Kent Ridge Secondary School

Sec 2 History

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Chapter 7: Singapore’s Response to Colonial Rule

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1. External Developments

Weakening of Colonial Rule

 Anti-colonial sentiments had arisen in many places due to the suffering
caused by European colonial rule.
 Defeat of European forces by the Japanese further accelerated the growth of
anti-colonial feelings.
 After the Japanese surrendered, people saw the chance to rise up against
their colonial rulers and take control of their own destinies.
o India: Gained independence from the British in 1947.
o Indonesia: Gained independence from the Dutch in 1949.
o Vietnam: Overthrew the French in 1954.
 Colonial rule in Asia appeared to be weakening.

Growing influence of Communism

 After WWII, the Cold War emerged.
o It was between the US and the Soviet Union – their differences in
ideology made continued cooperation after the war unsustainable.
 Difference between Democracy and Communism: P.43 of textbook.
 Communism opposed colonial rule for its exploitation (making use) of the
people so it found many supporters in European colonies such as Vietnam,
Indonesia and Malaya before they gained independence.
 As an ally of the US, the British were concerned that its colonies, Singapore
and Malaya, would fall under communist control in their fight for
independence.

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  In Singapore, the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) had considerable support.
o Many people, especially those in the Chinese community, remembered
how the MCP helped them resist the Japanese during WWII.
o After the war, the MCP wanted to end British colonial rule and establish
communist governments in Singapore and Malaya.
 In Singapore, the MCP worked to influence trade unions and Chinese medium
schools, stirring up anti-colonial feelings among the workers and students.
o It also attacked rubber plantations and tin mines in Malaya (owned by
the British)
 A State of Emergency was declared in 1948 and the MCP was declared illegal.
 British concerns over the growing influence of communism deepened after
1949 with the victory of the Communist Party of China.
 The large immigrant population of Malaya and Singapore and their close ties
to China made the British fear that communism would appeal to them.

2. British Attempts to Win Local Support

Meeting housing challenges

 Shortage of housing: Much housing had been destroyed or become run-down
during wartime.
 Singapore’s population was rapidly growing and many people lived in
increasingly overcrowded conditions.
 Many lived in slums.
 To address the problem, the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) accelerated
its building programme.
o The SIT had been established in 1927 by the British to provide low-cost
housing
 Between 1947 and 1959, it built 20,907 housing and shop units.
 Despite SIT’s efforts, housing shortages persisted and many continued to live
in cramped conditions throughout the 1950s.
Addressing food shortages
 Food was also in short supply, a problem made worse by the growing
population.

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 o The war had disrupted shipping, affecting the flow of food supplies into
Singapore.
o Neighboring rice-producing countries did not have enough rice to
export to Singapore.
 Wartime food rationing continued.
 Malnutrition was widespread and wages could not keep up with rising food
prices.
 The British were worried that the food shortages would lead to widespread
unrest.
 To avoid this, they established People’s Restaurants to provide affordable
meals. By the end of 1946, there were 10 People’s Restaurants in Singapore.

Managing industrial unrest

 Unsatisfactory working conditions, together with the housing and food
shortages, led to a wave of strikes during the post-war period.
o Thousands of workers from various industries took part in these
strikes.
o 1947 was known as “The Year of Strikes” – over 300 strikes in
Singapore involving almost 70,000 workers.
o Some of these strikes lasted for weeks.
 Many workers who took part in strikes were members of trade unions.
 The trade unions, whose members also included English-educated men such
as Devan Nair, Jamit Singh and Sidney Woodhull, were concerned with
improving workers’ conditions.
 Many trade unions members wanted immediate change to their working
conditions and went on strike to secure their demands.
 British officials suspected that communists working within the trade unions
were stirring up anti-colonial feelings and instigating the strikes.
 Thus, laws were passed to control the trade unions.
o From 1947, all unions had to register with the government.
o This enabled the government to monitor their membership.
 The unions were also no longer allowed to use their funds to organize strikes
and protests against the government.

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  Nevertheless, trade unions continued to be active, and industrial unrest
remained an issue in the 1950s

Rebuilding the economy

 Singapore needed to revive its trade and industry so that people would have
jobs, and the government can collect taxes to pay for programmes that
improved people’s welfare.
 The British repaired ports that had been damaged during the war, restoring
Singapore’s status as an important trading centre.
 The volume of trade eventually surpassed pre-war levels.
o Together with greater control of trade union activities and good food
harvests in 1948, this ended the worst shortages in Singapore.
 As a port city, Singapore continued to survive through the 1950s on its
entrepot trade, as it did in the 19th century. It also processed and exported
raw materials from Malaya and Indonesia, such as oil, tin, rubber and timber.

Allowing local political participation

 To win local support, the British held an election in 1948.
 For the first time, people in Singapore were given a say in who would
represent them in the Legislative Council.
 The 1948 election was the first step towards democracy.
 However, participation among the people was very low.
o Many recent immigrants were not allowed to vote as they were not
born in Britain or in the British colonies.
o In the end, only about 22,000 people were registered to vote, and only
14,000 voters turned up.
o This was a small fraction of the total population, which numbered
around 960,000.
 Only one party, the Singapore Progressive Party (SPP), took part in the
election, making it the first political party to do so in Singapore.
 The SPP won three out of the six elected seats. The remaining three were
won by independent candidates.

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3. Riots

Maria Hertogh Riots

 Late 1950, a custody battle over a 13-year-old girl named Maria Hertogh.
 Maria was born to Dutch Catholic parents.
 When her father was imprisoned by the Japanese, her mother, Adeline
Hertogh, left her with a local family friend, Che Aminah.
o Che Aminah raised Maria as a Muslim, renaming her Nadra Binte
Ma’raf.
o They also moved to Malaya.
 After the war, Adeline tried to reclaim her daughter.
o She went to court.
o The British judge ruled that Maria be returned to her Dutch parents
o Adeline placed Maria in a Catholic convent while waiting to return to
the Netherlands.
 Che Aminah appealed against this decision.
 The newspapers published sensational stories about Maria’s life in the
convent, making this a religious conflict between Islam and Christianity.
 The judge rejected Che Aminah’s appeal.
 The Muslims, already angry, felt that the British were siding with the Dutch
and rioted.
o They overturned cars and set them on fire.
o They also attacked Europeans and Eurasians.
 Troops were sent, but the riots continued for three days.
o Curfew had to be imposed.
 By the end, 18 people were killed and 173 injured.

Anti-National Service Riots

 To make citizens responsible for defending the country, and because of the
Emergency, the post-war British government decided to pass the National
Service Ordinance in 1953.
o All males aged 18 – 20 had to register for NS by May 1954.

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 o Those who did not would be fined or jailed.
 This was deeply unpopular amongst secondary students in Chinese-medium
schools.
o War had already disrupted their studies.
o They were old enough for NS, which would disrupt their studies again.
 They were also unhappy as they felt that the British discriminated against
Chinese education, favoring English-medium schools.
o They did not want to defend a foreign government that did not give
them anything in return.
 500 students held a protest march on 13 May 1954.
o The British deployed riot police with batons and shields.
o The peaceful demonstration turned violent, leaving 26 injured.
 The British ordered all Chinese-medium schools to be closed.
o This escalated the unrests.
o On 22 May, thousands of students locked themselves in classrooms at
Chung Cheng High School in protest.
o They sang songs, held their own lessons, and went on hunger strikes.
 The British postponed the registration for National Service.
o This boosted the morale of Chinese-educated students.
 They became more politically active and formed student groups
such as the Singapore Chinese Middle School Students’ Union
(SCMSSU).

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4. British Response to Changing Local Attitudes

The Rendel Constitution

 The British felt that locals had to be granted more political power.
 They formed a commission (team) to review the constitution (set of laws) of
Singapore. This commission was led by Sir George Rendel.
 The commission recommended limited self-government.
o This meant people could elect locals to certain areas of government.
 The Rendel Constitution was introduced in 1955.
o Council of Ministers headed by the Governor:
 Comprises of Chief Minister, five local ministers, and three
British ministers.
 The local ministers controlled education, health, housing, trade
and industry.
 The British ministers controlled more important areas of law,
finance, external affairs, external defence, and internal security.
o The Legislative Council was renamed the Legislative Assembly.
 Elections would be held in April 1955.

1955 Election
 This election generated more interest and political activity than the 1948 and
1951 elections. Why?
o The Rendel Constitution promised a greater degree of self-government.
o Voters were automatically registered, making it easier to vote.
 Two political parties became prominent:
o Labor Front (LF)
 Led by David Marshall. Key members included Lim Yew Hock
and Francis Thomas.
 A multiracial party made up of low-income and English-educated
members of trade unions.
 Wanted immediate independence for Singapore.
 Wanted to improve workers’ rights and working conditions.

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  Fought to extend Singapore citizenship to China-born
immigrants.
o People’s Action Party (PAP)
 Co-founded by Lee Kuan Yew, Dr Goh Keng Swee, Dr Toh Chin
Chye, S. Rajaratnam, and Kenneth Michael Byrne.
 Mainly English-educated lawyers, journalists, and trade
unionists.
 Multiracial party that wanted immediate independence.
 Sought to win the support of workers, trade unions, and students
in Chinese-medium schools.
 These parties raised political awareness among the locals and tried to win
their support.
o They visited houses, distributed newspapers and pamphlets, held
rallies, and gave speeches to large crowds.
 These pamphlets were anti-colonial.
 People were drawn to the anti-colonial speeches by both parties.
 This election had a level of excitement never seen before:
o 79 candidates contested the 25 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
o 160,000 people turned up to vote.
o On 2 April 1955, over 5,000 people gathered at Empress Place to await
the election results.
 The results shocked the colonial government, who expected the SPP to win. It
showed them that the people wanted to be free from colonial rule.

Party No. of Seats

Labor Front 10
Singapore Progressive Party 4
Alliance Party 3
People’s Action Party 3
Democratic Party 2
Independents 3

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5. Achieving Internal Self-Government
 David Marshall became Singapore’s first Chief Minister.
 The British did not want to cooperate with Marshall and the LF government,
even delaying giving him a proper office.

Hock Lee Bus Riots

 One month after the LF won the 1955 election, this riot took place. It would
test the new government’s ability to deal with communist influences.
 The Hock Lee Bus Company had workers who belonged to the Singapore Bus
Workers’ Union (SBWU) and Hock Lee Bus Employees’ Union.
 In late April 1955, workers from the SBWU, led by Fong Swee Suan, went on
strike for unfair treatment.
o They were not granted leave to attend union meetings.
o They also felt workers from the Hock Lee Bus Employees’ Union were
given better treatment.
 The company responded by dismissing 229 workers.
o These workers went on a hunger strike and sat in front of the gates of
the bus depot to prevent buses from leaving.
 Police were called. The strikers continued blocking the gate, and hurled
stones at the police.
o To clear the crowd, the police used batons, and 15 people were injured
as a result.
 Over the next few days, more than 10,000 students from Chinese-medium
schools gathered at the depot to support the workers with food, song, and
dance.
 Chief Minister David Marshall tried to settle the dispute but could not reach
an agreement.
 In the meantime, the strikes grew as employees of other bus companies
joined in to protest treatment of their fellow workers.
 On 12 May, the police tried to disperse the crowds with water hoses.
o The crowd was enraged and fought back throwing bricks, stones, and
bottles.
 By the next morning, four people had been killed, and 31 injured.

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 o Among the dead were a police detective and a 16-year-old student.
 On 14 May 1955, the riots ended when the government helped to negotiate
an agreement between the unions and the company.
o The dismissed workers got their jobs back.
 Trade union members remained suspicious of the government.
 The British were not impressed by Marshall, as he refused to call in British
troops.
o He did not want to appear to be siding with the British.

The First Merdeka Talks (1956)

 In April 1956, David Marshall led a group to London to press for self-
government.
 He demanded full internal self-government for Singapore by 1957.
o He wanted greater local control of defence and external affairs.
o He promised to resign as Chief Minister if he failed.
 The British doubted his ability to maintain law and order, and deal with the
communist threat.
 As a result, the talks failed, and Marshall returned empty-handed.
o True to his promise, he stepped down as Chief Minister, and Lim Yew
Hock took over.

Chinese Middle School Student Riots

 In September 1956, Lim Yew Hock’s government banned the Singapore
Chinese Middle School Students’ Union (SCMSSU) due to communist
involvement.
 Around 5,000 students took over their schools and demanded the re-
registration of the SCMSSU.
o After stern warning from the government, the protest died down.
 Two weeks later, the government expelled 142 students from several
schools, such as Chung Cheng High and The Chinese High School for being
suspected of anti-government activities.
o Students at both schools protested.

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  On 24 October, Lim Yew Hock made a radio broadcast demanding students
leave school premises by 8 o’clock the next day.
 With the support of the trade unions, the students became more defiant.
o Large crowds gathered outside the schools.
 The demonstrations turned violent when a mob outside Chung Cheng High
School confronted the police.
 The riot spread across the island and carried on for three days.
 Troops from Malaya were called in to restore order.
 By the time order was restored on 28 October, 13 people had died and more
than 120 had been injured.
 Union leaders like Lim Chin Siong and Fong Swee Syan were detained by the
police.
 The British was pleased with Lim Yew Hock’s decisive handling of the riots.
o However, in the eyes of some locals, Lim and his government appeared
to be lackeys of the British.

The Second Merdeka Talks (1957)

 Lim Yew Hock led another delegation to London, asking for control over all
internal matters of government, including internal security.
o However, he was willing to compromise for internal security.
o He also agreed to leave external affairs and external defence in the
hands of the British.
 He succeeded in securing full internal self-government for Singapore.
o The British Parliament passed a State of Singapore Act that turned
Singapore into a state with control over all domestic matters except for
internal security.
 Under the new constitution, Singapore would be known as the State of
Singapore.
o A Head of State, or Yang di-Pertuan Negara, would replace the British
Governor.
o To bring this constitution into force, an election would be held in 1959.

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1959 Election
 Singapore was divided into 51 constituencies, each with a representative.
 For the first time, the people could elect representatives to all the seats in
the Legislative Assembly.
 13 political parties and 194 candidates stood for election, as the stakes were
high.
 The parties worked hard, using radio broadcasts, newspapers, and pamphlets
to spread their ideas.
o Vehicles with loudspeakers broadcasting party slogans were a common
sight.
 Candidates also held rallies attended by large crowds.
 The Citizenship Ordinance of 1957 enabled about 320,000 residents to
become Singapore citizens, giving them the right to vote.
o This included about 220,000 foreign-born Chinese residents.
 Compulsory voting was also introduced.
 As a result, about 525,000 voters turned up, triple the number in 1955.
 The election results were announced in the early hours of 31 May:
o The LF, renamed the Singapore People’s Alliance (SPA) performed
poorly, winning only 4 out of 39 seats contested.
 Chinese voters were not happy with Lim Yew Hock.
o The PAP scored a landslide victory, winning 43 out of 51 seats
contested.
 On 3 June 1959, a crowd of 500,000 gathered at the Padang to hear Lee Kuan
Yew rally the people, bringing Singapore to full internal self-government.
 Yusof bin Ishak was sworn in as the new Yang di Pertuan Negara.
o At his swearing in, Singapore’s State Flag, State Crest, and State
National Anthem were unveiled.
 The State Flag replaced the Union Jack, which had flown over
Singapore over the past 140 years.
 The State National Anthem replaced Britain’s “God Save the
Queen.”

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