[chpt 7] how the people in singapore respond to the british rule after WWII

Question 1

how did external developments influence people’s responses to british rule after WWII

Answer 1

• weakening of colonial rule in countries like india and indonesia
  this inspired those in singapore to seek freedom from british rule

Question 2

when and from who did india gain independence ?

Answer 2

1947 from bitish

Question 3

when and from who did indonesia gain independence?

Answer 3

1949 from dutch

Question 4

when and from who did vietnam gain independence

Answer 4

1954 from french

Question 5

how did the growing influence of communism impact british rule in the SEA colonies?

Answer 5

communism was spreading in colonies like vietnam and malaya, leading britain to be concerned about the malayan communist party in singapore, which led to the malayan emergency

Question 6

why was the malayan emergency declared?

Answer 6

three european planters in malaya were murdered in june 1948, and the british took action against MCP

Question 7

what happened during the malayan emergency?

Answer 7

tough security measures were implemented in singapore, such as regulations allowing for arrest and detention without trial

Question 8

how did the british attempt to win local support after WWII?

Answer 8

they addressed housing challenges, food shortages, managed industrial unrest, and built the economy in singapore

Question 9

what industrial unrest did singapore face after WWII?

Answer 9

there were unsatisfactory working conditions and shortages which led to over 300 strikes, consisting of thousands of workers from different industries and trade unions

Question 10

how did singapore manage the industrial unrest?

Answer 10

singapore implemented a law in 1947, stating that
- all unions had to register with the government so that it could monitor their membership
- unions were no longer allowed to use their funds to organise strikes and protests against the government

despite these, trade unions still continued to be active and industrial unrest remained an issue in the 1950s

Question 11

what were the housing challenges faced by singapore post-WWII?

Answer 11

• many buildings were destroyed or run-down during the war
• people were living in increasingly overcrowded conditions, a large portion in slums

Question 12

what was the british’s response to the housing challenges post-WWII?

Answer 12

the singapore improvement trust accelerated housing construction
despite this, housing shortage persisted

Question 13

what were the food shortages faced by the people in singapore?

Answer 13

• food was in short supply
• disruption to shipping due to war > disruption in flow of food supply
• rice-producing countries did not have enough to spare for singapore
• wartime food rationing continued and malnutrition was wide spread
• people’s wages were unable to keep up with the rising food prices

Question 14

how did the british address food shortages in post-WWII singapore?

Answer 14

people’s restaurants was established to provide affordable meals for citizens.
by the end of 1946, there were 10 people’s restaurants

Question 15

how did the british rebuild the economy post-WWII?

Answer 15

the british
- repaired ports
- restored singapore’s status as a trading center
- controlled trade union activities

Question 16

how did the british allow local political participation post-WWII?

Answer 16

in 1948, the british held an election where locals could vote for a representation in the legislative council.
despite this, only about a quarter of people in singapore were allowed to votes as they were not born in britain/british colonies

Question 17

why were there riots in the early 1950s?

Answer 17

despite the british’s efforts to improve living vonditions and political participation, sources of discontent remained > riots

Question 18

why was there the anti-national service riots?

Answer 18

after the war in 1953, the british ordered all males aged 18-20 to regiser for national service. however,
- they did not want to as their education was already disrupted by the war > being disrupted by NS again, will mean they would lose the chance of education > getting tertiary level education and jobs
- chinese students from chinese medium schools also felt discriminated by the british > they did not get anything in return for NS

Question 19

what happened during the anti-national riots?

Answer 19

• on 13 may 1954, 500 chinese students held a protest march which became a riot when the police were deployed with batons and shields and clashed with the students, leaving 26 injured
• the british then ordered the closure of all chinese-medium schools across singapore, but only escalated the unrest > on 22 may 1954, thousands of students locked themselves up in their classrooms at CCH in protest > was a success

Question 20

what was the result of the anti-national riots?

Answer 20

• the british postponed the registration for national service
• boosted the morale and strength of the chinese educated students > encouraging them to be more politically active > formation of chinese middle school student’s union (SCMSSU)
• many in the chinese community sympathised with the students and disapproved the use of violence by the police

Question 21

what caused the maria hertogh riots?

Answer 21

maria (born in 1937) was returned to her parents in 1950 after being raised by a malay, che aminah since the war. even though aminah appealed against the judges decision, it was ultimately rejected.
- muslims felt that the case was a direct attack on islam by a christian court > their religion was being disrespected > british was insensitive to the feelings of muslim
- locals felt that the british sided unfairly w dutch > reacted angrily

Question 22

what happened during the maria hertogh riots?

Answer 22

• on 11 december 1950, locals overturned cars on the streets and set them on fire
• attacked any eurasians and europeans on sight
• troops were sent to the scenes, but the riot continued for three days > a curfew was imposed > by the end of it, 18 people were killed and 173 were injured

Question 23

how did the british respond to changing local attitudes in singapore?

Answer 23

• the rendel constituition was introduced
• allowed for internal self-government

Question 24

what was the rendel constituition?

Answer 24

the rendel constituition was introduced in 1955
- a council of ministers headed by the governor
- council includes 1 chief minister and 5 local ministers
- 3 british ministers will control the law, finance, external affairs, external defence and internal security

Question 25

what was the outcome of the 1955 election in singapore?

Answer 25

the labour front won the most seats, and david marshall became the chief minister

Question 26

why did david marshall step down as chief minister?

Answer 26

after the hock lee bus riots, david marshall stepped down due to concerns about his government’s ability to maintain law and order

Question 27

what was the hock lee bus riots?

Answer 27

• 1 month after the 1955 election, workers from the singapore bus worker’s union were not satisfied with their working conditions and pay and wanted more > felt that workers of hock lee bus union were given better treatment
• workers went on strike > police used violence to intervene but strikers continued to block the gate and began to hurl stones at the police > chinese students and employees from other bus unions also joined

Question 28

what was the end + result of the hock lee bus riots?

Answer 28

• on 12 may, the police used water hoses which enraged the crowds, and they fought back by throwing bricks, stones and bottles
• the riots ended after the government helped to negotiate an agreement between the unions and HLBC, and the dismissed workers got their jobs back

Question 29

what did the british think of david marshall after the HL bus riots?

Answer 29

they were not impressed as he had refused to call the british for help, and seemed weak for his reluctance to take stronger action - chose to negotiate instead

Question 30

what happened during the first merdeka talk in 1956?

Answer 30

• in april 1956, david marshall led a mission to london to press for singapore’s self government
• he had demanded full internal self-governence for singapore by 1957
• however after the HLBR, the british doubted marshall’s ability to maintain order and deal with the communist threat > they wanted a strong and stable government in singapore

Question 31

what was the result of the first merdeka talk in 1956?

Answer 31

• marshall ad his delegation returned to singapore empty handed
• marshall stepped down as chief minister, and lim yew hock took over
  singapore’s hopes of independence suffered a setback and its progress towards a self-governing state was slowed down

Question 32

what caused the chinese middle school student riots in 1956?

Answer 32

• on 24 september 1956, the lim yew hock’s government banned SCMSSU because of its supposed communist activities > 500 students took over their schools and demanded the re-registration of the SCMSSU > after stern warnings from the government, the students’ protests died down
• when the government ordered the expulsion of 142 students from various chinese medium schools > students camped at both schools in protest and were defiant despite demands by lim yew hock to leave > they had food and other support streaming in from nanyang university, bus workers and trade unions

this camp-in demonstration sparked the riots

Question 33

what happened during the chinese middle school students riot?

Answer 33

• an english school and police station was burned down > it lasted three days > got so serious troops from malaya were called in to restore order

Question 34

what was the result of the chinese middle school student’s riots?

Answer 34

• 13 people had died and more than 120 had been injured
• lim chin siong, feng swee suan and other union leaders were swiftly detained by the police
  the british was pleased with lim yew hock’s decisive handling of the riots, strengthening his positionwhen he travelled to london in 1957 to rediscuss about self government
• in the eyes of some locals, he made the LF government seem to be “running dogs of the british

Question 35

what happened during the second merdeka talk in 1957

Answer 35

• lim yew hock had recognised the british’s reluctance to surrender full control of internal security > agreed to leace external affairs and external defence to the british

Question 36

what was the result of the scond merdeka talk?

Answer 36

• a new constituition was being drawn up - the colony was now a state with control over all domestic issues except for internal security
• under this new constituition, singapore would be known as the state of singapore, with a head of state replacing the british governor > an election was to hence to be held in 1959

Question 37

what happened during the 1959 elections?

Answer 37

• this election saw 13 political particles and 194 candidates participating in it
• the locals were more interested as 320000 residents became singapore citizens after the citizenship ordinance of 1957, giving them the right to vote
• compulsory voting was introduced, and a total of 525000 voters turned up

Question 38

what was the result of the 1959 election?

Answer 38

• PAP won a landslide victory with LKY becoming the new prime minister of singapore
• labour front renamed as Singapore people’s alliance (SPA) and only won 4 out of 51 seats

Question 39

what was the significance of the 1959 election in singapore?

Answer 39

it marked a crucial moment in singaopore’s history, as the country achieved internal self government, setting the stage forindependence