how did Singapore become an independent nation Flashcards
1
Q
why did the PAP government pursue a merger with malaya
A
- political independence
- economic survival
2
Q
explain political independence
A
british would only grant singapore independence if it merged with malaya
3
Q
what was britan scared of during the cold war
A
southeast asia would fall under communist control
4
Q
why was britan scared that SEA would fall under communist control
A
- influence from communist china
- rising communist movement in nearby indonesia and vietnam
5
Q
how did the british want to safeguard singapore
A
provide a greater political stability through the formation of a new federation
6
Q
what countries were involved in the formation of a new federation
A
- malaya
- singapore
- north borneo
- sarawak
- brunei
7
Q
explain economic survival
A
PAP believed singapore could not survive economically in the long term without merger
8
Q
why didn’t singapore have a promising economic future
A
- lack natural resources
- rapidly growing population in need of jobs
- declining entrepôt trade
- malaya introduced tariffs (1950s) on goods traded with singapore
9
Q
definition of tariffs
A
a tax imposed by the government on goods entering and leaving the country → increases the price of goods
10
Q
what was the effect of tariffs
A
made goods entering malaya from singapore more expensive → less desirable to customers in malaya
11
Q
if a common market could be established through merger_
A
the malaya hinterland would create a larger demand for singapores manufactored goods
12
Q
definition of common market
A
an agreement between territories allowing goods produced in one territory to enter another without tariffs or restrictions
13
Q
what was malayas response to a possible merger
A
- initial hesitation in malaya towards merger
- however it enventually turned around and accpeted the possibility of merger despite doubts
14
Q
what was malayas initial response
A
- tunku abdul rahman thought merger spelt trouble
- he saw stark differences in outlook between people in singapore and malaya
15
Q
what is tunku abdul rahman scared of
(merger with singapore)
A
- he was concerned that the chinese population in singapore might be reluctant to accept a malay sultan as their head of state, use malay as the national language or accpet islam as the state religion
- many chinese in singapore had sympathies for the communists
- such attitudes would spread to the rest of the new federation
16
Q
why did tunku abdul rahman change his mind in the end
A
- Tunku was concerned that if singapore became an independent state, separate from the federation + without the colonial government, the threat of communism would get worse
- with a merger, Singapore might be less dangerous
- Tunku was concerned that members sympathetic to communism would take over the PAP
- signalled his change of heart speech on 27 may 1961
17
Q
what are the key points of proposed merger
A
- singapore would have its own head of state
- singapore citizens would be given the title of federal nationals (intead of federal citizens)
- singapore would have its own elections to choose its own state government (only for singapore citizens)
- singapore would collect its own revenue and pay KL an agreed-upon sum
- singapore would have control over its education and labour matters and its own civil service
- federal government stationed in KL would oversee singapores defence, internal security and dealing with foreign governments
18
Q
what was the result of the battle for merger
A
- opposition from barisan sosialis
- PAP campaign
- referendum
- weakening of barisan sosialis
- the formation of malaysia
19
Q
explain opposition from barisan sosialis
A
- some PAP members were not in favour of merger as they felt the terms were unfavourable to the people in singapore
- tried to get support from other PAP members to challenge PM LKY’s leadership
- expelled from the PAP and formed barisan sosialis
20
Q
who were the members
A
- lim chin siong
- fong swee suan
21
Q
why did the barisan sosialis oppose merger
A
- status of singapore population within the new federation
- allocation of seats in the federal parliment
22
Q
explain status of singapore population within the new federation
A
- citizenship would not be automatically granted to singapore citizens
- singapore citizens would only be known as federal nationals and could only vote in singapore elections
23
Q
explain allocation of seats in the federal parliment
A
- in exchange for having control over its education and labour, singapore would only have 15 seats
- barisan sosialis felt that the under representation of singapore in the malaysian parliment was a sign of its second-class status
24
Q
what did the barisan sosialis do to oppose the merger
A
- organised student demonstrations and labour strikes
- participated in radio forums to debate issues surrounding the proposed merger
25
what did the PAP do to convince the people of the need to merge with malaya
- PAP embarked on a year long campaign to convince the people
- from sept-oct 1961, PML gave a series of radio talks broadcast on mondays, wednesdays and fridays (mandarin-6.45pm, english-7.30pm + malay-9pm)
- exhibitions to highlight the benefits of a merger
26
what was the effect of PML giving radio talks
allowed his talks to reach the people in singapore, brunei, malaya, north borneo and sarawak
27
example of an exhibition
- malaysia exhibition that was part of malaysia week in 1962
- organised by the governments of the territories
28
what was the effect of the exhibition
- showcase the close cultral and social ties among the territories
- exposed visitors to the lives and cultures of the people + trade and commerce of the territories
29
explain referendum
- held on 1 september 1962
- the purpose was to find out what type of merger the people in singapore wanted
30
definition of referendum
a direct vote by the people on a specific issue
31
which option was the most voted
A (70.8%)
32
explain weakening of barisan sosialis
- on 2 feb 1963, internal security council detained >100 including lim chin song amd 23 barisan sosialis members
- they were accused of attempting to sabotage the formation of malaysia, planning to launch and uprising in singapore
33
explain the formation of malaysia
- despite opposition from different groups, merger went ahead
- 9 july 1963, malaysia agreement was signed in london by britain
- federation came into being on 16 september
- control of singapores foreign affairs and defence would be transferred to malaysia
- citizens would automatically become citizens of the federation of malaysia
- common market would be established in stages
34
why did singapore separate from malaysia
1. economic disagreements
2. political differences
35
what are some economic disagreements
- common market
- revenue contribution
36
what was the economic disagreement of the common market
| (what singapore expected)
- the common market would be set up for its long term economic survival
- tariffs on singapore-made goods would be removed
37
what was the economic disagreement of the common market
| (what the federal govenment decided)
- there was a delay in setting up the common market
- tariffs continues to be imposed on singapore-made goods to protect some of malaya's industries
38
what was the economic disagreement of revenue contribution
| (what singapore expected)
singapore would contribute 40% of its revenue to the federal government
39
what was the economic disagreement of revenue contribution
| (what the federal government decided)
- increased singapores contribution to 60% as defence spending had risen significantly due to konfrontasi
- singapore felt that the decision was unfair and that its original contribution was sufficient
40
what was the political difference of composition of political parties
| (singapore)
singapores major political parties such as the governing PAP were multiracial and sought to represent the interests of all communities
41
what was the political difference of composition of political parties
| (federal government of malaysia)
- federal government was formed by the alliance party
- these parties sought to look after the interests of their respective ethnic communities
42
what was the alliance party made out of
- united malays national organisation (UMNO)
- malayan chinese association (MCA)
- malayan indian congress (MIC)
43
what was the political difference of treatment of races
| (singapore)
- singapores government felt that everyone should be given an equal opportunity to succeed
- it believed that the best way of enabling malays to gain better employment opportunities was by providing free education
45
what was the political difference of treatment of races
| (federal government of malaysia)
special privilleges in employment, business and education were given to malays with the aim of improving their economic and social position
46
what was the call for separation
- tunku abdul rahman was convinced that the difference between federal government and the state government of singapore could not be resolved
- he saw the 1964 racial clashes as a sign of the disorder that would spread throughout the federation if these differences persisted
47
what were the political differences
- composition of political parties
- treatment of race
