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History CBA2 Challenges of the first labour front government coalition government weakened internal cohesion labour front had problems from the start → lack of popular mandate, did not win by a wide margin (although LF won the...

History CBA2 Challenges of the first labour front government coalition government weakened internal cohesion labour front had problems from the start → lack of popular mandate, did not win by a wide margin (although LF won the elections, they only won 10 seats, therefore not the majority party) therefore, they formed a coalition with the alliance party to establish a majority the new party comprising members of different parties with different ideals - liberals, socialist, trade unionists and political newcomers difficult to develop party solidarity since aims and interests were not the same resulted in a clash of views strong opposition parties that performed well but did did not win the elections: a) PAP (won 3 out of 4 seats contested) presented Marshall’s Labour Front party as a tool of the British government PAP worked with the Chinese majority and even collaborate with the more leftist elements (pro-communist) of the time. PAP’s appeal among the Chinese-speaking Chinese community - growing. Marshall could not build a similar broad-base support b) trade unions led by pro-communists comprised radical trade union leaders and student activists their methods of using strikes and demonstrations (Hock Lee Bus Riots) to discredit the government made it difficult for Marshall to establish a strong History CBA2 1  foundation of popular support British skepticism clash of views (wanted prog party to win) over the pace of constitutional change: that self-government and independence not be granted prematurely clashed with Labour Front’s aim of accelerating the pace of constitutional changes (resulted in the failure of the First Merdeka Talks) over what the scope of the Chief Minister’s responsibilities were the Rendel Constitution may have provided for more local representation but there was no clear guidelines on what the Chief Minister’s role was ie it did not define the powers of the Chief Minister eg the Rendel constitution stipulated that the Governor had to consult his Chief Minister but did not clarify if the Governor must then act on advice given by the Chief Minister. result - Governor Sir John Nicoll treated the first Chief Minister as a figurehead the lack of respect ie not according the new Chief Minister, David Marshall its due importance - evident in how Nicoll did not even allot Marshall a proper office had not expected Marshall to take up the post of Chief Minister as full time appointment had expected Marshall to be Chief Minister in name only but actually serving Minister of Commerce this was not what Marshall had in mind created a separate Ministry of Commerce and Industry - he wanted to serve as Chief Minister in his own right - to Marshall the post of Chief Minister meant he would have the executive powers of a prime minister. Hock lee bus riots happened same month they took office History CBA2 2  cause: chinese workers felt they were being mistreated significance: involved the trade union members, workers, as well as students from chinese schools first test whether LF would live up to its election promises DM: Reluctant to use force against the workers( tried soft gentle moderate approach cz he was supposed to be advocating for the ppl) Did not want to alienate the people - this was important since he was the leader of a minority government and had not built a mass base of support among the people yet - if he took the side of the British and did their bidding (to send in the British troops), the opposition could easily make him appear like a British puppet/stooge - too willing to take harsh measures against the Workers, who were his people too Labour Front: Promised to protect and prioritize the workersʼ rights Had his own convictions about the use of force and had hoped that a settlement would be reached. Against his personality to use force against working masses, peopleʼs whose sweat and toil had been exploited by the colonial government. Strategically - Marshall had hoped to build win the support among the student-labour movement for his own anti-colonial aims He also felt he had no choice - internal security was still controlled by the British. → Still in colonial hands, esp. Chief Secretary William Goode Hock Lee Bus Riots Timeline 1. occurred because the Communist leaders like Fong Swee Suan had successfully infiltrated trade unions like (Singapore Bus Workers’ Union (SBWU) and other Communist leaders had done the same in Chinese middle schools to strengthen their base of support. 2. By 1953-54, they planned to use these left-wing trade unions to incite industrial unrest - the Hock Lee bus strike was meant to involve both sections of the Chinese-speaking population that the Communist leaders had influence over. History CBA2 3  [why did they target these groups: Vulnerable - the workers in the post-war period were suffering from low pay, long working hours The Chinese middle school students believed they were being treated unfairly. Therefore the Communist leaders targeted those groups that were the most marginalised, knowing it was easier to rally them towards their anti-colonial aims.] 3. David Marshall: Persuaded management to reinstate workers and a Court of Inquiry to look into the circumstances of dispute. 4. Workers were initially agreeable to this agreement 5. Secretary of the Singapore Bus Workersʼ Union (SBWU) signed agreement without consent of general workers → backed out 6. David Marshall wanted to avoid the use of force and for the crisis to be resolved through mediation/negotiation (Court of Inquiry set up) but the British governor wanted the Labour Front government to use more forceful means - to send in the British troops to disperse the crowds. On 11 May, when clashes between the workers and the police grew worse, the magistrate, not Marshall sent in the police to use high-pressure water jets to disperse the crowds. Consequences 4 people dead, 31 people injured Government closed three Chinese middle schools The students reacted by taking control of the Chung Cheng school and staging a sit-in Labour Front government: Convened an All-Party Education Committee to look into the problems of Chinese education. Recommended that government not take any disciplinary action against the students until problems of education had been thoroughly examined British government no longer trusted David Marshall to lead SG → may have influenced their decision to not give SG independence during the Merdeka mission Results History CBA2 4  British felt that Marshall was not able to handle riots properly, and was perceived to be too soft and weak The locals did not trust LF as they thought that it was under British control To the British, David Marshall’s handling of the crisis showed them that he was too weak and indecisive since he refused to take a tough stance in the face of a Communist threat - lost their trust They did not want to grant more constitutional reforms to a party that they believed would put the security of Singapore at risk of a Communist takeover. The British wanted to retain control over Singapore’s internal security as they were wary that relinquishing control over this aspect of government would weaken the government’s ability to respond to more left-wing political activity as had been seen in 1954 (anti national service riots) and the Hock Lee bus riots of 1955. To the British then, any further constitutional concessions would be premature and they did not want to risk a less than peaceful transition to full self-government at a time when Singapore featured so prominently in their post-war interests. Dependent on an export economy to recover from the post-war financial crisis required that their overseas colonies like Singapore that protected their economic and military/defence interests be kept in stable government hands for some time. He regarded this as a further restriction meant to curtail the autonomy of the local government. When the British at the Merdeka Talks made their offer of a joint defense council comprising an equal number of British and local representatives but with the casting vote in the hands of the British High Commissioner, he considered it a built-in safeguard meant to ensure that in the event that there was an equal number of votes for a proposal to be passed, it would always be a British official who would have the decisive vote since the could easily veto a proposal made by the locally elected representatives of the Legislative Assembly. To him, the British offer was like “Christmas pudding with arsenic sauce” - his condemnation of the British final offer of a council with a British veto. First Merdeka Talks in 1956 The LF government were anxious about the slow pace of Singaporeʼs political development and continued to push for further political change in Singapore Marshall led a 13-man delegation (from all parties, including PAPʼs own LKY) to London to negotiate for self-government. History CBA2 5  His promise to Singapore: to return with full independence or resign. British refused to give SG full independence, wanted control of internal security, external defense and power to suspend constitution Marshall refused the British terms, and the talks broke down. Having failed to secure independence, Marshall came back and made good on his promise to resign Second Labour Front Government won trust of British by adopting more aggressive approach in dealing the challenges to its authority in the form of student riots by Chinese Middle School students. Student activism combined with union strikes and riots that threaten to destabilise the Labour Front government once again. Lim had identified Chinese middle school unions as centres of subversive activities that were pro-Communist, banned Singapore Chinese Middle School Students’ Union (SCMSSU) on 24 September 1956, followed by an arrest of its leaders & expulsion of 142 student activists cause: influenced by communist ideas, unhappy, riots protest, deregistered the SCMSSU approach taken by LYH (harsh , firm , stern approach, called in troops, closed down the school) results of his approach (british trusted LYH,but locals distrust., can defend against communist threat, british interest protected, lost support of chinese locals, anti chinese pro british seen) had a well-coordinated plan worked out with the police commissioner and other British officials that allowed the government to track the movement of people and prevent mass gatherings planned to clamp down on what was perceived as pro-communist activities tough measures were used. As early as 1956, they had already proposed to bar student groups from political activities History CBA2 6  Lim Yew Hock was more aggressive in his response to leftist activities. This reassured the British that the second Labour Front government was more willing to take the offensive to maintain law and order and could thus protect the security of Singapore against Communist influence, thus allaying British fears of a communist-takeover. won confidence of British authorities the Labour Front - by showing their ability to control and contain pro-communist activities, reassured the colonial authorities that they could contain threats to the security of the country British - now more willing to consider further constitutional change that lifted limits placed on local representatives’ control of government Singapore Chinese Middle School Students Union Timeline 1. when Lim Yew Hock, second Chief Minister of Singapore in the Labour Front government - de-registered the SCMSSU in September, 1956 2. 5,000 students took over their schools to demand for the SCMSSU to be re- registered. note: matters had not escalated yet - student protests died down after stern warnings from government 3. student protest became militant when government ordered expulsion of 142 students from several Chinese middle schools, their response - staged camp- in. government appealed to parents to persuade their children to return home 4. involvement of trade unions escalated tensions (pro-communist leader, Lim Chin Siong held workers’ meeting - leading some workers to join the students to create more disorder) 5. This was what motivated Lim to take on a hard-line/uncompromising attitude towards the crisis 6. 24 Oct: this was what influenced Lim to issue ultimatum on 24 Oct - through radio broadcast - to vacate premises by 8.00 pm following day 7. 26 Oct: students became more defiant and ignored ultimatum. As the deadline approached - rioting started at the Chinese High School - finally on 26 Oct - the police entered the school forcing students out using tear gas History CBA2 7  8. prompted more students to confront police with mobs of students becoming violent - the ensuing riots spread across the island and continued for 3 days 9. 28 Oct: order restored only on 28 Oct - by then 13 dead and 120 injured Repercussions The aggressive methods the Labour Front had used were considered too harsh/heavy-handed. Most significantly, because the schools affected were Chinese middle schoos, the Chinese community believed government action was targetted at them. In effect then, Lim’s approach had alienated the majority of the Chinese-educated people. Why is this so significant?/What political implications did this have? The major ethnic group was Chinese/Singapore was 75% Chinese and of this proportion of the population, two-thirds were Chinese educated. After the Citizenship Ordinance was passed in 1957 that added 200,000 people to the electorate, the vast majority of them Chinese migrants. This therefore meant that the Labour Front had alienated the largest proportion that would form the electorate in the next election of 1959. Neither was the Communist movement permanently crippled from the Labour Front’s onslaught. The Malayan Communist Party would find substitutes for Lim Chin Siong and Fong Swee Suan while they were in prison. The key organisation that Lim Yew Hock shut down were replaced one for one. The SCMSSU may have been banned but a new focus for student activism was established in the newly formed Nanyang University Student Union. Second Merdeka Talks 1957 British willing to grant full self-government/internal self-government strengthened local representation - increased local representation 51 elected members in Legislative Assembly. The contentious issue of internal security resolved council of defence to be established with three British members and three members from Singapore but this time, the high commissioner would only be one of these three members with one vote and not a casting vote. The casting vote would be exercised by a seventh member - a Federation of Malayan official. PAP victory and its significance History CBA2 8  Representation First time in history – people of Singapore could elect local representatives for all the 51 seats in the Legislative Assembly The winning party would be a fully elected government. It was the precursor of what would be the government leading Singapore to independence. Electorate increase Citizenship Ordinance of 1957→ more people were eligible to vote - meant those with immigrant status now gained citizenship - enabled 320,000 more residents to become Singapore citizens and thus gave them the right to vote - This included the large proportion of the 220,000 foreign-born Chinese resident Voting was made compulsory As a result, voter turnout was the highest at 92.9% with over 500,000 turning out to vote. → The introduction of automatic registration of voters, compulsory voting and the 1957 citizenship ordinance included a larger proportion of Chinese-educated and lower-income voters. This meant that the party that was most effective in mass mobilization and could appeal to the Chinese-educated and lower-income voters would win the election. Formation of more parties The formation of more parties: More parties joined – a total of 13 In 1955, there were only 6 political parties. Now 7 more joined. Singapore People’s Alliance (formerly the Labour Front) People’s Action Party Liberal Socialist Party History CBA2 9  The Citizen’s Party While there were only 69 candidates in 1955, the number of candidates contesting the 1959 election increased to 194. Results: SPA: 4/39 seats contested, PAP: 43/51 seats contested Significance: Singapore achieved full self-government, 1959 election was mass based Yusof Ishak was sworn in as the new Head of State Singapore’s state flag, state crest and National Anthem were unveiled PAP advantages It’s closest rival the former Labour Front party had lost its appeal among the Chinese-educated - was associated as an anti-Chinese party since they had clamped down so harshly on the left- wing Chinese activists in the trade unions and the Chinese middle schools. Former LF govt’s Education Minister took bribes, was not seen as honest and clean govt. The other parties were not as organized and unified as the PAP – troubled by internal struggles. It pitched its programme to a broad-based electorate (that is, to the needs of the people with an emphasis on the creation of jobs and housing) and in particular to appeal to the Chinese voters (eg speeches were made in Mandarin and in dialect). Key to its appeal was that it aimed to gain independence through merger. How did this help the PAP? It was a decidedly anti-colonial party to sought not just full/internal self-government. Hence it was the first to shift the focus on the election being just a competition between parties (chamber politics) to one that engaged the voters (the shift from chamber politics to mass politics) One of the first decisions made by the newly victorious PAP government was that it would release the pro-Communists like Lim Chin Siong from prison. The actions of the PAP leadership in doing so is significant in reflecting their strategic and practical approach in retaining popular appeal - they recognised that not only was the loyalties of the majority ethnic group, the Chinese, characterised by a certain degree of Chinese chauvinism (that is, it denotes how the Chinese identified with mainland China and placed more esteem on History CBA2 10  their Chinese cultural roots), the pro-Communists was also gaining a mass appeal based on exploiting this Chinese chauvinism. Hence, the PAP could not survive by making enemies of the pro-Communists as yet - until they built a strong enough moderate base, the PAP recognised that they would have to work and even collaborate with the more leftist elements of the time. PLS REFER TO FA2 & FA3 🙏🙏 i never put here History CBA2 11