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Histor WA2 Unit5 Pace 29 -...

Histor WA2 Unit5 Pace 29 - 85 akenine & colonial Unit 2 fule rende\constituition How Did the People in Singapore Respond to B How did external developments influence the people's responses to British rule after World War 11? Weakening of colonial rule Describe how the Anti-colonial sentiments were seen in many places even before the weakening of colonial war. rule influenced the After World War II this sentiment grew stronger when the European people's responses to forces lost to an Asian power, the Japanese Empire. British after the war. Many people took the chance to resist their European rulers and take control of their destinies after the war. In 1947, India gained independence from the British. In 1949, Indonesia gained independence fro the Dutch. - In 1954, Vietnam overthrew French rule. These external events showed that colonial rule were declining in Asia and motivated people who had wanted to be free from British rule. Describe the differences Democracy / capitalism believes in free elections that involved more between democracy and than one political party. communism. However, communism upholds one-party rule which only allows the Communist Party. Democracy capitalism allows private enterprise and property ownerships in which people can own their businesses and are free to buy and sell goods. However, communism believes that goods should be allocated to people according to their needs. Therefore, the government controls all resources needed to produce these goods, such as factories and farms. Democracy / capitalism values individual freedom. However, communism thinks that community rights are more important than that of individual. Singaporecapitalist Ching>communist Comprehensive Guide HISTORY Secondary Two 29 © WISEMANN PUBLISHING  At the end of WorldWar 11, theUnited States and the Describe how the Sovic growing influence of became conflict with each other due to differencesin ideols communism influenced conflict was known as the Cold War. ~tenaions,now the people's responses The United States supported democracy or capitalism to British after the war. the Soviet Union adopted communism. Communism became popular in European gained colonies, suchas Indonesia and Malaya, before they independence beea its exploitation of people. opposed colonial rule for Britain was worried that communism wouldtakecontrol of its coll in their fight for independence such as Malaya and Singapore, Communist Party (MCP) In Singapore, the Malayan had supporters, particularly the Chinese community, because it helm the resistance against the Japanese during World War II. After the war, the MCP started to fight against the British in ak establish communist governments in Malaya and Singapore. he SarSingapore As epent.hetethnareiumom.aonidCihamong isoensmeluamneciny faced post-war economic difficulties, took and stir up anti-colonial sentiments the students. It also attacked rubber plantations and tin mines in Malaya were owned and managed by the British. After three European rubber planters in Malaya were killed, the Brit as a State of declared the MCP as an illegal party as well Emergenc in Malaya from 1948 to 1960. When the Communist Party of China (CPC) won the Chinese Civ War in 1949, China joined the communist bloc. This heightene the British's fear over the growing influence of communism because China was the world's most populous country and many Chinese immigrants in Malaya and Singapore still had close ties to China. The British realised that the people wanted to govern their own country. However, they had no intention to give up complete control over Singapore. Thus, the British decided to change their plan in order to win the support of the people. Describe th rise of Communism appealed to communism rise in the people who felt unfairly treated by those Soviet Union. who governed them. In Europe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, those who suffered from the exploitation by powerful rulers or wealthy land and business owners wanted a more equal society. In 1917. a violent civil war took place in Russia when communists tried to overthrow the country's leader. After the civil war, the Russian communists formed the Soviet Union. To create a communist system, they established a dictatorship so that they had more power to shape society the way they wanted. Under the communist dictatorship of the Soviet Union, there was little political freedom. The government also seized private properties, such as private farms, and placed them under the state's control. People who arrested. opposed the communist government were killed or 30 O WISEMANN PUBLISHING How did the British attempt to win local support What were the attempts Meeting housing challenges shown by the British to win the locals'support? Addressing food shortages Managing industrial unrest Rebuilding the economy Allowing local political participation Describe how the Housing shortage was caused by the following factors. British attempted Many houses became run-down or destroyed during wartime. to meet housing Also, challenges 10 win the Singapore experienced a rapid population growth after the locals'support. war. It was a post-war baby boom that had one of the highest birth rates in the world in the 1940s and 1950s. This had caused many people to live in increasingly overcrowded conditions. Many of them lived in slums. The Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), established by the British in 1927, tried to build more housing quickly. Between 1947 and 1959, the SIT expedited the building of 20,907 housing and shop units, about 1742 units per year in average. However, it was still far below the target of 10,000 units per year as needed by the growing population's housing needs. Therefore, the SIT's efforts were not enough to prevent many people from livingin overcrowded conditions throughout the 1950s. Describe how the The food shortage was caused by the following reasons. British addressed Singapore had a rapid population growth. the problem of food shortage to win the Rice-producing countries like Thailand were not able to sell their rice to Singapore because they did not produce enough locals 'support. rice. Shipping was disrupted by the war and affected the flow of food supplies into Singapore. The government continued to implement wartime food rationing. People could not earn enough money to pay for higher prices of food. Therefore, malnutrition was common. The British set up People's Restaurants to provide affordable meals for the people so that they would not turn against them due to food shortages. By the end of 1946, the British managed to set up 10 People's Restaurants. © WISEMANN PUBLISHING Comprehensive Guide HISTORY Secondary Two 31  Unsatisfactory working conditions to as well as food an Describe how the take place during the British coped with shortages had caused many strikes industrial unrest to win period. various industries took Thousands of workers from pan the locals'support. also members of them were trade strikes. Some of men such as Devan Nair, Jar includingEnglish-educated and Sidney Woodhull. improve workers' cor They demanded thewent government on strikes ioto secure their demand. immediately and The omset auperpedtinseoneunetisnPesior.DhnPtinA played the role strikes. the British passed laws to con To manage the industrial unrest, register with the governmen trade unions. had to Frcom.iaode,aremnesniotnhones.nei 1947, all unions use their sieneo.orpaine funds to organise strike unions also could not The government. protests againstthe active and industrial unrest pers However, trade unions remained that people in the 1950s. and industrySO had enough The British had to revive trade thegovernment Describe how the to earn their living and people's welfare. have jobs to improve the ports that British rebuilt the revenue to pay for programmes repaired taarurutrututhty they economy to win the economic recovery, worldwide locals'support. because This wasimportant trading centre again. growing. and rubber was pre-warlevels. for thin surpassed trade unic of of trade eventually control The amount with greater1948, successfully lifte trade, together harvest in The revival of abundantfood activities and the worst shortages and hardships. 1948 to allow th Singapore from In first election the in the Legislativi The British government held represent them candidates to Describe how the local locals to choose their towards democracy. recent a first step British allowed Council. was because many 1948election political participation The turnout of voters the locals there was low tovote. population a of to win However, were notallowed fromthe total support. immigrantsabout 14,000 voters turned up Progressive Only about 960,000. party, the Singapore one local political election. only was which took part in this seats, There(SPP) independent candidates, Party elected out the six It won three won by seats were The other three IELING  Why were there riots in the early 1950s? The Maria Hertogh Riots Who were involved? Maria Hertogh who was born to Dutch Catholic parents Che Aminah who was her foster mother Maria's natural mother, Adeline Hertogh The Muslim community Why did the battle for When Maria's fatherwas imprisoned during the Japanese Occupation, the custodyof Maria Adeline Hertogh, Maria's mother, left her in the care of Che Aminah. take place? Under the care of Che Aminah, Maria was raised as a Muslim and her name was changed to Nadra binte Ma'arof. In 1950, Adeline wanted her daughter back and the issue of custody of Maria was brought to court. In May 1950, the court ruled that Maria be returned to Adeline and Che Aminah appealed against the judge's decision. At the same time, Maria was placed in a Catholic convent while waiting to return to the Netherlands. Why did the riots take When Maria was placed in the Catholic convent, some newspapers place? published controversial stories about Maria's life in the convent. The case was also became a religious issue between Islam and Christianity. After the court rejected Che Aminah's appeal, Che Aminah's supporters became angry and started to riot because they felt that the British had sided with the Dutch parents unfairly. They attacked any European and Eurasian in sight. They burnt and overturned cars. The riots took place over: days. The British government had to impose a curfew for 2 weeks. The British alsosought help from the army to maintain law and order. The riots were under control by the third day. 18 people were killed and 173 people were injured during the riots. What was the impact? The riots affected business and the economy in the country. The events created social disorder that affected the people's lives. Racial tension rose when different ethnic groups failed to understand each other's culture and customs. Anti-National Service Riots Who were involved? Students from Chinese-medium schools The British felt that the responsibility of defending Singapore should be Why did the British want to introduce shared evenly among the population. Unit' National Service? The Emergency also increased the urgency of improving the defence of Singapore from communists' threats. © WISEMANN PUBLISHING Comprehensive Guide HISTORY Secondary Two 33  Why did the riots take The British government passed the National Service Ordinance place? 1953 that required all males, aged between 18 to 20 to register by 1954 to perform National Service. Those who failed to do so would jailed or fined. Chinese-medium schoni The secondary school students from the were not keen to take part in National Service. ignoring the Chines They felt that the British had been defend the colonia students' interests, SO they did not want to government. been disrupted by the war The education of these students had This meant that their education would be disrupted again because they were old enough to serve National Service. held a protest march To show their unhappiness, about 500 students on 13 May 1954. and shields. The British then sent riot police equipped with batons when they were called However, the police clashed with the students disperse the crowd, leaving 26 injured. in to schools In When the British ordered the closure of all Chinese-medium escalate. the following days, they only caused the unrest to classrooms On 22 May, thousands of students locked themselves in their own at Chung Cheng High School in protest. They sang, held lessons and even organised hunger strike. National This protest forced the British to postpone the registration for Service. Impact of the riot The Chinese community showed sympathy towards the students. They despised the police for using force on the students. The Chinese community became more politically conscious and anti- British sentiments among them grew stronger. It resulted the formation of student groups such as the Singapore Chinese Middle School Students' Union (SCMSSU). The Rendel Constitution How did the Rendel Both riots in the 1950s made the British government realise the Constitution come about? increased discontentment of the local people towards them. In 1953, the British decided to transfer more political power to the local people in a bid to win their hearts and minds. 34 Describe the Rendel In July 1953, Sir George Rendel, a British diplomat, led a commission Constitution. to review the constitution. It is known as the Rendel Constitution. Under the Rendel Constitution, the following changes were made. The Legislative Council would be renamed the Legislative Assembly. All the members in this assembly, a total of 25, would be elected by the people through the 1955 election. It recommended limited self-government for Singapore. >) There would now be a Council of Ministers headed by the Governor, comprising the Chief Minister and five other local ministers, and three British ministers. This means that less important areas of government would be controlled by the elected members in the Legislative Assembly and more important areas of government still remained in the power of the nominated British ministers. Areas of government to be Areas of government to controlled by the six local be controlled by the British ministers ministers Housing Internal security Trade and Industry Law Education Finance Health care services External Affairs External Defence What was the The Rendel Constitution was an important step towards self- significance of the government in Singapore. Rendel Constitution? 1955 election The 1955 election was an exciting event because there were Why was the 1955 election an exciting 79 candidates who contested for the 25 seats in the Legislative event? Assembly. More political parties inSingapore were also formed. The three outstanding political parties were the Singapore Progressive Party Front (LF). (SPP), the People's Action Party (PAP) and the Labour State the reasons why It promised a greater degree of self-government. people people showed more it had a greater number of political parties involved, so the for their ideal local representatives in the interest in the 1955 could have a wider choice election than the 1948 government. election. There was an increased number of eligible voters. Comprehensive Guide HISTORY Secondary Two 35 © WISEMANN PUBLISHING  Describe the Labour The LF members included David Marshall, Lim Yew Hock and Franci, Thomas. Front (LF). of low-income people and English The members consisted mostly educated trade union leaders. LF: The goals of the It wanted immediate independence from the British. ement of workers's right and workin It advocated for the improvement of workers snsn conditions. citizenship to China-bor fought to extend Singapore Chinese-speakir many that helped it gain immigrants supporters. Yew, Dr Goh Keng Swee, The PAP membersmaratnam included Lee andKuan Kenneth Michael Bryne. Describe the People 's Toh Chin Chye, S. unions and students trade Action Party (PAP). from the workers, It aimed to win support schools. the Chinese-medium: independence from the British. also wanted immediate 1 The PAP generate mo anti-colonialism to throut focused on The political parties Each party also tried to gain supporters How did each party try interests in the public. campaigns: to garnen support from the following intensive 1955 rallies. the people in the They organised pamphlets. election? distributed newspapers and They visits. They made house-to-house speeches. votes. They held public day to cast their the bigg turned outon polling making themSingapo seats, 160,000 voters won 10 out of 25 Marshall became result of Front David Describe the The Labour election. As a result, the 1955 election. winner inthis first Chief Minister. Party won 3 seats. The People's Action achieve internal self-government? in the 1955 election, it ha seats government. How did Singapore won10 formthe parties to or morepolitical parties. only the Labour Front other Since with Labour a coalition between (WO still under thecontrol form alliance Describe the led Coalitionis an Marshall was Front government Minister, David of government Marshall. Chief the David AS the colonial rule. to by support Governor. did not provide any the end of The British theLF supported because Marshall Riots Riots HockLee Bus School Student Middle were the two riots Chinese What the that had impacted self_ roadto internal PUBL government! © WISEMANN Hock Lee Bus Riots When did they happen? A month after the LF won the 1955 election Explain why the The workers from the Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company were workers organised members of the Singapore Bus Workers' Union (SBWU) and Hock strike. Lee Bus Employees' Union respectively. In April, the workers from SBWU, led by Fong Swee Suan, went on strike to demand for better working conditions and fair treatment. For example They were not granted leave to attend union meetings and they felt that workers from the other union had better treatment. As a result, 229 workers were sacked by the Hock Lee Bus Company. The workers thus protested against the company's action by organising a hunger strike and gathering at the company's bus depot to block buses from leaving the depot. How did the riots take When the police were called in to disperse the crowd, the strikers threw place? stones at them. The police fought back with their batons. The clash between both parties led to 15 people being injured. The protest gained support from the Chinese-medium school students who came in lorries and brought food and entertainment for the strikers. David Marshall tried to settle the dispute between the SBWU and the bus company. However, no agreement was made and the strike continued. as the strike progressed because the The situation turned worse workers from other companies also joined in. The police used water hoses to control the strikers and students. to attack On 12 May, the strike turned into riots. The workers started bottles. the police with bricks, stones and The riots were put down on 14 May 1955. 4 people were killed and 31 people were injured. sacked by the company At the end of the riots, the workers, who were earlier, were given their jobs back after the government helped achieve sides. agreement between both Unit 2 Comprehensive Guide HISTORY Secondary Iwo 37 © WISEMANN PUBLISHING What was the impact of The British felt that David Marshall was not capable of handling mandling the the Hock Lee Bus Riots riots and seemed weak. on the First Merdeka He refused to call in British troops to help as he did not want Talk in 1956? appear to be siding with the British. He would also rather negotiate than take stronger actions againg those strikers. led his After the Hock Lee Bus riots, David Marshall delegation tn London in 1956 for the First Merdeka Talks. He demanded interns defence and external affairs, self-government, including areas of As the British felt that Marshall's government was not able to overcom. the communist threats and protect the British interests, they refusen David Marshall's request and the talks failed. 'Merdeka' means 'freedom' in the Malay language. When David Marshall returned to Singapore, he kept his promise by resigning as the Chief Minister.  What was the impact When the riots ended, the government arrested a number of people of the Chinese Middle School Students Riots including the union leaders, Lim Chin Siong and Fong Swee Suan. on the Second Merdeka The British were impressed by his capability in handling the student riots in 1956. Talks in 1957? Thus, when Lim Yew Hock led his team for the second Merdeka Talks in 1957, the talks were successful. This was because the British had confidence in the government of Lim Yew Hock to deal with the communist threats. In the Second Merdaka Talks, Lim Yew Hock was willing to compromise on the issue of internal security as he knew that the British were still worried about the communist threats in Singapore. The areas of government of external affairs and external defence would also remain under the control of the British. This second round of the Merdeka Talks allowed Singapore to achieve full internal self-government. With the new constitution, Singapore would be known as the State of Singapore with control over all domestic issues except for internal security, external affairs and external defence. A Head of State, of Yang di-Pertuan Negara, replaced the British Governor. 1959 election was held to bring this new constitution into force. 1959 election The overview of the Branch of Executive Head of State or new constitution government Yang-di-Pertuan leading to 1959 Negara election. Prime Minister Local ministers Legislative 51 members to be elected in the 1959 election Areas of Singapore's internal self- Trade and Industry responsibility government Health Education Finance Housing Law and Finance British External Affairs External Defence Shared responsibility Internal security among the local, British and Malayan representatives © WISEMANN PUBLISHING Comprehensive Guide HISTORY Secondary Two 39  Why was the 1959 The 1959 election was significant in Singapore'shistory becausi election significant? was the first fully democratic election. This means that all the members in the Legislative Assembly1 elected by the people. Singapore was divided into 51 constituencies. This meant that vot would elect a representative in each constituency. Aconstituencyrefers to an area in which voters electarepresentat to parliament. People showed more interests in this election compared to the previc ones. Voting became compulsory for everyone who was eligible to vo AS a result, about 525,000 voters turned up. The Citizenship Ordinance was passed in 1957 to allow tho who were not born in Singapore to become citizens. This ordinan helped increase the number of voters to 525,000 for the 19! election. There were 13 political parties and 194 candidates took part in 1959 election to contest for 51 seats in the Legislative Assembly. All thepolitical parties worked hard to lobby for more votes throug various means such as newspapers, radio, door-to-door visit pamphlets, rallies and using loudspeakers on moving vehicles. Describe the outcome The People's Action Party became the biggest winner of this electic of the 1959 election. by winning 43 out of 51 seats. The LF, renamed the Singapore People's Alliance (SPA), only manage to win 4 out of 39 seats they had contested. because mar - One of the reasons for them to perform poorly was Chinese voters were not happy on how they handled the Chines Middle School Student Riots in 1956. The party was viewed as its actions were seemed running dogs' of the British because please the British. The PAP formed the government successfully after this election. Th party leader, Lee Kuan Yew, became the first Prime Minister. Yusof bin Ishak became the Yang-di-Pertuan Negara, or Head of State of Singapore. Singapore's State Flag, State National Anthem and the State Cres were unveiled. The State National Anthem, 'Majulah Singapura', war composed and written by Zubir Said. However, Singapore had yet to achieve independence because th British still held power in certain areas of government such as externa affairs and external defence. 40 © WISEMANN PUBLISHN Timeline of important events Beyond Singapore Year In Singapore World War ends. 1945 The Cold War starts. The British Military Administration 1946 (BMA) comes to an end. India gains independence from Britain. 1947 The Malayan Emergency is declared. Singapore holds the first-ever election 1948 that allows voters to choose six members of the Legislative Council. The Communist Party of China wins the Chinese Civil War. 1949 Indonesia gains independence from the Netherlands. 1950 The Maria Hertogh Riots occurs. 1951 Singapore holds the second election. 1953 The Rendel Commission is established. French plans to withdraw from Vietnam. 1954 The Anti-National Service Riots occurs. The Labour Front wins the 1955 election. 1955 The Hock Lee Bus Riots occurs. The First Merdeka Talks are held. 1956 The Chinese Middle School Student Riots occurs. The Second Merdeka Talks are held. Malaya gains independence from Britain. 1957 The Citizenship Ordinance is passed. The PAP wins the 1959 election. Singapore attains full internal self- government. 1959 Yusof bin Ishak becomes Singapore's Head of State, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara. © WISEMANN PUBLISHING Comprehensive Guide HISTORY Secondary Two 41