP (People’s Action Party) won the 1997 General Election. It was the 8th General Election in Singapore since independence.


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