Happy National Day, Singapore!

9 August 2007

These entries were added on 20 August 2007; the first one was updated on 27 August 2007

little red dot n. phr. [Eng., f. the manner in which the island of Singapore is marked on many world maps; the phrase gained currency after the former Indonesian President B.J. (Bacharuddin Jusuf) Habibie (born 1936; held office 1998–1999) was regarded as having criticized Singapore in an interview published in the Asian Wall Street Journal of 4 August 1998 by saying it was a “red dot”: see 2003, 2006 quots. below]

[2003 Utusan Online, 4 May. Habibie in his now famous interview with the Asian Wall Street Journal on Aug 4, 1998, .. did not have the feeling that Singapore was a friend, and pointed to a map, saying: “It’s O.K. with me, but there are 211 million people (in Indonesia). All the green (area) is Indonesia. And that red dot is Singapore.” Lee [Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong] said: “This was a vivid and valuable reminder that we are indeed very small and very vulnerable. The little red dot has entered the psyche of every Singaporean, and become a permanent part of our vocabulary, for which we are grateful.[”]  2006 The Straits Times, 20 September. Habibie: What I meant by little ‘red dot’ [title] Former Indonesian president B.J. Habibie yesterday gave a fresh take on his famous 1998 reference to Singapore as a little ‘red dot’. .. He told reporters that far from dismissing tiny Singapore, he had meant to highlight Singapore’s achievements despite its small size. He said that he had made the remark while speaking off-the-cuff with members of an Indonesian youth group and trying to ‘give them spirit’. He said he told them: ‘If you look at the map of South-east Asia, you (Indonesia) are so big, and Singapore is just a dot. But if you come to Singapore, you see people with vision.’ Although he meant for the youngsters to learn from Singapore, his remarks did not go down well here. ‘But of course at that time people didn’t like me...and I have corrected many times, but they have never put it,’ he said with a laugh. ‘And I could not prove it in writing because I was talking freely.’ Dr Habibie’s ‘red dot’ remark caused an outcry when it was first published as part of an interview with the Asian Wall Street Journal in August 1998. It was seen as a dismissal of Singapore. It has since become a point of pride and amusement with Singaporeans. Among other things, Little Red Dot is now the title of a Straits Times publication for primary school pupils.]

Also Little Red Dot.  The nation of Singapore: often used with pride and a sense of the nation’s success despite its physical limitations.
1998 Goh Chok Tong Prime Minister’s National Day Rally Speech 1998, 23 August. Singapore will help Indonesia within the limits of our ability. We are a small economy. .. After all we are only three million people. Just a little red dot on the map. Where is the capacity to help 211 million people?  2006 Clarence Chang (quoting Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew) The New Paper, 17 September. Habibie called us a little red dot surrounded by green... But after being intimidated... we make it a special red dot.  2007 Wong Kim Hoh The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 21 April. If you want Singaporeans living in New York to think of home, what do you do? .. Dazzle them with slick videos and exhibitions charting the little red dot’s development and progress.  2007 Lionel Seah Weekend Today (from Todayonline.com), 28 April. Obviously, this Little Red Dot has a long way to go in developing the soul and spirit to match London or New York. And until we do so, our definition of hip and cool can only be confined to one-dimensional physical structures. 2007 Syu Ying Kwok The Straits Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 1 May. [M]ost Singaporeans know how to cherish, protect and grow our little red dot, the dot we call home.

S’pore abbrev. [contraction of Eng. S(inga)pore]  A commonly-used abbrev. for Singapore, esp. in newspaper headines and article titles.
2007 Li Xueying The Straits Times, 20 August, H4 For greying face of S’pore in 2020, see Radin Mas now [title] For a peek at what Singapore will look like in 2020, look at Radin Mas today.

S’porean abbrev. [contraction of Eng. S(inga)porean]  A commonly-used abbrev. for Singaporean, esp. in newspaper headlines and article titles.
2007 The Sunday Times (from Straits Times Interactive), 14 January. Take care of S’poreans first, says union leader [title] Union leader G. Muthu Kumar is used to union members going up to him to share their concerns about foreigners taking jobs from Singaporeans.

A highlight from the Appeals List

zero point — what is the etymology of this term?

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