LimaPuluh

SINGAPORE 1946 – 1959


A SEPARATE CROWN COLONY

The constitutional progress of Singapore was slower than that of the Federation of Malaya. When the British returned to Singapore in 1945, they set up a British Military Administration there. One 1st April 1946 civil government was restored. Penang and Malacca were separated from Singapore. They were joined to the Malayan Union while Singapore became a separate Crown Colony.


WHY SINGPORE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE FEDERATION

When the Federation of Malaya was formed in 1948, Singapore was left out again. There were three main reasons why Singapore was not included in the Federation. One reason was that Singapore and the Federation had different economies. Singapore was largely depended on free trade for its prosperity whereas the Federation depended on import and export duties for its revenue.
Another reason was that Singapore had a large Chinese population. In Malaya the Malays were the largest group of people. They also had the greatest share in the government. If Singapore were to join the Federation the Chinese would outnumber the Malays. This would mean that the Chinese would have more votes than the Malays and other races. The Malays would then be ruled by the Chinese. The Malay leaders therefore not ready to accept a union with Singapore.
The other reason was that Singapore was an important naval base in Southeast Asia. The British wanted to use Singapore as their naval base to keep their power and influence in that region.



GOVERNMENT OF SINGAPORE 1946

In 1946 Singapore thus remained under direct British rule. The Colonial Office appointed a British Governor to rule Singapore. As Executive Council and a Legislative Council were established to help the Governor. The Governor was President of the Executive Council and Chairman of the Legislative Council.
The Executive Council consisted of 7 official (including the Governor) and 4 unofficial members. They were all nominated by the Governor. The Legislative Council consisted of 10 official (including the Governor) and 13 unofficial members. 4 of the unofficial members were nominated by the Governor. 9 were elected of the 9, 3 were elected by the Chinese, European and Indian Chambers of Commerce. 6 were directly elected through votes of all British subjects over the age of 21. The Legislative Council thus had more unofficial members, 6 of whom were fully elected.





DEVELOPMENTS IN THE LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE COUNCILS

In March 1948 Singapore held its first elections for the Legislative Council. Soon afterwards in June 1948 Singapore declared a state of emergency. Unlike the Communists in Malaya, those in Singapore carried out fewer terrorist activities. Instead they were active in infiltrating trade unions and organizations of some of the Chinese middle schools. In 1950 – 1951 the number of unofficial members in the Executive and Legislative Councils were increased. The 6 directly elected unofficial members in the Legislative Council were increased to 9. Two of the unofficial members of the Executive Council were elected from among themselves by the unofficial members in the Legislative Council. This brought the two Councils closer together.



THE ELECTIONS OF 1951

The next elections were held in 1951. At that time less than a third of Singapore’s population could vote. The others were either non-citizens or under the age of 21. The number of voters had increased, but only half of them especially Chinese were dissatisfied. They were not ready for such elections. They opposed the separate constitution for Singapore and the citizenship laws of the Federation. So they refused to take part in elections. Others were not interested in the elections.
At this time the Progressive and Labour Parties were the main political parties in Singapore. The Progressives wanted to develop self-government and the union with the Federation. The Progressives won the elections.


SINGAPORE – A CITY

Singapore’s municipal government was also developed. In 1856 five commissioners had been appointed to raise local taxation for public services and amenities in the town. As work increased the number of commissioners was also increased. In 1948 the number of commissioners was increased from 25 to 27. Eighteen of them were to be elected.
In 1951 Singapore received the status of a city. It’s a local government became a City Council.




THE RENDEL COMMISSION


AIMS OF THE COMMISSION

In 1953 the British Government appointed a Commission under Sir George Rendel

(a) to find out why most of the electorate did not use of clim their votes in the 1951 elections.
(b) to find ways of increasing the number of voters.
(c) to find ways of increasing the number of elected members in the Councils.
(d) to recommend more changes in the Singapore constitution.



THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION

The Rendel Commission’s Report was published in February 1954 and was accepted by the British Government. The Commission thus increasing the steps towards self-government.
All those who were qualified to vote should be automatically registered as electors.


A LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

A Legislative Assembly would replace the Legislative Council. The Legislative Assembly would have a Speaker and 32 members. 25 of these would be elected. Three of the remaining seven would be ex-officio members. The Governor would nominate four unofficial members from any important group which did not win any seats in the elections. The Legislative Assembly would serve for four years.


A COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

A council of Ministers would replace the Executive Council. It would consist of the Governor, three officials and six members of the majority party in the Legislative Assembly.
The three official members would control finance, foreign affairs, defence and internal security. They would be directly responsible to the Governor. The other members would also be allowed to make suggestions. The leader of the majority party would become the Chief Minister. He would choose five other members to be Ministers.
This new constitution was then introduced to Singapore in February 1955.





ELECTIONS 1955


POLITICAL PARTIES IN SINGAPORE

The first general elections for the Legislative Assembly were held in April 1955. This time more than 50% of the voters voted.


THE MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES

However, Singapore did not have any political party strong enough to form its own government. The main political parties were the Progressive Party, the Democratic Party, the United Malay National Organisation Union (UMNO, MCA, SMU) Alliance, the Labor Front and the People’s Action Party (PAP).
The Progressives, the Democrats and the UMNO – MCA – SMU Alliance were right-wing parties. The others were left-wing parties. These parties had some Communist ideals.
The Progressive Party was the oldest party. It had the most number of elected representatives in the former Legislative Council. It was expected to win the elections.
The Democratic Party was a new Chinese party. It represented business interests and wanted Chinese as one of the official languages of the Legislative Assembly.
The UMNO – MCA – SMU Alliance was a branch of the Alliance Party of the Federation.
The Labor Front was supported by the trade unions. It consisted of small socialist groups and part of the former Labor Party. The PAP was newly formed party with democratic socialist and some Communist ideals. It was led by a group of English educated intellectuals. They were also supported by trade unions.



ELECTIONS 1955


The five political parties and a few independent candidates fought for the 25 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Labor Front led by Mr. David Marshall and Mr. Lim Yew Hock won the elections with 10 seats. The Progressives lost. They had only 4 seats. The UMNO – MCA – SMU Alliance and the PAP won 3 seats each. The Democrats took two seats and the Independents three. 15 of the elected members were Chinese.
Although the Labor Front won, it did not get a large majority to form a government. Mr. Marshall then decided to form an alliance government with the UMNO – MCA – SMU Alliance. Mr. Marshall, who was also a lawyer, became the first Chief Minister of Singapore.
The Progressives and the Democrats united to form a Liberal Socialist Party in February 1956. The Liberal Socialist Party and the PAP formed the opposition parties. The PAP was to become the strongest opposition party against the government. It was led by a lawyer, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, who was educated in Cambridge. Although the PAP was a left-wing party, Mr. Lee joined the party because he felt that the party could command the allegiance of the educated Chinese.



THE MARSHALL ADMINISTRATION



DISAGREEMENT BROKE OUT

Soon after the new government was set up, disagreement broke out between Mr. Marshall and the Governor, Sir Robert Black. Mr. Marshall wanted the Governor to appoint four assistant Ministers but he agreed to appoint only two.
A dispute as to whether the Governor had the right to reject any or part of the advice given to him by the Chief Minister arose. It was then put forward to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Lennox-Boyd. As a result, the Constitution was altered and the Governor had to take the Chief Minister’s advice.
Meanwhile Mr. Marshall and the Legislative Assembly had decided to obtain self-government for Singapore. He was then invited to London to discuss the question of self-government. So in December 1955 Mr. Marshall visited London.



WEAKNESS IN THE GOVERNMENT

At the same time the new government was also having more trouble. Strikes and riots broke out. Most of them were organized by the Chinese Middle Schools and trade unions. There was much damage and loss of life. The position of the Labor Front had also become weak. Mr. Marshall found it difficult to hold the party together. Two of its members in the Legislative Assembly joined the opposition.



THE MARSHALL MISSION TO LONDON

Under these circumstances, Mr. Marshall led a mission to London in April 1956 to ask for Singapore’s independence. He was not successful.



WHY BRITAIN REFUSED TO GRANT INDEPENDENCE

The British Government would not give independence because Singapore had only a short experience in democratic government. The Labor Front did not get a large majority of votes in the elections. This meant that not all the people would support the government. The British Government was therefore not sure if the Labor Front government would remain in office.
There was a lot of Communist trouble in Singapore. There were strikes and riots. The British Government was not sure if the Labor Front Government could keep law and order. The British Government did not want Singapore to become a Communist state. Singapore was an important British naval base for the defence of Southeast Asia. The British Government therefore wanted law and order in Singapore.




A STATE OF SINGAPORE PROPOSED

The Colonial Office then put forward other proposals. A State of Singapore would be set up and a High Commissioner would replace the Governor. The Legislative Assembly would be enlarged and fully elected. The registration of citizenship would be introduced.
There was a great danger of Communist subversion and the uncertainty of whether Singapore could defend itself against internal and external attack. The Colonial Office would therefore control defence and internal security. A Defence and Security Council would be set up to helo the Colonial Office. It would consist of three representatives from Singapore and three from Britain. The High Commissioner would be the Chairman.
Singapore would be given full internal self-government. However, the High Commissioner would be given the power to intervene in matters of internal security in an emergency.



MR MARSHALL RESIGNED

Mr. Marshall would not accept the Defence and Security Council. He said that it would interfere with Singapore’s internal affairs. The talks in London therefore broke down. The mission then returned to Singapore. Mr. Marshall resigned as Chief Minister. He was succeeded by Mr. Lim Yew Hock.




PROGRESS TOWARDS SELF-GOVERNMENT


MR LIM YEW HOCK

Soon after Mr. Lim Yew Hock became the Chief Minister he began to take strong steps to stop the Communists from causing more trouble in Singapore. He wanted to show the people that the government could keep law and order and thus restore confidence in the Singapore government.
Mr. Lim Yew Hock broke up the Communist influenced organizations and the Middle School Students’ Union. As a result students and some of the trade unions organized strikes and riots in September 1956. Many were arrested. Mr. Lim Yew Hock had to obtain police and troops from the Federation to help suppress the disturbances.




THE SECOND MISSION TO LONDON

The Demand For Self-Government Renewed

Meanwhile Mr. Lim had also renewed the government’s demand for self-government. A second conference in London was then arranged and held in March-April 1957. Mr. Lim led the mission which included leaders of the other parties. At the conference both governments agreed on a new constitution for Singapore.
The Yang diPertuan Negara was to be the Head of State. He was to act as the representative of the British Crown. Singapore was to become a City State after the general elections in 1959. There was to be an elected Legislative Assembly of 51 members.



AN INTERNAL SECURITY COUNCIL

An internal Security Council would be set up. It would consist of
(a) the Prime Minister
(b) two other Singapore Minister
(c) the British High Commissioner (the Chairman)
(d) two other British representatives
(e) one Cabinet Minister from the Federation of Malaya
Should Singapore and Britain fail to reach an agreement the representative of the Federation would have the deciding vote.
Singapore would thus have full internal self-government. Britain would be responsible for its defence and foreign affairs. A special Singapore citizenship was to be introduced.
However, Britain insisted that persons arrested for taking part in any activities against the government should not be allowed to stand for elections. This caused much disagreement among the people.



POLITICAL UNREST SUPPRESSED

On his return from London Mr. Lim took further steps against those who caused political unrest in schools and trade unions. At that time the Communist members of the PAP tried to take control of the party from Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and his supporters. Mr. Lim and his government arrested 39 people in August 1957 for breaking the law and peace. Eighteen of them were members of the PAP.




THE SINGAPORE CITY COUNCIL

Meanwhile the City Council of Singapore was reorganized. It was to consist of 32 elected members who would elect a Mayor from among themselves. In December 1957 the first elections to the Singapore City Council were held. The PAP won 13 of the 32 seats. Mr. Ong Eng Guan, treasurer of the PAP, became the fist Mayor of Singapore.





INTERNAL SELF-GOVERNMENT IN SINGAPORE


LEE KUAN YEW AND THE PAP

Plans were then made to hold the first general elections to the Legislative Assembly. After their victory in the City Council, the PAP prepared for the elections. Led by Mr. Lee the PAP strengthened its organization and declared itself to be non-Communist. The PAP also declared that its main aim was to unite Singapore with the Federation.
The PAP worked closely with the people. The party began to win more support from the Chinese educated people of Singapore, many of whom had become citizens. Mr. Lee and his party soon became the most popular party in Singapore.
The Labour Front government was losing support although it had achieved many social reforms and obtained full internal self-government for Singapore. This was mainly because of its actions against the Chinese Middle Schools and trade unions.


ELECTIONS 1959

On 30th May 1959 the first general elections for the Legislative Assembly were held. The PAP won 43 out of the 51 seats. Therefore as the majority party, the PAP formed the new government.
However, Mr. Lee refused to take office until eight former party leaders arrested in 1956 and 1957 were released. They had been arrested by the Lim Yew Hock government under the terms of the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance. The former Governor, Sir William Goode, accepted Mr. Lee’s request. He then released the eight members.


SINGAPORE, AN INTERNAL SELF-GOVERNING STATE

On 3rd June 1959 Mr. Lee, Secretary-General of the party, formed the new government. Singapore became a self-government state. The British government kept control of Singapore’s external affairs and defence. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew became the first Prime Minister of Singapore. On 3rd December 1959 Mr. Yusof bin Ishak was appointed the Yang diPertuan Negara.
The PAP Government now aimed to expand trade and industry in Singapore. At the same time a general Malayan outlook and loyalty was developed. The PAP government hoped to join Singapore to Malaya. In this way, Singapore would be able to obtain complete independence from Britain.