The history of Singapore had a relatively minor role in the greater history of Southeast Asia until 1819, when the Englishman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founded a British port on the island. Under British colonial rule, it grew in importance as a center for both the India-China trade and the entrepot trade of the Southeast Asian region, eventually becoming one of the most important port cities in the world. During World War II, it was conquered and occupied by the Japanese Empire from 1942 to 1945. After the war, Singapore reverted to British control, with increasing levels of self-government being granted, culminating in its merger with the Federation of Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. However, disputes between Singapore's People's Action Party and Malaysia's Alliance Party resulted in Singapore's expulsion from the Federation, to become an independent republic on August 9, 1965. Since then, it has become one of the world's most prosperous nations, with a highly-developed free market economy, strong international trading links, and per capita gross domestic product comparable to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
Contents [hide]
1 Ancient times
2 Founding of modern Singapore (1819)
3 Early growth (1819–1826)
4 The Straits Settlements (1826–1867)
5 Singapore as a Crown colony (1867–1941)
6 The Battle of Singapore and the Japanese Occupation (1942–1945)
7 Post-war period (1945–1955)
8 Self-government (1955–1963)
9 Merger with Malaysia (1963–1965)
10 Republic of Singapore (1965–present)
10.1 Problems after independence
10.2 Resolution
10.3 Success and criticism
11 See also
12 References
13 External links
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Ancient times
The earliest written record of Singapore was a Chinese account of the 3rd century, describing the island of Pu Luo Chung (è²ç½ä¸), probably a transliteration of the Malay Pulau Ujong, "island at the end" (of the Malay peninsula.) The Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) contains a tale of a prince of Srivijaya, Sri Tri Buana (also known as Sang Nila Utama), who landed on the island sometime during the 13th century. Catching sight of a strange creature that he thought was a lion, he decided to found a settlement called Singapura, which means "Lion City" in Sanskrit. It is unlikely that there ever were lions in Singapore, though tigers continued to roam the island until the early 20th century.
Recent excavations in Fort Canning might suggest the use of ancient Singapore as a trading post for transactions between the Phoenicians and the Malay and Chinese.
The Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan, visiting the island around 1330, described a small Malay settlement called Dan Ma Xi (淡马é¡, from Malay Tamasik) containing a number of Chinese residents. The island was apparently a haven for pirates preying on passing ships. The Nagarakretagama, a Javanese epic poem written in 1365, also referred to a settlement on the island, which it called Temasek (Sea Town).
During the 1390s, Parameswara, the last Srivijayan prince, fled to Temasek after being deposed by the Majapahit Empire. Notwithstanding the legend from the Sejarah Melayu, the "Singapura" name possibly dates to this period. Parameswara held the island for a number of years, until further attacks from either the Majapahit or the Ayuthia Kingdom in Siam forced him to move on to Melaka.
Following the decline of Srivijayan power, Temasek was alternately claimed by the Majapahit and the Siamese. Its fortifications apparently allowed it to withstand at least one attempted Siamese invasion. During the 17th century, it briefly regained some importance as a trading centre of the Sultanate of Johor, but eventually sank again into obscurity.
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Founding of modern Singapore (1819)
Main article: Founding of modern Singapore
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the Malay archipelago was gradually taken over by the European colonial powers, beginning with the arrival of the Portuguese at Malacca in 1509. The early dominance of the Portuguese was challenged, during the 17th century, by the Dutch, who came to control most of the region's ports. The Dutch established a monopoly over trade within the archipelago, particularly in spices, then the region's most important product. Other colonial powers, including the British, were limited to a relatively minor presence.
In 1818, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles was appointed as the governor of the British colony at Bencoolen. Raffles believed that the British should find a way to replace the Dutch as the dominant power in the archipelago, since the trade route between China and British India, which had become vitally important with the institution of the opium trade with China, passed through the archipelago. Furthermore, the Dutch were stifling British trade within the region; the British were prohibited from operating in Dutch-controlled ports, with the exception of Batavia, where unfavourable prices were imposed. Raffles reasoned that the way to challenge the Dutch was to establish a new port in the region. Existing British ports were not suited to becoming major trading centres. Penang was too far away from the Straits of Malacca, the main ship passageway for the India-China trade, whereas Bencoolen faced the Sunda Straits, a much less important area. Many other possible sites were either controlled by the Dutch, or could not fulfill the role of being an important port of call.
In 1818, Raffles managed to convince Lord Hastings, the governor-general of India and his superior at the British East India Company, to fund an expedition to establish a new British base in the region. The island of Singapore seemed to be a natural choice. It lay at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula, near the Straits of Malacca, and possessed an excellent natural harbour, fresh water supplies, and timber for repairing ships.
Raffles' expedition arrived in Singapore on 29 January 1819. He found a small Malay settlement at the mouth of the Singapore River, headed by a Temenggong (governor) of Johor. The island was nominally ruled by Johor, but the political situation there was extremely murky. The current Sultan of Johor, Tengku Rahman, was controlled by the Dutch and the Bugis, and would never agree to a British base in Singapore. However, Abdul Rahman was Sultan only because his older brother, Tengku Hussein, had been away in Penang getting married when their father died.
With the Temenggong's help, Raffles managed to smuggle Hussein, then living in exile on one of the Riau Islands, back into Singapore. He offered to recognize Hussein as the rightful Sultan of Johor, and provide him with a yearly payment; in return, Hussein would grant them the right to establish a trading post on Singapore. This agreement was ratified with a formal treaty signed on 6 February 1819, and modern Singapore was born.
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Early growth (1819–1826)
Raffles returned to Bencoolen soon after the signing of the treaty, leaving Major William Farquhar in charge of the new settlement, which initially consisted of some artillery and a single regiment of Indian soldiers. Establishing a trading port from scratch was in itself a daunting prospect, but Farquhar's administration was, in addition, practically unfunded, as Raffles did not wish his superiors to view Singapore as a liability. In addition, it was forbidden from earning revenue by imposing port duties, Raffles having decided from the outset that Singapore would be a free port.
In spite of these difficulties, the new colony rapidly proved to be a spectacular success. As news of the free port spread across the archipelago, Bugis, Peranakan Chinese, and Arab traders flocked to the island, seeking to circumvent the Dutch trading restrictions. During the first year of operation, $400,000 (Spanish dollars) worth of trade passed through Singapore. By 1821, the island's population had increased to around five thousand, and the trade volume was $8 million. By 1825, the population had passed the ten thousand mark, with a trade volume of $22 million (in comparison, the trade volume for the long-established port of Penang was $8.5 million during the same year.)
Raffles returned to Singapore in 1822. Although Farquhar had successfully led the settlement through its difficult early years, Raffles was critical of many of the decisions he had made. For instance, in order to generate much-needed revenue for the government, Farquhar had resorted to selling licenses for gambling and the sale of opium, which Raffles saw as social evils. Raffles arranged for Farquhar's dismissal, and set about drafting a set of new policies for the settlement. He arranged for a second treaty with the Sultan and Temenggong, signed on 7 June 1823, which extended British possession to the entire island, except for the residences of the Sultan and Temenggong. The latter also gave up their rights to numerous functions on the island, including the collection of port taxes, in return for lifelong monthly payments of $1500 and $800 respectively. This agreement brought the island squarely under British law, with the proviso that it would take into account Malay customs, traditions and religion, "where they shall not be contrary to reason, justice or humanity."
Raffles, also shocked at the disarray of the colony, then arranged to organise Singapore into functional and ethnic subdivisions under the drafted Raffles Plan of Singapore. Today, the remnants of this organisation can be found in the ethnic neighbourhoods.
After installing John Crawfurd, an efficient and frugal administrator, as the new governor, Raffles departed for Britain in October 1823. He would never return to Singapore. Most of his personal possessions were lost after his ship, the Fame, caught fire and sank, and he died only a few years later, in 1826, at an age of less than 45.
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The Straits Settlements (1826–1867)
Main article: Singapore in the Straits Settlements
Raffles' founding of Singapore was based on rather shaky legal grounds, and the Dutch government soon issued bitter protests to the British government, arguing that their sphere of influence had been violated. The British government and the East India Company, though originally sympathetic to these complaints, became increasingly less so as Singapore's importance grew. By 1822, it was made clear to the Dutch that the British had no intention of giving up the island.
The status of Singapore as a British possession was cemented by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, which carved up the Malay archipelago between the two colonial powers. The area north of the Straits of Malacca, including Penang, Malacca, and Singapore, was designated as the British sphere of influence, while the area south of the Straits was assigned to the Dutch. This division had far-reaching consequences for the region: modern-day Malaysia and Singapore correspond to the British area established in the treaty, and modern-day Indonesia to the Dutch. In 1826, Singapore was grouped together with Penang and Malacca into a single administrative unit, the Straits Settlements, under the British East India Company.
During the subsequent decades, Singapore grew to become one of the most important ports in the world. Several events during this period contributed to its success:
British intervention in the Malay peninsula from the 1820s onwards culminated, during the 1870s, in the formation of British Malaya. During this period, Malaya became an increasingly important producer of rubber and tin, much of which was shipped out through Singapore. Singapore also served as the administrative center for Malaya until the 1880s, when the capital was shifted to Kuala Lumpur.
The British government ended the East India Company's monopoly on the China trade in 1834, allowing other British companies to enter the market and leading to a surge in shipping traffic.
The China trade was opened with the signing of the Unequal Treaties, beginning in 1842.
The advent of ocean-going steamships, which were faster and had a larger capacity than sailing ships, reduced transportation costs and led to a boom in trade. Singapore also benefited by acting as a coaling station.
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 dramatically reduced the travel time from Europe to East Asia, again providing a boost for trade.
By 1880, over 1.5 million tons of goods were passing through Singapore each year, with around 80% of it transported by steamships.
Despite Singapore's growing importance, its government was generally underfunded, weak, and ineffectual. The Straits Settlements were a division of British India, and administrators were usually posted from India with little or no knowledge of the region. As long as British trade was not affected, the administration was unconcerned with the welfare of the populace. For instance, in 1850 there were only twelve police officers to keep order in a city of nearly 60,000.
As early as 1827, the Chinese had become the largest ethnic group in Singapore. During the earliest years of the settlement, most of the Chinese in Singapore had been Peranakans, the descendants of Chinese who had settled in the archipelago centuries ago, who were usually well-to-do merchants. As the port developed, much larger numbers of Chinese coolies flocked to Singapore looking for work. These migrant workers were generally male, poor and uneducated, and had left China (mostly from southern China) to escape the political and economic disasters in their country. They aspired to make their fortune in Southeast Asia and return home to China, but most were doomed to a life of low-paying unskilled labour. Until the 20th century, few Chinese ended up settling permanently, primarily because wives were in short supply. The sex ratio in Singapore's Chinese community was around fifteen to one, mainly due to restrictions that the Chinese government imposed, up till the 1860s, on the migration of women. The second largest ethnic group in Singapore, around the 1860s, was the Indians. These included unskilled labourers like the Chinese coolies, as well as traders, soldiers garrisoned at Singapore by the government, and a number of convicts. There were also a large number of Malays in Singapore. Although many of the Malays continued to live in kampungs (traditional Malay villages), most worked as wage earners and craftsmen, rather than farmers like those in Malaya.
As a result of the government's hands-off attitude and the predominantly male, transient, and uneducated nature of the population, the society of Singapore was rather lawless and chaotic. Prostitution, gambling, and drug abuse (particularly of opium) were widespread. Chinese criminal secret societies (analogous to modern-day triads) were extremely powerful; some had tens of thousands of members, and turf wars between rival societies occasionally led to death tolls numbering in the hundreds. Attempts to suppress these secret societies had limited success, and they continued to be a problem well into the 20th century.
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Singapore as a Crown colony (1867–1941)
Main article: Colonial Singapore
1888 German map of SingaporeAs Singapore continued to grow, the deficiencies in the Straits Settlements administration became increasingly apparent. Apart from the indifference of British India's administrators to local conditions, there was immense bureaucracy and red tape which made it difficult to pass new laws. Singapore's merchant community began agitating against British Indian rule, in favour of establishing Singapore as a separate colony of Britain. In 1867, the British government finally agreed to make the Straits Settlements a Crown Colony, receiving orders directly from the Colonial Office rather than from India.
As a Crown Colony, the Straits Settlements was ruled by a governor, based in Singapore, with the assistance of executive and legislative councils. Although the councils were not elected, more representatives for the local population were gradually included over the years.
The colonial government embarked on several measures to address the serious social problems facing Singapore. For example, a Chinese Protectorate under Pickering was established in 1877 to address the needs of the Chinese community, including controlling the worst abuses of the coolie trade. Nevertheless, many social problems persisted up through the post-war era, including an acute housing shortage and generally poor health and living standards.
In 1906, the Tongmenghui, a Chinese organization dedicated to the overthrow of the Qing empire led by Sun Yatsen, founded its Nanyang branch in Singapore, which was to serve as the organization's headquarters in Southeast Asia. Today, this founding is commemorated in the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall in Singapore where the branch operated from.
Singapore was not much affected by World War I (1914–18), as the conflict did not spread to Southeast Asia. The only significant event during the war was a 1915 mutiny by the British Muslim Indian sepoys garrisoned in Singapore. After hearing rumours that they were to be sent off to fight the Ottoman Empire which was Muslim, the soldiers revolted, killing their officers and several British civilians before being suppressed by troops arriving from Johor and Burma.
After the war, the British government devoted significant resources into building a naval base in Singapore, as a deterrent to the increasingly ambitious Japanese Empire. Originally announced in 1923, the construction of the base proceeded slowly until the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. When completed in 1939, at a staggering cost of $500 million, it boasted what was then the largest dry dock in the world, the third-largest floating dock, and enough fuel tanks to support the entire British navy for six months. It was defended by heavy 15-inch naval guns stationed at Fort Siloso, Fort Canning and Labrador, as well as a Royal Air Force airfield at Tengah Airbase. Winston Churchill touted it as the "Gibraltar of the East."
Unfortunately, it was a base without a fleet. The British Home Fleet was stationed in Europe, and the British could not afford to build a second fleet to protect its interests in Asia. The plan was for the Home Fleet to sail quickly to Singapore in the event of an emergency. However, after World War II broke out in 1939, the fleet was completely tied up in defending Britain.
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The Battle of Singapore and the Japanese Occupation (1942–1945)
Main articles: Battle of Singapore and Japanese Occupation of Singapore
On December 7, 1941, Japan launched its attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Pacific War began in earnest. One of Japan's objectives was to capture Southeast Asia, because of its ample natural resources, since at the time, Malaya produced 40 percent of the world's rubber and 60 percent of its tin. Singapore, as the main Allied base in the region, was the obvious military target.
In Singapore, it was widely assumed that the Japanese attack would come from the south, by sea, since the dense Malayan jungle to the north served as a natural barrier against invasion. Although the British had drawn up a plan for dealing with an attack on northern Malaya, preparations were never completed. Both the armed forces and the civilian population were confident that "Fortress Singapore" would be able to withstand any Japanese attack, and this complacency seems to have led to a great underestimation of the Japanese forces. Local confidence was further boosted by the arrival of Force Z, a squadron of British warships dispatched to the defence of Singapore, consisting of two capital ships, the modern new battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the veteran cruiser HMS Repulse, with their accompanying destroyers HMS Electra, Express, and Tenedos, and HMAS Vampire. The squadron was to have been accompanied by a third capital ship, the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable, but it ran aground en route, leaving them without benefit of air cover. After this incident, the region increasingly suffered daily air raids on civilian targets such as hospitals or shophouses including Singapore until surrender, casualties ranging from the tens to the hundreds each time.
Results of a Japanese air assault on February 8, 1942. Numerous civilians had died previously in similar air raids.On 8 December 1941, Japanese forces landed at Kota Bahru in northern Malaya. Just two days after the start of the invasion, Prince of Wales and Repulse were sunk 50 miles off the coast of Malaya by a force of Japanese bomber and torpedo bomber aircraft, in the worst British naval defeat of World War II. Allied air support did not arrive in time to protect the capital ships. The Japanese army advanced swiftly southward through the Malay Peninsula, crushing or bypassing Allied resistance. The Allied forces had no tanks, as they were considered useless in the tropical rainforest, and their infantry proved powerless against the light tanks fielded by the Japanese. As their resistance failed against the Japanese advance, the Allied forces were forced to systematically retreat southwards towards Singapore. By January 31, 1942, a mere 55 days after the start of the invasion, the Japanese had conquered the entire peninsula, and were poised to attack Singapore.
Arthur Percival marches under a flag of truce in order to sue for surrender of the British forces to the Japanese on February 15, 1942. It would be the largest surrender of British forces in history.The causeway linking Johore and Singapore was blown up in an effort to stop the Japanese. However, the Japanese crossed the Straits of Johor in inflatable boats days after. Several heroic fights by volunteers of Singapore's population against the advancing Japanese, such as the Battle of Pasir Panjang, took place during this period. It is a common misconception that Singapore's naval guns could not fire upon the Japanese because they could only face south. This was not true; the guns could turn to the north, and they did in fact fire upon the advancing Japanese columns. However, the naval guns were designed to pierce hull armour, not take out infantry. With most of their defences shattered and supplies almost exhausted, Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival and the British forces finally surrendered to General Tomoyuki Yamashita of the Imperial Japanese Army on Chinese New Year, 15 February 1942. About 130,000 Indian, Australian and British troops became prisoners of war, many of whom would later be transported to Japan, Korea, or Manchuria for use as slave labour via prisoner transports known as "Hell Ships." The fall of Singapore was the largest surrender of British military personnel in history.
Singapore, renamed Syonan-to (æå島 ShÅnan-tÅ, "Light of the South Island" in Japanese), was occupied by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945. The Japanese Occupation is generally regarded as the darkest period of Singaporean history. The Japanese had claimed that they were liberating Southeast Asia from colonialism, but in reality they were far harsher rulers than the British ever were. In addition to civilian casualties, numerous atrocities were committed by Japanese troops, particularly by the Kempeitai, the Japanese military police. For instance, they were the enforcers of the Sook Ching Massacre of ethnic Chinese, including civilians who had donated to charities to aid the war effort in China, claimed between 25,000 and 50,000 lives in Malaya and Singapore.
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Post-war period (1945–1955)
There was much fanfare when the British returned to Singapore in 1945. Note the flag of the Republic of China, waving near the background.After Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 15, 1945, there was a state of anomie in Singapore, as the British had not arrived to take control, while the Japanese occupiers had a considerably weakened hold over the populace. Incidents of looting and revenge-killing were widespread. Much of the infrastructure had been destroyed, including the harbour facilities for the Port of Singapore, in addition to electricity, water supply systems, and telephone services. It would take four or five years for the economy to return to pre-war levels. Unemployment and discontent by workers started to become a problem.
When British troops returned to Singapore in September 1945, thousands of Singaporeans lined the streets to cheer them. However, the fact remained that the British had failed to defend Singapore, and in the eyes of many Singaporeans this had cost them their credibility as infallible rulers. The decades after the war saw a political awakening amongst the local populace and the rise of nationalist and anti-colonial sentiments. The British, on their part, were prepared to embark on a program of gradually increasing self-governance for Singapore and Malaya.
The first Singaporean elections, held in 1948, were rather limited. Participation was restricted to British subjects, of which only 23,000 registered to vote, and in any event only six of the twenty-five seats on the Legislative Council were to be elected. Three of the seats were won by a newly-formed conservative party, the Singapore Progressive Party (SPP), whose leaders were disinclined to press for self-rule. Three months after the elections, an armed insurgency by communist groups in Malaya — the Malayan Emergency — broke out, and the British imposed harsh measures to control left-wing groups in both Singapore and Malaya; the controversial Internal Security Act, which allowed indefinite detention without trial for persons suspected of being "threats to security", was introduced at this time. Since the left-wing groups were the strongest critics of the colonial system, progress on self-government stalled for several years. A second Legislative Council election, in 1951, was again swept by the SPP. This slowly contributed to the formation of a distinct government of Singapore, although colonial administration was still dominant.
In 1953, with the communists in Malaya suppressed and the worst of the Emergency over, the government appointed a commission, headed by Sir George Rendel, to study the possibility of self-government for Singapore. The commission proposed a limited form of self-government. The Legislative Assembly with twenty-five out of thirty-two seats chosen by popular election would replace the Legislative Councils, from which a Chief Minister as head of government and Council of Ministers as a cabinet would be picked under a parliamentary system. The British would retain control over areas such as internal security and foreign affairs, as well as a veto over legislation.
The government agreed with the recommendations, and Legislative Assembly elections were scheduled for April 2, 1955. The election was a lively and closely-fought affair, with several newly-formed political parties joining the fray. In contrast to previous elections, voters were automatically registered, expanding the electorate to around 300,000. At the end of the day, the SPP was soundly defeated, winning only four seats. The newly-formed, left-leaning Labour Front was the largest winner with ten seats. Another new party, the leftist People's Action Party (PAP), won three seats.
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Self-government (1955–1963)
The leader of the Labour Front, David Marshall, became the first Chief Minister of Singapore. He presided over a shaky government, receiving little cooperation from either the colonial government or the other local parties. In May 1955, however, the Hock Lee Bus Riots broke out, killing four people, and consequently would later seriously discredit Marshall's government. In April 1956, he led a delegation to London to negotiate for complete self-rule, but the talks fell through due to British concerns about communist influence and unrest and labour strikes from workers and from trade unions which were undermining Singapore's economic stability. Marshall continued to pressure the British, before declaring that if the British did not give Singapore self-rule, he would resign. However, the British were not concerned about his resignation, and because he did not want to back out on his word, Marshall eventually resigned. His successor as Chief Minister, Lim Yew Hock, launched a crackdown on communist and leftist groups, imprisoning many trade union leaders and several pro-communist members of the PAP under the Internal Security Act.
The British government approved of Lim's tough stance against communist agitators, and when a new round of talks was held beginning in 1957, they were amenable to granting almost complete self-government. A State of Singapore would be created, with its own citizenship, consisting of persons born in Singapore or the Federation of Malaya, British citizens of two years' residence, and others of ten years' residence. The Legislative Assembly would be expanded to fifty-one members, entirely chosen by popular election, and the Prime Minister and cabinet would control all aspects of government except defence and foreign affairs. The British-appointed Governor was replaced by a Yang di-Pertuan Negara or head of state.
Elections for the new Legislative Assembly were held in May 1959. This time round, the PAP swept the election, winning forty-three of the fifty-one seats. They had accomplished this by courting the Chinese-speaking majority, particularly those in the labour unions and radical student organizations. The leader of the PAP, Lee Kuan Yew, became the first Prime Minister of Singapore.
The PAP's victory was viewed with dismay by foreign and local business leaders. Although Lee and the other leaders of the PAP hailed from the "moderate" wing of the party, many of the other members were staunchly pro-communist. Many businesses promptly shifted their headquarters from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Despite these ill omens, the PAP government embarked on a vigorous program to address Singapore's various economic and social problems. The plan for the economy was overseen by the capable Goh Keng Swee, the new Minister of Finance, whose strategy was to encourage foreign and local investment using a wide variety of measures, ranging from low tax rates and tax holidays to the establishment of a new industrial estate in the Jurong area. At the same time, the education system was revamped with the goal of suiting the workforce to the needs of employers; more technical and vocational schools were established, and the English language was promoted over the Chinese language as a language of instruction. The long-standing problem of labour unrest was suppressed by consolidating existing labour unions, sometimes forcibly, into a single umbrella organization, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), which was closely affiliated with the government. On the social front, an attack was launched on the long-standing housing problem by an aggressive and well-funded public housing program, overseen by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). Headed by the banker and industrialist Lim Kim San, the HDB constructed more than 25,000 high-rise, low-cost apartments during its first two years of operation.
Despite their successes in governing Singapore, the leaders of the PAP, including Lee and Goh, believed that Singapore's future lay with Malaya. They felt that the historical and economic ties between Singapore and Malaya were too strong for them to continue as separate nations, and campaigned vigorously for a merger. On the other hand, the sizeable pro-communist wing of the PAP were strongly opposed to the merger, fearing a loss of influence; the government in Kuala Lumpur, headed by ruling party United Malays National Organisation, was staunchly anti-communist, and would support the PAP in such an event against them. The UMNO leaders were also skeptical of the idea; there was some distrust of the PAP government, and some were concerned that a merger with Singapore, with its large urban Chinese population, would alter the racial balance on which their political power base depended. The issue came to a head in 1961, when Ong Eng Guan, a long-standing member of the PAP, stormed out of the party and beat a PAP candidate in a subsequent by-election, a move that threatened to bring down Lee's government. Faced with the prospect of a takeover by the pro-communist wing of the PAP, UMNO did an about-face on the merger. On May 27, Malaya's Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, mooted the idea of a Federation of Malaysia, comprised of the existing Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Brunei and the British Borneo territories of Sabah and Sarawak. They held to the idea that the additional Malay population in the Borneo territories would offset Singapore's Chinese population.
The Malaysia proposal ignited the long-brewing conflict between the moderates and pro-communists in the PAP. The pro-communists, led by Lim Chin Siong, left the PAP to form a new opposition party, the Barisan Sosialis (Socialist Front), to campaign against entry into Malaysia under the conditions that the PAP wished. In response, Lee called for a referendum on the merger, to be held in September 1962, and initiated a vigorous campaign in advocation of their proposal of merger, possibly aided by the fact that the government had a large influence over the media.
It should be noted that the referendum did not have an option of objecting to the idea of merger because no one had raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly before then. However, the method of merger had been debated, by the PAP, Singapore's People's Alliance and the Barisian Sosialis, each with their own proposals. The referendum was called therefore, was to resolve this issue. The referendum called had three options. Singapore could join Malaysia, but would be granted full autonomy and only with fulfillment of conditions to guarantee that, which was option A. The second option, option B, called for full integration into Malaysia without such autonomy, with the status of any other state in Malaysia. The third option, option C, was to enter Malaysia "on terms no less favourable than the Borneo territories", noting the motive of why Malaysia proposed the Borneo territories to join as well.
After the referendum was held, the option A received 70 percent of the votes in the referendum, with 26 percent of the ballots left blank as advocated by the Barisan Sosialis to protest against option A.
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Merger with Malaysia (1963–1965)
Main articles: PAP-UMNO relations and History of Malaysia
A national ceremony celebrates the formation of the Federation of MalaysiaThe merger with Malaysia was thought to be the solution to resolve unemployment, a stagnating economy and the security threats posed by revolutionary elements in the period. This would be done by forming a new nation, eliminating trade taxes and therefore allowing a common, free market to open up, solving economic and unemployment woes. Thus on September 16, 1963, London agreed to hand over Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak to Kuala Lumpur, convinced that Singapore's security would be safeguarded by the much larger Malaysia. The governing UMNO took part in Singapore's 1963 state elections, held just five days after the merger, and not only did they not win, they lost in ridings they had expected to win, such as those with a Malay majority. Resentment was stirred on both sides, for different reasons: for Malaysia, it was a horrible embarrassment and shock; and for Singapore, a violation of previously stipulated agreements that the PAP would not participate in federal elections and that the UMNO would not take part in elections in the state of Singapore during the initial years after federation. This would be the beginning of tensions between the two parties in the young nation.
Many problems eventually resulted within a year from increasing conflict that emerged between the government of Singapore and the Federal Government. Racial tensions had increased dramatically, which was fuelled by tactics of the Barisan Sosialis to stir up tension, who sought to use desperate means in order to survive against the crackdown by both the government of Singapore and the Federal Government. In particular, the Chinese in Singapore disdained being discriminated against by Federal policies of affirmative action, which granted special privileges to the Malays guaranteed under Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia. There were also other financial and economic benefits that were preferentially given to Malays. Islam was the sole official religion, although non-Muslims maintained the freedom of worship.
Meanwhile, the Malays and Muslims in Singapore were being increasingly incited by the federal government's accusations that the PAP was mistreating the Malays. Numerous racial riots resulted, and curfews were common in order to restore order. The external political situation was also tense at the time, with Indonesia actively against the establishment of the Federation of Malaysia. President Sukarno of Indonesia declared a state of Konfrantasi (Confrontation) against Malaysia and initiated military and other actions against the new nation. These included acts to provoke the Malays against the Chinese.
The start of the racial riot on Prophet Muhammad's birthday, that would later injure hundreds and killed 23 people.One of the more notorious riots was the 1964 Race Riots that took place on Prophet Muhammad's birthday (July 21, 1964), near Kallang Gasworks with twenty three killed and hundreds injured as Chinese and Malays attacked each other. Today, it is still disputed how it started, and theories include a bottle being thrown into a Muslim rally. More riots broke out in September 1964. The price of food heavily skyrocketed during this period due to the disruption in transport, which caused further hardship. (The Government later introduced Racial Harmony Day, which falls on the same date as the riots.)
In addition, the federal government of Malaysia, dominated by the United Malays National Organization, feared that as long as Singapore remained in the Federation, the bumiputra policy of positive racial discrimination to the Malays would be undermined and therefore not in the interest of their pro-Malay agenda. One of the major causes of this fear was the fact that the PAP continued to repeatedly cry for a "Malaysian Malaysia!" - the fair and equal treatment of all races in Malaysia, by serving Malaysian citizens, rather than the Malay race. Another likely contributor was the fear that the economic dominance of Singapore's port would inevitably shift political power away from Kuala Lumpur in time, should Singapore remain in the federation.
The rivalry between the state and the federal government in Kuala Lumpur grew when the PAP, which controlled the state government, and the UMNO, which governed the nation, openly contested in each other's elections in violation of their previous agreements not to. The United Malays National Organization formed and backed the Singapore Alliance Party, which ran in the state election held on September 21, 1963, but failed to win any seats in the state assembly, while the PAP, in a tit-for-tat, challenged UMNO candidates in the April 1964 federal election as part of the Malaysian Solidarity Convention, winning one seat in Parliament.
Other points of contention were the agreements for the formation of a common market within Malaysia that had not occurred - in retaliation, Singapore did not extend to Sabah and Sarawak the full extent of the loans agreed to for economic development of the two eastern states.
The situation escalated to such intensity that talks soon broke down and abusive speeches and writings became rife on both sides. UMNO extremists called for the arrest of Lee Kuan Yew.
On August 7, 1965, Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, seeing no other alternative than independence for Singapore to avoid further bloodshed, advised Parliament that it should vote to expel Singapore from Malaysia. Despite last ditch attempts by PAP leaders, including Lee Kuan Yew, to keep Singapore as a state in the union, the Parliament of Malaysia on August 9, 1965, voted 126-0 to support the expulsion of Singapore, with members of Parliament from Singapore not present. On that day, a tearful Lee Kuan Yew, announced that Singapore was a sovereign, independent nation and assumed the role of prime minister of the new nation. His speech included this quote: "For me, it is a moment of anguish. All my life, my whole adult life, I have believed in merger and unity of the two territories." [1] [2]
Hence, Singapore became the only country in the history of the modern world to gain independence against its own will.
Under constitutional amendments passed in December of that year, the new state became the Republic of Singapore, with the Yang di-Pertuan Negara becoming President, and the Legislative Assembly becoming the Parliament of Singapore. These changes were made retroactive to the date of Singapore's secession from Malaysia.
The Malaya & British Borneo Dollar remained legal tender until the introduction of the Singapore dollar in 1967.
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Republic of Singapore (1965–present)
Immediately after independence, as the tiny island nation of Singapore seemed extremely inadequate as a viable country by itself, much of the international media was skeptical of prospects for Singapore's survival. The pressing issues were unemployment, housing, education, lack of natural resources and lack of land. There was an especial pressure for the government to reduce the unemployment rate which was ranging between 10–12%, because it was responsible for being the root cause of much of the civil unrest. The loss of access to the Malaysian hinterland and the lack of natural resources meant that Singapore had no solid traditional sources of income. A large portion of the population lacked formal education, even when this statistic counted Chinese schools which the British did not recognise. Entrepot trade, the main use of Singapore's port and the original reason for Singapore's success in the 19th century, was no longer sufficient to support the large population.
Shenton Way around 1970, the period of time where Singapore underwent immense economic development under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew.[edit]
Problems after independence
There was a lack of good housing and a proliferation of squatter settlements. Combined with the high unemployment rate, this led to social problems from crime, a low standard of living and unrest. The other deleterious effect of squatter settlements, was that many of these were built of highly flammable materials, were poorly constructed and thus posed a high fire risk. A prominent example in this case is the Bukit Ho Swee Squatter Fire that broke out in 1961. In addition, there was poor sanitation, which led to the spread of infectious diseases.
Another problem facing Singapore was that there was little national unity among most of the population. Many people still identified themselves in terms of countries of origin, rather than being Singaporeans. This posed possible problems of loyalty, reliability and the possibility of further racial riots.
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Resolution
Singapore dealt with each of these problems separately.
Overall, however, Singapore invested heavily in economic growth. Industrial estates were set up, especially in Jurong, and government ministers, including Lee Kuan Yew, toured the world in order to try to gain investors from abroad. The government offered new investors tax holidays of 5–10 years. Singapore's port gave her an advantage over her neighbouring countries, being a favourable spot for efficient exports of refined goods and imports of raw material. This meant that industries in Singapore found international markets easily, and cheaper prices for raw goods. Singapore's growing industrialisation meant that entrepot trade had been extended into processing of imported raw materials into exported finished products — leading to higher value-added goods which brought more income to the island. This ended up being a suitable alternative to a common market to the Malaysian hinterland, although later a form of it ended up being formed with the creation of ASEAN.
The service industry also grew at this time, sparked by demand for services by ships calling at the port and increasing commerce.
The new direction that Singapore took demanded a skilled labour force to engage in her revised role of refining raw goods, as opposed to the traditional natural resource extraction industries of her neighbours. Its leaders decided early on that the population would need to be fluent in the English language, as they would be communicating and cooperating with expatriate employers or business partners abroad, and English was adopted as the medium of education for all schools. Education, especially primary education, was made compulsory. The educational system was designed to be rigorous and intensive, with emphasis on immediately practical, rather than intellectual, applications, such as on technical sciences as opposed to political discussion or philosophy. A large portion, around one-fifth of Singapore's budget, was devoted to education to facilitate a large and competent workforce upon graduation. Presently the government of Singapore maintains it as this level.
This style of educational policy was extremely competitive, and favoured those that did initially well, and tended to ignore the suffering students, in the process of streaming. This remained a controversial issue even today, being for instance brought up in the successful local film I Not Stupid which also addresses the culture of competition induced by the post-independence education policy. Although the education policy has evolved over the years to address such concerns, the streaming issue is still prominent.
In order to resolve racial tension, a policy to create national identity through education in schools and flag raising and lowering ceremonies was implemented. This is constantly re-emphasized within the curriculum and "National Education", a compulsory program of which the main goal is to inculcate students with a sense of "national fraternity".
The Housing Development Board set up before independence continued to be largely successful. Huge building projects sprung up to provide cheap, affordable public housing to resettle the squatters. It was remarkable that, within a decade, the majority of the population had been housed in HDB apartments. Possible explanations for the otherwise seemingly impossible success was the determination of the government, the large budget allocations, and efforts to eliminate red tape and corruption. This also helped to foster national unity, racial harmony and loyalty, especially with the intentional policy to group the different races together within the same estate; this has led the HDB policy to be a major contribution towards the Singaporean culture. Having achieved its stated goal of rehousing Singapore's squatters, and thus removing a large social problem, it set out to build larger and higher-standard apartments. Today, 80-90% of the population lives in HDB apartments.
Reformation of the system of justice and law in Singapore occurred, as well as government attempts to mediate labour disputes. This tended to reduce or even eliminate most of the resentment that was present in the workforce prior to 1965. Singapore took the step of nationalising companies that would not survive on their own, or could otherwise be detrimental for Singapore if they were not closely in line with government policy because they were a public service. Singapore Power, Public Utilities Board, Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) are prominent examples. Such companies that were nationalized were often infrastructure or utility companies, companies meant to lay out services such as electricity or transport for the benefit of other companies. The extension of power infrastructure for example, led to an increased attraction of foreign investors. Recently, the government has taken steps to privatize these previous monopolies - SingTel and Singapore Airlines are now publicly listed, limited liability companies, even though the government still holds large shares in them.
Changi Airport was also built around this time. The development of air transport meant further extension of entrepot trade as well as its intended purpose of attracting investors through a convenient way to enter and leave the country. In conjunction with Singapore Airlines, for example, the hospitality industry grew immensely, which led to growth in the tourism industry.
The other major issue brought up around this time was national defence. Following independence, the British were still defending Singapore, but had announced they would be withdrawing by 1971, due to pressures at home and military commitments elsewhere in the world. This caused considerable alarm locally, particularly among those who remembered the Japanese occupation when Singapore had been defenceless during World War II. Lee Kuan Yew initiated preparations for a national defence force from 1967, to be called the Singapore Armed Forces, to be established by the time of the British withdrawal. The British agreed to postpone the withdrawal for half a year, but no longer. Singapore consulted international experts from West Germany and Israel to train their armed forces and equip them. As a small country surrounded by larger neighbours, Singapore allocated a large portion of its budget, around 19%, to defence and this still continues today, having the fourth largest per capita military expenditure in the world, after Israel, United States and Kuwait.
Singapore was especially interested in Israel's model of national service that led to its decisive victory in the Six-Day War over its Arab neighbours in 1967. This led to the implementation of Singapore's own national service programme starting in 1967. All eighteen-year-old males would be required to participate in national service and train full-time for two and a half years, and then required to repeatedly come back each year to maintain their skills in order to carry out an effective mobilisation at any time. This policy meant that Singapore could quickly mobilise enough defence forces to deter any invasion, especially against Indonesia during the Confrontation, when the British withdrew in September 1971. Females were left out of national service — the explanation being that, during a time of war, they would be required to support the economy while the men were fighting. This policy is sometimes questioned as being sexist and has been discussed in the mass media a number of times together with the length of training involved. The creation of the national service policy is thought to aid the strengthening of national and racial ties since there is a sense of unity when training as a youth with peers of other races.
A "Total Defence" policy was created with the intent of the population being prepared to defend Singapore on five metaphorical fronts: economically, on a civil level (including hospitals), a social level, a psychological level as well as on a military level.
Singapore also realised the need for international cooperation. It joined the United Nations on September 21, 1965, the Commonwealth in October that year, and became part of ASEAN on August 8, 1967. This helped to boost trade through cooperation. It also later joined the World Trade Organization.
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Success and criticism
Further economic success continued through the 1980's onwards, with the unemployment rate falling to 3% and real GDP growth averaging at about 8% during this time until 1999. In the 1980's, Singapore faced the challenge of needing to upgrade its industries to higher-technology industries, in order to compete with its neighbours which were exporting the same things at a lower price. Originally, Singapore manufactured goods such as textiles. A skilled workforce with an aptitude for learning helped ease the transition, for example, to new jobs in the wafer fabrication industry, which was quickly being established in Singapore.
Singapore also had to upgrade its military, for instance upgrading the standard infantry weapon of its army. Formerly it had been the AK-47, it was upgraded to the lighter, United States-made M16.
Singapore became one of the world's most prosperous countries, with strong international trading links, its port is one of the world's busiest and with a per capita GDP above that of the leading nations of Western Europe. The education budget remains at one fifth or more, and many of its practices, such as racial harmony, continue today.
A side effect of this is that traffic congestion became increasingly more common, and in 1987, the first Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line was established and would later grow to become a famous epitome of what is often viewed as a well-integrated public transport system. This network also improved the convenience of travelling from one side of the island to the other — a benefit which did not exist in the 1960s.
I Not Stupid portrayed various complaints about the education systemHowever, the political situation in Singapore, although stable, is termed authoritarian by activists who see some of the regulations of political and media activities as an infringement on political rights, perceiving them as authoritarian. This has been the greatest complaint about the PAP by the opposition parties so far, the Workers' Party of Singapore and the Singapore Democratic Party being two of the prominent opposition parties who accuse the PAP of authoritarianism.
The Parliamentary Elections Act was amended in 1991. The opposition parties have complained that since the amendment is particularly difficult for the opposition to gain a foothold in parliamentary elections in Singapore, and the plurality voting system in the constituencies of Singapore, especially large group representation constituencies, tends to exclude minority parties. The system has been defended by the PAP because the system encourages representation of the minority races by requiring a minority candidate in group representation constituencies. [1] This however increases the difficulty of the opposition parties being able to gain a seat. Until the general election in 2006, the PAP had always managed to return to power on nomination day, even before the elections commenced since the amendment to the Parliamentary Elections Act. The opposition accuses that the group representation constituency is an intentional hindrance, as between 1991 and 2001 did not manage to put forward enough qualified candidates to even contest the PAP's mandate.
In addition, the education system's rigid structure, the success of which was previously judged by its ability to create a developed economy with a high standard of living, has been criticised by parents and opposition leaders for its rigidity. This stems from the thought that Singapore's education has brought up a society which only cares about making money and is politically apathetic. Various aspects of the resulting culture of Singapore that arose out of government policy were critiqued and portrayed with a mix of comedy, satire and drama in the successful Singaporean film I Not Stupid.
The arrest of Chee Soon Juan, and the lawsuits of slander against J. B. Jeyaretnam have been cited by the opposition parties as examples of such authoritarianism, who were both opposition MPs. They also have been charged on the grounds of slander for political criticism. The lack of separation of powers between the court system and the government led to further accusations by the opposition parties of miscarriage of justice. Further arrests of those who were politically active against the PAP, such as Francis Seow, and even students who have recently entered tertiary education are part of these accusations of authoritarianism.
Singapore's bilateral post-independence relationship with Malaysia is complex, but plays a significant part in both their histories. Despite their differences, Malaysia remains an important, albeit partial, economic hinterland and a regional ally, especially due to both their memberships in ASEAN. This importance becomes especially apparent that much of Singapore's water supply comes from Malaysia, and that fresh produce not otherwise grown in Singapore domestically is imported from Malaysian farms. Singapore has signed treaties in 1961 and 1962 to buy water from Malaysia, which expire in 2011 and 2061 respectively. It currently appears both may not be renewed. Malaysia and Singapore have been known to chide or even issue threats to each other in the course taken after independence, but fortunately this has never become serious enough to develop into embargo or hostility.
In 1990, Lee Kuan Yew passed the reins to successor Goh Chok Tong, who saw the country through some of its most serious postwar crises, including the 1997 Asian financial crisis and SARS in 2003. During this period, many alleged members of the Jemaah Islamiyah were arrested under the Internal Security Act. They had been accused of planning the Singapore embassies attack plot, which targeted United States personnel and possessions. This included plans to bomb the Yishun MRT Station.
In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister of Singapore. A number of national policy changes have been proposed and carried out since then, among which the national service requirement was reduced from two and a half years of training to two during 2005.