Unit 2: Governance under Labour Front

Question 1

Main Topics

Answer 1

• Rendel Constitution
• Labour Front Government under Marshall
• Hock Lee Bus Riots
• First Merdeka Talks in 1956
• Impact of Hock Lee Bus Riots on the Merdeka Talks in 1956

Question 2

Rendel Constitution: Main Reason for Formation + Why?

Answer 2

• Main Reason: The Rendel Constitution was formed to recommend changes to the Constitution to allow local people to play a bigger part in the government.
• Why: To win support from the local people against Communism, the British continued to study the possibilities of granting self-government to Singapore.

Question 3

Rendel Constitution: Support (+ve)

What (were the +ve parts)? (3pt)

Answer 3

• increase the numbers of locally elected representatives
• from 6 to 25 elected representatives, 3 nominated ministers, 4 nominated unofficials, Cabinet of 6 local ministers (chief minister, 5 other local ministers (in charge of health, housing, and trade and industry) and 3 British ministers.
• automatic registration (making it more convenient for voters to vote) which enlarged the electorate to more than 300,000.
• increase local participation in elections
• more seats = more chances of getting voted into government = more parties emerged = more political contests = more lively and enthusiastic = more suitable candidates to choose from = more people are keen to vote
• number of people who voted increased to 160,000 in 1955 compared to 14,000 in 1948

Question 4

Rendel Constitution: Oppose (-ve)

What (were the -ve parts)? (1pt)

Answer 4

• British Ministers to oversee: External Affairs, Defence, Internal Security, Finance, Law, and the Civil Service.
• Local leaders did not have the rights to control these areas as they had no say in them.

Question 5

Rendel Constitution: Support (+ve)

Why (were the +ve parts good) ? (6pt, incl 3 impt pt)

Answer 5

• First step towards self-government and eventual independence from the British
• Local leaders given opportunities to gain experience on how to govern own country and prepare for independence
• British recognition of need to decolonize, listen to locals’ voices
• Continuing the gradual transition to independence

● Voters - concerned with making quality of life better and getting independence (nationalist tide)
● Voters rejected parties that were more capitalist (The Democrats) and colonial leaning (Progressive Party)
● Voices of the people heard - the contest of ideas resulted in a winner which a majority of people thought was representative of them

Question 6

Rendel Constitution: Oppose (-ve)

Why (were the -ve parts bad) ? (4pt)

Answer 6

• A Constitution imposed by British on Singapore i.e. “Rendel’s constitution”
• British still wanted to retain control over Singapore i.e. finance, internal security, defence, external affairs of Singapore
• British could still overrule any laws that the local Singapore government made (they still had the final say)
• disproportionate amount of control over a large number of responsibilities
• (e.g. external affairs, external defence, finance, internal security and law)
• 3 British officials to 25 elected non-officials (6 officials from the 25 drawn to take care of internal affairs) - look at scope of responsibility

Question 7

Labour Front Government under David Marshall: Support (+ve)

Who (1pt) supported them and why (2pt)?

Answer 7

Who?
* Locals

Why?
* Workers’ Welfare Laws
* Meet the People Sessions

Question 8

Labour Front Government under David Marshall: Oppose (-ve)

Who opposed them? (4pt)

Answer 8

• Trade Unions
• Chinese Middle School Students
• British Government
• Opposition Parties

Question 9

Labour Front Government under David Marshall: Oppose (-ve)

Why did they opposed them? (4 main parties, 3pt)

Answer 9

Chinese Middle School Students, Trade Unions
* Felt unfairly treated and wanted more changes to improve their employment and education opportunities and better job prospects (e.g. higher pay)
- Felt LF was still under British control (due to the British police being sent in during the riots)
= Distrusted LF

• Were influenced by Communist trade unions
• Marshall sympathized with their demands
• LF did not take strong action against them [for causing unrest with the Hock Lee Bus Riots and other strikes / riots]

British Government
* The Governor and his British officials saw Marshall as a leader only in name and did not offer him full support.
* They were not eager to cooperate with the LF government, which was anchored by a party committed to ending colonial rule.
- One example of the lack of British support for Marshall was the delay in giving him a proper office to work in.

Opposition Parties
* LF did not win majority of seats [10 / 25)
- Formed coalition government [different political parties cooperate]
= Opposing viewpoints on policies
= Difficult to execute plans to govern Singapore effectively

• Marshall’s inability to compromise (reluctant to resort to using force in Hock Lee Bus Riots)
• Singapore did not get self-rule from British during first Merdeka Talks
  = Other parties used this is an excuse to criticize LF as a weak government
• LF faced a lot of opposition (from the people, other political parties and the British)
• Not prepared to win (they did not expect to win in 1955 elections) = Lack of experience and expertise (capability) to govern the people
• Not prepared for office = did not know how to govern Singapore effectively
• Difficult to execute plans to govern Singapore effectively

Question 10

Labour Front Government under David Marshall: Oppose (-ve)

Why did Chinese Middle School Students and Trade Unions oppose them? (3 main pt, 2 subpt)

Answer 10

Chinese Middle School Students, Trade Unions
* Felt unfairly treated and wanted more changes to improve their employment and education opportunities and better job prospects (e.g. higher pay)
- Felt LF was still under British control (due to the British police being sent in during the riots)
= Distrusted LF

• Were influenced by Communist trade unions
• Marshall sympathized with their demands
• LF did not take strong action against them [for causing unrest with the Hock Lee Bus Riots and other strikes / riots]

Question 11

Labour Front Government under David Marshall: Oppose (-ve)

Why did the British Government oppose them? (2 main pt, 1 subpt)

Answer 11

British Government
* The Governor and his British officials saw Marshall as a leader only in name and did not offer him full support.
* They were not eager to cooperate with the LF government, which was anchored by a party committed to ending colonial rule.
- One example of the lack of British support for Marshall was the delay in giving him a proper office to work in.

Question 12

Labour Front Government under David Marshall: Oppose (-ve)

Why did the Opposition Parties oppose them? (3 main pt, 5 subpt)

Answer 12

Opposition Parties
* LF did not win majority of seats [10 / 25)
- Formed coalition government [different political parties cooperate]
= Opposing viewpoints on policies
= Difficult to execute plans to govern Singapore effectively

• Marshall’s inability to compromise (reluctant to resort to using force in Hock Lee Bus Riots)
• Singapore did not get self-rule from British during first Merdeka Talks
  = Other parties used this is an excuse to criticize LF as a weak government
• LF faced a lot of opposition (from the people, other political parties and the British)
• Not prepared to win (they did not expect to win in 1955 elections) = Lack of experience and expertise (capability) to govern the people
• Not prepared for office = did not know how to govern Singapore effectively
• Difficult to execute plans to govern Singapore effectively

Question 13

Hock Lee Bus Riots (1955): Background (5 main pt, 2 impt pt, 5 subpt)

Answer 13

• Hock Lee Bus workers’ strike happened in the same month LF government took office.
• The strike was significant because it involved the trade union members, workers as well as students from Chinese schools.
• First test of whether LF would live up to its election promises (for immediate independence and improvement of working conditions for workers)
• To the British, it tested the LF government’s ability to deal effectively with what were seen to be communist influences.
• Unions = a society or association formed by people with a common interest or purpose.
• self-governance - concept (don’t write this)
• self-government - process - what the government in singapore wanted in 1956 (write this)
• The Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company was a small company in Singapore.
• Some of its workers belonged to the Singapore Bus Workers’ Union (SBWU) while some joined the Hock Lee Bus Employees’ Union.
• In February 1955, 250 workers of the Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company joined the Singapore Bus Workers’ Union (SBWU) led by trade unionist (communist) Fong Swee Suan, the secretary of the union.

Question 14

Hock Lee Bus Riots: Reasons for the Strikes (4 main pts, 2 subpts, 4 subsubpts)

Answer 14

Reasons for the Strikes
* The Hock Lee bus strike and riot 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.

• 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.
• Why did they target these groups:
• Vulnerable
  o the workers in the post-war period were suffering from low pay, long working hours

o The workers were not granted leave to attend union meetings (= unhappy with management)
 The unhappy workers set up their own union (Singapore Bus Workers Union) which caused the management to respond negatively by:
* Dismissing two employees (who were branch officials of the SBWU)
* Forming a rival union (Hock Lee Bus Worker’s Union) who were paid more than those in SBWU

o Workers in the SBWU felt that workers from the Hock Lee Bus Employee’s Union were given better treatment (higher pay).
 In response to a protest where the workers objected to the management’s refusal to allow members of the SBWU to operate the spare buses, the management responded by firing all 229 SBWU workers, which agitated the workers, causing them to go on riot.

• The Chinese middle school students believed they were being treated unfairly
  o They wanted more changes to improve education and job opportunities to have better job prospects.
• Therefore, the Communist leaders targeted those groups that were the most marginalised, knowing it was easier to rally them towards their anti-colonial aims.

Question 15

Hock Lee Bus Riots: Reasons for the Strikes - Why did the Communists target the left-wing trade unions & Chinese Middle School Students? (2 main pts, 4 subpts, 2 subsubpt + 2 subsubsubpt)

Answer 15

• Why did they target these groups:
• Vulnerable
  o the workers in the post-war period were suffering from low pay, long working hours

o The workers were not granted leave to attend union meetings (= unhappy with management)
 The unhappy workers set up their own union (Singapore Bus Workers Union) which caused the management to respond negatively by:
* Dismissing two employees (who were branch officials of the SBWU)
* Forming a rival union (Hock Lee Bus Worker’s Union) who were paid more than those in SBWU

o Workers in the SBWU felt that workers from the Hock Lee Bus Employee’s Union were given better treatment (higher pay).
 In response to a protest where the workers objected to the management’s refusal to allow members of the SBWU to operate the spare buses, the management responded by firing all 229 SBWU workers, which agitated the workers, causing them to go on riot.

• The Chinese middle school students believed they were being treated unfairly
  o They wanted more changes to improve education and job opportunities to have better job prospects.
• Therefore, the Communist leaders targeted those groups that were the most marginalised, knowing it was easier to rally them towards their anti-colonial aims.

Question 16

Hock Lee Bus Riots: The Strikes (What happened?) 3pts, 3 subpt, 1subsubpt

Answer 16

• The dismissed workers went on a hunger strike and sat in front of the gates of the bus depot, blocking the gate of the bus depot by forming a human barrier, preventing buses from leaving.
• The British police then used batons to disperse the crowds resulting in 15 people injured.
• The actions of the British police generated sympathy for the workers.
• The workers also received support from large groups of sympathisers and Chinese students.
• Among the supporters were agitators who used loud speakers to make fiery speeches and incite the crowds to oppose the British police.
• More than 10,000 students from Chinese-medium schools gathered at the depot to support the striking workers.
  o They brought food for the workers and entertained them with performances like song and dance.

Question 17

Hock Lee Bus Riots: Dealing with the Strikes (How did David Marshall dealt with it?) (2 impt pts, 4pts for first point and 2 pts for second point + effects (3pts with 4 subpts)

Answer 17

1. Use of force by getting British troops to disperse the crowds
   * The British Governor wanted Marshall to send in troops, but he was reluctant to do so. This was because he:
2. Did not want to alienate the people
   - Important since he was the leader of a minority government and had not built a mass base of support among the people yet
   o if he took the side of the British, he would appear to be too willing to take harsh measures against the people
   - He did not want to appear to be a British stooge/puppet as he would be simply doing the bidding of the British
   o Opposition parties would see LF as pro-British and use that to go against him
   o They could challenge authority of LF to present DM as an image of a stooge/puppet
    This would cause LF to lose support.
3. Had his own convictions about the use of force and was reluctant to do so
   - Against his personality to use force against working masses, people’s whose sweat and toil had been exploited by the colonial government
   - Labour Front: Promised to protect and prioritize the workers’ rights
   o Using force would go against their promise during the 1955 elections
   o This could lead to a loss of support for LF as they did not fulfil their promise
4. Hoped that a settlement would be reached strategically
   - Marshall had hoped to build & win the support among the student-labour movement for his own anti-colonial aims.
5. Felt that he had no choice
   - Internal Security was still controlled by the British.
   o This meant that David Marshall had no authority over internal security, so he could not send the British police in to disperse the crowds.
    This meant that he was not the person who was responsible of sending in British troops (it was the British magistrate who sent in British troops using high-pressure water to disperse the crowds)
6. Resolve the crisis through Negotiations
7. David Marshall persuaded the bus management to offer to reinstate the (229) dismissed workers.
   - reinstate = restore (someone or something) to their former position or state.
8. He also set up a Court of Inquiry to look into the circumstances of dispute.
   - Workers under the SBWU were initially agreeable to this agreement
   - However, Fong Swee Suan (Secretary of the Singapore Bus Workers’ Union (SBWU)) signed agreement without consent of general workers and backed out last minute (therefore the agreement fell through).

• This played into the hands of the Communist leaders (this was what they wanted).
• They would only pretend to negotiate with the intention to reject government attempts to mediate so that they could leverage on the failure of the government to provide fair terms to whip up more support for Communism – the riots were a show of Communist strength.
• Momentum was gained to allow the Communists to strengthen themselves to gain more support.
• Despite David Marshall’s best efforts, he would be unsuccessful either way.
• If he were to send in troops, it would make him seem like a British puppet and cause opposition parties to go against him and for LF to lose support of the locals.
• If he were to intervene as negotiations, it would play into the hands of the Communist leaders as the trade union leaders had never intended to accept a settlement. The Communists used this as an excuse to leverage on the failure of the government to provide fair terms to whip up more support for Communism.
• When the tensions reached fever pitch and culminated in riots, this was a show of Communist strength that would deal a devastating blow to Marshall’s credibility.

Question 18

Hock Lee Bus Riots: Dealing with the Strikes (How did David Marshall dealt with it?)

1. Use of force by getting British troops to disperse the crowds

(4 main pts, 2 2 1 1 subpt)

Answer 18

1. Use of force by getting British troops to disperse the crowds
   * The British Governor wanted Marshall to send in troops, but he was reluctant to do so. This was because he:
2. Did not want to alienate the people
   - Important since he was the leader of a minority government and had not built a mass base of support among the people yet
   o if he took the side of the British, he would appear to be too willing to take harsh measures against the people
   - He did not want to appear to be a British stooge/puppet as he would be simply doing the bidding of the British
   o Opposition parties would see LF as pro-British and use that to go against him
   o They could challenge authority of LF to present DM as an image of a stooge/puppet
    This would cause LF to lose support.
3. Had his own convictions about the use of force and was reluctant to do so
   - Against his personality to use force against working masses, people’s whose sweat and toil had been exploited by the colonial government
   - Labour Front: Promised to protect and prioritize the workers’ rights
   o Using force would go against their promise during the 1955 elections
   o This could lead to a loss of support for LF as they did not fulfil their promise
4. Hoped that a settlement would be reached strategically
   - Marshall had hoped to build & win the support among the student-labour movement for his own anti-colonial aims.
5. Felt that he had no choice
   - Internal Security was still controlled by the British.
   o This meant that David Marshall had no authority over internal security, so he could not send the British police in to disperse the crowds.
    This meant that he was not the person who was responsible of sending in British troops (it was the British magistrate who sent in British troops using high-pressure water to disperse the crowds)

Question 19

Hock Lee Bus Riots: Dealing with the Strikes (How did David Marshall dealt with it?)

2. Resolve the crisis through Negotiations

(2 main pts, 1 2 subpt)

Answer 19

2. Resolve the crisis through Negotiations
3. David Marshall persuaded the bus management to offer to reinstate the (229) dismissed workers.
   - reinstate = restore (someone or something) to their former position or state.
4. He also set up a Court of Inquiry to look into the circumstances of dispute.
   - Workers under the SBWU were initially agreeable to this agreement and were willing to go back to work pending the results of the inquiry.
   - However, Fong Swee Suan (Secretary of the Singapore Bus Workers’ Union (SBWU)) signed agreement without consent of general workers and backed out last minute (therefore the agreement fell through).

Question 20

Hock Lee Bus Riots: Dealing with the Strikes (How did David Marshall dealt with it?)

Effects of David Marshall’s decision

(3 main pts, 4 subpts)

Answer 20

• This played into the hands of the Communist leaders (this was what they wanted).
• They would only pretend to negotiate with the intention to reject government attempts to mediate so that they could leverage on the failure of the government to provide fair terms to whip up more support for Communism – the riots were a show of Communist strength.
• Momentum was gained to allow the Communists to strengthen themselves to gain more support.
• Despite David Marshall’s best efforts, he would be unsuccessful either way.
• If he were to send in troops, it would make him seem like a British puppet and cause opposition parties to go against him and for LF to lose support of the locals.
• If he were to intervene as negotiations, it would play into the hands of the Communist leaders as the trade union leaders had never intended to accept a settlement. The Communists used this as an excuse to leverage on the failure of the government to provide fair terms to whip up more support for Communism.
• When the tensions reached fever pitch and culminated in riots, this was a show of Communist strength that would deal a devastating blow to Marshall’s credibility.

Question 21

Hock Lee Bus Riots: The Riot (2pt, 1 subpt)

Answer 21

• On 11 May, clashes between the workers and the police grew more intense. Employees of other bus companies joined in to protest against the treatment of their fellow workers.
• The British magistrate (not Marshall) sent in the police to use high-pressure water jets to disperse the crowds.
• On 12 May 1955, tensions reached a climax. The British police attempted to disperse the crowd with water hoses. Enraged by the actions of the police, the crowd fought back by throwing bricks, stones and bottles.

Question 22

Hock Lee Bus Riots: Aftermath (Effects)

4 main pt, 5 subpt

Answer 22

• The next morning, there were 4 killed and 31 injured.
• Among the dead were a police detective and a 16-year-old Chinese student.
• It was believed that the 16-year-old Chinese student had been paraded around for several hours before he was sent to the hospital.
  o This was to show the locals that the British government did not care about the welfare of the people.
  o The Communists wanted to show that government does not care about the welfare of the people to garner support for the Communism.
• On 14 May 1955, the Hock Lee Bus Riots ended after the government helped to negotiate an agreement between the SBWU and HLBEU and the Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company.
  According to the agreement:
• The 229 dismissed workers got their jobs back.
• The Hock Lee Bus Employees’ Union would be dissolved
  o To reduce biasness (because the people felt that they were being paid more than workers from other unions)
• The Court of Inquiry would be discontinued
• 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.
• However, many trade union members remained suspicious of the government and continued to organise rallies and protests.

Question 23

Hock Lee Bus Riots: British Govt POV of Marshall’s handling of the Riots (5 main pt, 11 subpt)

Answer 23

• They were not impressed, Marshall (& LF govt) looked too soft, weak, incapable and indecisive to the British.
• The British wanted Marshall to take a tough stance in the face of a Communist threat (he refused).
• British lost trust in LF government (LF government looked weak)
• This was because of Marshall’s reluctance to take stronger action against those involved in the riots and his willingness to negotiate instead (which failed).
• They did not want to grant more constitution reforms to a party that they believed would put the security of Singapore at risk of a Communist takeover.
• This impacted the outcome of the First Merdeka Talks in 1956, London.
• Had no sense of urgency
• waited too long to take action
• caused more people to get involved and get hurt
• Unprepared to deal with crisis
• no immediate plan B after negotiating did not work
• Not prepared to win (they did not expect to win in 1955 elections) = Lack of experience and expertise (capability) to govern the people
• Not prepared for office = did not know how to govern Singapore effectively
• Difficult to execute plans to govern Singapore effectively
• Government lacked a firm leading attitude (were indecisive/weak)
• refused to take stronger action but wanted to negotiate instead

Question 24

First Merdeka Talks (1956): Background (3pt)

Answer 24

• The LF government were anxious about the slow pace of Singapore’s political development and continued to push for further political change in Singapore
• In April 1956, Marshall led a 13-man delegation (from all parties, including PAP’s own LKY) to London to negotiate for self-government.
• His promise to Singapore: to return with full independence or resign.

Question 25

First Merdeka Talks (1956): Negotiations

What did Marshall demanded for? (2pt, 2 subpt)

Answer 25

• Marshall demanded for:
  1. Full internal self-government by April 1957.
• To fufill his promise that was made during the 1955 elections for Singapore to get immediate independence and for Singapore to break free from colonial rule.

2. Greater (full) control over defence, internal security and external affairs.
   - To get full internal self-government so that they could control the affairs in Singapore better as it was controlled by the British back then.

Question 26

First Merdeka Talks (1956): Negotiations

How did the delegation respond to Marshall’s demands? (2-3 main pt, 2 subpt, 2 + 2 sspt)

Answer 26

• The delegation responded by:
  1. Proposing that the British retain control over foreign policy and external defence, but with Singapore holding the right to be consulted on foreign affairs and to veto on defence matters.

2. With the desire to retain control over internal security, the British insisted on a joint defence council consisting of an equal number of representatives from Britain and Singapore, but with a casting vote in the hands of the British high commissioner.

• Marshall’s proposal for the British to appoint a Malayan as chairman of the defence council and for the abolishment of the casting vote were rejected.
  o Marshall considered the proposal 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 (final) vote.
   This 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.
• The British 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-NS riots) and 1955 (Hock Lee Bus Riots).
  o Wanted control of internal security, external defense and power to suspend constitution
• The negotiations hit a deadlock on 15 May as both sides refused to compromise on internal security arrangements.

Question 27

First Merdeka Talks (1956): Aftermath (Effects) 3pts

Answer 27

• Marshall refused the British terms, and the talks broke down (were unsuccessful).
• Marshall and his delegation returned to Singapore empty-handed.
• Having failed to secure independence by April 1956, being true to his promise, he stepped down as Chief Minister.
• Singapore’s hopes of independence had suffered a setback.

Question 28

Hock Lee Bus Riots: After the Hock Lee Bus Riots, the British doubted the LF government’s ability to? (2pt)

Answer 28

1. Maintain law and order
2. Deal with the Communist threat

Question 29

First Merdeka Talks (1956): The British wanted a strong and stable government in Singapore to:

2pt, 3subpt

Answer 29

1. Protect British economic and defence interests
   - As the British were dependent on an export economy to recover from post-war financial crisis, they required their overseas colonies like Singapore that protected their economic and military/defence interests be kept in stable government hands for some time.
2. Prevent Singapore from becoming Communist
   - 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.
   - They feared that Singapore would become Communist due to the many Communist threats.

Question 30

First Merdeka Talks (1956): There was a clash of interests between the local leaders and the British. Why is that so?

(Local Leaders POV & British POV, 1 pt 1 subpt each)

Answer 30

• There was a clash of interests between the local leaders and the British.
• Local Leaders: Wanted more control over SG
  o wanted full internal government and immediate independence
• British: needed SG to protect their economic and military/defence interests to recover from the post-war financial crisis
  o they were reluctant to give SG what the local leaders wanted due to their fear that the local leaders could not govern SG effectively which would cause the British to recover slower and might cause Singapore to fall into the hands of the Communists (and also because of how the local leaders handled the riots).