Top 10 Singapore searches in 2018

The year 2018 has been filled with drama and controversies that kept Singaporeans enthralled, from the merger of ride-hailing giants Uber and Grab, to France winning their second World Cup, and the stunning victory by the opposition in the Malaysian elections. Yahoo Singapore rounds up the top 10 searches of the year.

10. Champions League

Every February to May, the Uefa Champions League gets interesting as its knock-out stages begin. From the round of 16 to the glamorous final, top European football clubs engage in high-intensity battles for continental supremacy.

This year’s competition saw two clubs with rich European histories – Real Madrid and Liverpool – making their way to the final in Kiev. Real Madrid were bidding to become the first side to win the European Cup trophy for three consecutive seasons since German side Bayern Munich did it from 1974 to 1976. Liverpool, with five previous Cup victories, were aiming to collect their first win since 2005.

In the end, Real Madrid again showed their extraordinary knack for winning high-stakes matches, as two howlers by Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius and a spectacular bicycle kick by Gareth Bale contributed to the Spanish side’s 3-1 win. Yet their 13th European Cup win had a sting in the tail – manager Zinedine Zidane shocked the club by quitting within days of the triumph.

9. Grab-Uber merger

When Uber and Grab made their entrances into Singapore in 2013, they transformed the country’s ride-hailing industry with fresh and convenient services for transport users. But while Grab was a modest regional start-up company, Uber was a tech behemoth with worldwide operations and huge financial muscle.

So it was a shock of significant proportion in March 2018 when Grab announced what was in effect an acquisition of Uber’s Southeast Asia operations, with Uber exiting the region’s ride-hailing market within the following two months. The swiftness of its exit created tension amid Uber’s Singapore-based staff, as about 500 of them were put on paid leave in the wake of Grab’s acquisition.

Subsequently, the merger was deemed by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) to have led to a “substantial lessening of competition” in the ride-hailing market. In September, the two companies were fined a combined S$13 million, with CCCS saying that Grab’s effective fares have increased between 10 per cent and 15 per cent post-merger.

With companies like Indonesia’s Go-Jek eager to enter Singapore’s ride-hailing market, it remains to be seen whether the Grab-Uber merger has set the barrier too high for new players.

8. Manchester United

With a massive global following, English football giants Manchester United are perennially viewed upon with interest by their fans as they bid to recapture the glory days of the 1990s and 2000s under manager Alex Ferguson, who retired in 2013.

Although they came in second to rivals Manchester City in the 2017/18 English Premier League season, their combative manager Jose Mourinho has come under constant fire for producing uninspiring, defensive football. The criticism intensified as the Red Devils made a terrible start to the 2018/19 season, currently languishing in eighth position with players struggling to play in Mourinho’s dour system.

There was also a massive shock for the fans in May, as Ferguson underwent an emergency surgery after suffering a brain haemorrhage. However, the 76-year-old Scot recovered and even attended a United match at Old Trafford in September.

7. Lee Hsien Loong

Last year’s top Singapore search was Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, mainly because of his dispute with his siblings Wei Ling and Hsien Yang over the fate of their former family home at Oxley Road. In 2018, Lee continued to generate great interest among Singaporeans, primarily on the issue of the identity of his eventual successor.

The speculation revolved around three 4G (fourth-generation) ministers who were widely considered as the leading candidates: Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing and Education Minister Ong Ye Kung. In November, when the ruling People’s Action Party announced its new Central Executive Committee, 57-year-old Heng was named as the first assistant secretary-general, making him the prime candidate to succeed PM Lee.

Lee was also in the news in July when his health data, along with that of 1.5 million others, had been hacked in a targeted cyber attack on healthcare group SingHealth.

6. Donald Trump

The controversial United States president grabbed the headlines in Singapore when he arrived here for a historic summit meeting with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un at Sentosa’s Capella Singapore in June. Under huge media coverage and extra-tight security, the two leaders signed a declaration affirming a commitment to peace and nuclear disarmament.

Trump also sparked a trade war with China, imposing tariffs that escalated to 10 per cent on US$200 billon worth of Chinese goods in September. China countered the move with a 10 per cent tariff on US$60 billion of US imports which, combined with the previous round of tariffs, covers almost all US$110 billion of US imports to China.

On the domestic front, Trump continues to polarise the Republicans and Democrats with combative declarations. In April, he enacted a “zero tolerance” immigration policy that caused outrage when it forcibly separated more than 2,300 children from their parents, and widespread pressure forced him to sign an executive order to end the separations.

In November, the Democrats dealt a major blow to Trump as they won control of the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections, ensuring that they can thwart his proposed legislations for the remainder of his current presidential term.

5. NBA (National Basketball Association)

The popular American basketball league is enjoying a bloom in offensive output, as recent rule tweaks favour the attacking player over the defender. This has led to high-scoring games with plenty of entertaining slam dunks which definitely pleased the paying fans.

The league’s one transcendent superstar, LeBron James, is also showing no signs of decline despite entering his 17th NBA season. The 33-year-old joined the storied and well-supported Los Angeles Lakers for the 2018/19 season, ensuring that his every move will be analysed by the media. His legacy is set to be compared with former Lakers greats such as Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

Yet, the Golden State Warriors remain the team to beat. Loaded with talents like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, they have steamrolled over the league with brilliant offensive basketball as well as defensive grit. In June, they won their third title in four seasons by sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers – James’ previous team – 4-0 in the NBA Finals. Don’t be surprised if the Warriors juggernaut continues to roll over their rivals in the coming years.

4. Liverpool

The dominant English team from the late 1970s to the late 1980s, Liverpool and their sizeable global fan base have had to swallow humble pie as Manchester United took over as the pre-eminent English Premier League (EPL) club since the 1990s.

This year, however, the Reds have enjoyed an upturn in fortunes, as they rekindled memories of their five successful European Cup campaigns by reaching the Uefa Champions League final in May with some brilliant attacking performances. Although they lost in the final to Real Madrid, optimism has swelled among the supporters for future success under German manager Jurgen Klopp.

Sure enough, when the 2018/19 EPL season began in August, Liverpool established themselves as the main contenders to the excellent defending champions Manchester City. With popular players such as Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino leading the way, Reds fans can dream of returning to the heady days when they were kingpins in both England and Europe.

3. Najib Razak

The central figure in both the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s unprecedented fall from power and the far-reaching 1MDB financial scandal that dominated global headlines, the former Malaysian prime minister is facing 32 charges over missing funds linked to 1MDB, the state fund which he founded and chaired.

The charges followed a seismic general election on 9 May, when the BN – led by Najib’s Umno party – saw its 61-year reign come to a stunning end, defeated by the opposing Pakatan Harapan coalition, which was led ironically by the country’s former and current Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Najib’s defeat – in which he also lost his Umno president and BN chairman positions – was widely seen as the result of Malaysian voters’ anger at deep-seated corruption within the ruling coalition, which was exacerbated by the 1MDB scandal. He has remained defiant, denying all charges brought by Malaysian prosecutors against him and his wife Rosmah Mansor.

With the 1MDB investigations still ongoing, the fate of Malaysia’s sixth prime minister is set to loom over the country’s political landscape in the coming year.

2. English Premier League (EPL)

The most popular football league in the world showed no signs of decline this year, even though Manchester City made the title race a predictable spectacle as early as January. Led by manager Pep Guardiola, this extraordinary team eventually won by a massive 19 points over city rivals Manchester United, and set numerous records along the way including most points (100), most wins (32), most goals (106), most consecutive league wins (18) and highest goal difference (+79).

Football purists may argue that the Spanish La Liga has better quality and star power with top players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Yet it remains essentially a two-team league, with honours usually going to either Real Madrid or Barcelona. The EPL, on the other hand, has enough well-supported clubs, with Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham all drawing in massive global support in their battle for honours with Man City.

With the rabid English media coverage, every move by the top clubs and their star players is scrutinised by their fans, 24/7. Judging by the weekend crowds at Singapore pubs showing live EPL telecasts, EPL’s popularity is set to continue unabated.

1. Fifa World Cup

By far the most searched item in 2018, it comes as no surprise that the Fifa World Cup remains the biggest sporting spectacle in the world. Fans were willing to ignore the negative perceptions of 2018 host Russia – its shady political undertakings, its reported hooliganism and racism, and its national team’s dreadful form – to flock to the country and support the month-long football extravaganza.

And what a memorable tournament it turned out to be. There were pleasant surprises (prevalence of attacking football, England’s semi-final run, Croatia’s charge into the final) and crushing disappointments (Germany’s poor title defence, Argentina wasting another Messi campaign, Neymar’s play-acting overshadowing Brazil).

There were plenty of riveting matches too, such as France’s swashbuckling 4-3 win over Argentina, Belgium’s fantastic comeback from 0-2 down to beat Japan 3-2, and the final, when France swept past Croatia 4-2 to claim their second World Cup title.

Thankfully the month-long tournament, which straddled June and July, saw very few violent incidents among supporters. Instead, images of rival fans from every part of the world coming together for selfies and group singalongs dominated social media. Great football, great atmosphere – it was no wonder that the World Cup continues to enthral the globe. More of this please at Qatar 2022.