Travel Advisory

Travel Advisory update has been issued for Singapore..

• We advise you to exercise caution and monitor developments that might affect your safety in Singapore, because of the risk of terrorist attack.
  
• Pay close attention to your personal security and monitor the media for information about possible new safety or security risks.
  
• Be a smart traveller.
  

Travel Advisory update has been issued for Singapore..

 

• We advise you to exercise caution and monitor developments that might affect your safety in Singapore, because of the risk of terrorist attack.
  
• Pay close attention to your personal security and monitor the media for information about possible new safety or security risks.
  
• Be a smart traveller.
  

Source?

That advisory could apply to any Port of Call.:confused:

Source?

That advisory could apply to any Port of Call.:confused:

Crikey I thought Singapore would be like Norfolk Island..SAFE !

Ony my previous two visits to Singapore where we stayed a few days, felt real safe, but it is obvious there is some intelligence re potential terrrorist attacks there.

Discretion is the better part of valour !

Crikey I thought Singapore would be like Norfolk Island..SAFE !Ony my previous two visits to Singapore where we stayed a few days, felt real safe, but it is obvious there is some intelligence re potential terrrorist attacks there.

 

Discretion is the better part of valour !

If you listened to ever warning you would not step outside your front door.

If you listened to ever warning you would not step outside your front door.

Someone probaly left some chewing gum on the sidewalk hence anarchy..you can't be to careful these days you know lol :D

This advice has been reviewed and reissued. It contains new information under Safety and Security: Natural Disasters, Severe Weather and Climate (flight disruptions occurring in many parts of the world, including due to volcanic ash plumes, may impact on flights in and out of Singapore). The overall level of the advice has not changed.

http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Singapore

Please be careful when reading these updated travel advisories. This update does not relate to any increased terrorism threat. The standard clause is in there. The update is due to volcanic ash!

Exactly..you have to read the travel warning, it may that chewing gum is out of control in Singa, or maybe the Island has run out of Tiger Bay or Singapore Slings.

Singapore - Retail heaven for some.

The change is probably due to their normally sedate population actually speaking up - as seen from their local elections - a bit of our character for them :p

Similar updates for Malaysia and a very serious one for Indonesia.

All these countries are in the influence area of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah [J.I] and the warnings would more than probably be as a result of the conviction and jailing of old "buck toothed" Bashir :p in Jakarta last week.

J.I. have recruited in all three countries and some of their previous activities have resulted terrorist alerts in those areas.

The volcanic ash is an update - but the level has not changed - and that was due to possible terrorist activity.

As the saying goes: "be alert - not alarmed"

Similar updates for Malaysia and a very serious one for Indonesia.

 

All these countries are in the influence area of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah [J.I] and the warnings would more than probably be as a result of the conviction and jailing of old "buck toothed" Bashir :p in Jakarta last week.

 

J.I. have recruited in all three countries and some of their previous activities have resulted terrorist alerts in those areas.

 

As the saying goes: "be alert - not alarmed"

I was aware of the Indo alert and I can understand the Malaysia alert given their population but Singapore has a Chinese majority so I would not have thought his jailing would have made that much of an impact there but I could be wrong...it has been a long time since I have been back there :cool:

I was aware of the Indo alert and I can understand the Malaysia alert given their population but Singapore has a Chinese majority so I would not have thought his jailing would have made that much of an impact there but I could be wrong...it has been a long time since I have been back there :cool:

Re the actual trip advisories, what Debsta says is absolutely correct. All the latest notes issued are to do with updates and are not terrorist oriented.

However, it is noteworthy that the levels existed because of ongoing potential of terrorist attacks in all those countries.

As for Singapore being a target, it has always been on J.I.'s list as part of their planned "caliphate" for that part of the world, and its Malay background goes back long before the Chinese arrived there.

Currently there are in excess of 500,000 Malay residents of Singapore, and the have had trouble before with J.I. in the city/state.

About a month or so ago I was doing a uni assignment (horrible, monstrous report) and I chose to look in to Singapore and I noticed, but dont quote me, that there are some upcoming elections and there is a bit of angst and uncertainty...

About a month or so ago I was doing a uni assignment (horrible, monstrous report) and I chose to look in to Singapore and I noticed, but dont quote me, that there are some upcoming elections and there is a bit of angst and uncertainty...

Nothing ever changes there.

Back in the early days of the republic, when election time came around, the government would always find some excuse or other to lock up key members of the mainly Communist opposition parties on some national security pretext.:D

So when election day came around there was only one party to vote for.

Another term of office for the freely elected governing party.:p

Some say the place is a "benign" dictatorship - but hey, it works well, and has produced one of the smartest populations and cleanest and most progressive cities anywhere in the world.:)

I feel safer in Singapore than I do walking out to my letterbox to get the mail. ;)

Nothing ever changes there.

 

Back in the early days of the republic, when election time came around, the government would always find some excuse or other to lock up key members of the mainly Communist opposition parties on some national security pretext.:D

 

So when election day came around there was only one party to vote for.

 

Another term of office for the freely elected governing party.:p

 

Some say the place is a "benign" dictatorship - but hey, it works well, and has produced one of the smartest populations and cleanest and most progressive cities anywhere in the world.:)

 

I feel safer in Singapore than I do walking out to my letterbox to get the mail. ;)

I will agree with you on that, unfortunate that these days there is no democracy/freedom of choice. There are much worse countries in Asia who well, need to understand some fundamental and implicit aspects of human rights, etc. if they want to sit at the table with everyone else.

I really do hope to get to Singapore one day - looks like an amazing place. Singapore and Japan are definitely on my to-do list

I will agree with you on that, unfortunate that these days there is no democracy/freedom of choice. There are much worse countries in Asia who well, need to understand some fundamental and implicit aspects of human rights, etc. if they want to sit at the table with everyone else.

 

I really do hope to get to Singapore one day - looks like an amazing place. Singapore and Japan are definitely on my to-do list

Singapore used to allow an opposition - they opposition they wanted - not what the people wanted :rolleyes:

They had their elections there recently and this was the first time in a long time (as far as I can remember as I lived there for a fair chunk of my life) where over 90% of the Government seats were contested and a lot of people got to vote for the first time as in previous elections, there was no contest. The ruling party had to work this time round for their votes - as there were a lot of vocal younger people out there - in fact the legislation was amended to allow social media to be used as election broadcasting tools as the government realised that they needed to counter what was being said. It was an interesting election - the people's opposition managed to knocked out a Minister - it really showed that people wanted change there and the government has realised that now - hopefully things will be more "democratic" for the people there :)

That being said - Singapore has progressed well and as Rasa Sayang said, it is a safe country - but they do have their shortfalls/issues as well :o

Nothing ever changes there.

 

Back in the early days of the republic, when election time came around, the government would always find some excuse or other to lock up key members of the mainly Communist opposition parties on some national security pretext.

Or sue them if they do get elected so that they cannot come back at the next election :cool:

Some say the place is a "benign" dictatorship - but hey, it works well, and has produced one of the smartest populations and cleanest and most progressive cities anywhere in the world.:)

I agree that it is clean and progressive but smartest population - hmm not really - yes there are some smart people there but they have had to rely on a lot of "foreign talent" over the years and this has lead to disgrunted locals who were overlooked - hence this recent voicing at the elections. They have a good education system in Singapore - one of the best public systems but they children are drilled to excel by their parents- to the point that they rote learn their work - and a lot have found it hard to apply what they have learnt. I remember years ago - they did a survery of the uni students there and a vast majority of them did not even know what the country that was north of Singapore and linked via a causeway :eek: Having been educated there and seeing the education here for my child - I feel that the education here is much better - unfortunately the funding for public education here is shameful and to get that quality education - in most cases- you would have to turn to the private system - which is such a waste as we really need to provide a good education for all of the children - not just the ones whose parents can afford to put them through the private education :(

Thinks I should stop now :o

I posted it because it was so surprising! Not an alarmist I am going to Bali in August despite the heightened warnings there...however as they say "be alert not alarmed".

It seems there is a travel advisory for every country on my list of "need to go there's" at the moment.

Thinks I should stop now :o

:D:)

Why??;)

Its an interesting discussion about a great place.

Good to have some input from a Singapore old hand.

Were you there in the transition days from Brit colony to new republic??

I was - a great time in their history, and very interesting to watch the formative years of Lee Kuan Yew's new government after the break with Malaysia.

I am amazed at what they have achieved since 1965.:)

It seems there is a travel advisory for every country on my list of "need to go there's" at the moment.

:):D

I suppose we could all stay home and cover ourselves in cotton wool. :p:p

No way :D;)

Every single country on Earth is vulnerable to "potential terrorist attack" rendering these travel advisory notices completely meaningless. It's just another reason for bureaucrats to justify their salaries. Those of us who inform ourselves on, and are aware of world events know which places are best avoided.

At least you don't have to cut your hair guys before your arrival in Singapore.

In the 70's and 80's when long hair was 'in'.

Singapore added to their 'advisory' that any male person arriving into Singapore with hair touching their collar would be not be granted entry to the country. Furthermore they be returned to their country of origin on the next available flight..... :eek:

Can't remember the name of the guy who instigated all this, including the no chewing of gum, or disposing of gum on the footpath. But whoever he was he did clean up Singapore in general to how we see it today..... a lovely place to visit.

Jilly:)

Singapore still has some funny rules....

If you are entering Singapore you are NOT permitted to take any cigarettes in with you.

If you do they will either be forfeited , or you will have to pay duty on them, even if you have purchased them Duty Free,or paid the duty in your own country. It matters not. A lady on our cruise had to pay $100 to bring in a carton she had bought Duty Free in Britain.:confused:

However on leaving Singapore, at the Airport, you can buy as many as you want at very good prices.:eek:

I too have watched Singapore grow. Well remember the "Old Singapore". Thank heavens they woke up and have still retained some of it.

Well remember taking a day tour from the carpark at Raffles Hotel. The Hotel itself was derelict and had plywood nailed up on all the windows. What a change today.

Our ship , Diamond Princess, was docked in the Container Port. WOW, you should see the size of it. No wonder they are such a wealthy country today. It is one of the biggest cargo hubs in the world.

I posted it because it was so surprising! Not an alarmist I am going to Bali in August despite the heightened warnings there...however as they say "be alert not alarmed".

 

It seems there is a travel advisory for every country on my list of "need to go there's" at the moment.

I have to admit that I found it suprising too - but then again, what may appear to be a safe place is not always the case :cool: When we lived in Dubai, people said that it was safe because they thought it had a very low crime rate given that hardly any crime was reported in the papers - and the reason for the limited reporting was the reporting was controlled by the government as they did not want it to affect their tourism numbers. Things happened - it wasd just that they were not reported ;)

 

Why??;)

 

Its an interesting discussion about a great place.

 

Good to have some input from a Singapore old hand.

 

Were you there in the transition days from Brit colony to new republic??

 

I was - a great time in their history, and very interesting to watch the formative years of Lee Kuan Yew's new government after the break with Malaysia.

 

I am amazed at what they have achieved since 1965.:)

Why? Coz I may never stop talking :D

No I was a 70s kids so I missed the transition days and the breakaway days but have seen the country grow and develop over time. My parents ran a business there - in the construction industry - so I saw a lot of the place develop into the modern city it has become. :)

Lee Kuan Yew did transform Singapore from what it was to what it is now and he was visionary - it is just that I think he kept too tight a grip on it - and that is where things went wrong - it was fine for the majority of the time but in recent years, a lot of younger people studied abroad and saw democracy for what it really was and what was the perceived democracy in Singapore and they started to speak out. I recall when they started Speakers corner all those years ago - no one dared to speak there even though they were told that it was safe to do so and that no one would be arrested - I guess JB Jeyaratname was too fresh in all their mind but compare then to he rallies that were held in the recent elections - things are just so different now - people are prepared to speak out and not just accept things as they are.

I miss the old Singapore - the hawker centres where you could get chicken rice for $1.50 and teh o for 5o cents - and the wet markets.....everything is so modern and clinical now - and whilst they have tried to preserve its soul - they have not quite been able to do so. Malaysia on the other hand....ahh that it the place that has been able to keep the kampung spirit alive - maybe not in KL but in lots of other parts of the country

Ohh all these remininsing has made me want to go back for a visit :o

At least you don't have to cut your hair guys before your arrival in Singapore.

In the 70's and 80's when long hair was 'in'.

Singapore added to their 'advisory' that any male person arriving into Singapore with hair touching their collar would be not be granted entry to the country. Furthermore they be returned to their country of origin on the next available flight..... :eek:

 

Can't remember the name of the guy who instigated all this, including the no chewing of gum, or disposing of gum on the footpath. But whoever he was he did clean up Singapore in general to how we see it today..... a lovely place to visit.

 

Jilly:)

Yes - Singapore the clean and green and fine city - it was a standing joke - do something wrong there and get fined :D