Chapter Eight

chapter eightHow did Singapore progress to

internal self-government?

Lesson Objectives

Role of the Labour Front

The Merdeka Talks 1959 Elections

David Marshall The first locally-born leader elected to head

the first government. As the Labour Front had won the most seats,

it formed the government. Marshall became the Chief Minister while six local representatives became Ministers.

As Chief Minister, Marshall was still under the control of the Governor. The Governor and the British officials only viewed him as a figurehead and did not give him proper respect.

Because Marshall’s party was not the one that the British expected to win, they did not receive full British support.

David Marshall The British were not certain that the Marshall administration could

protect British interests and prevent Singapore from falling into the hands of the communists. This was because Marshall seemed unwilling to arrest and imprison the communists.

When Marshall requested for more authority for his government, the Governor turned him down. Marshall believed that the amount of self-government given by the British was insufficient and requested for full self-government.

He hoped for local ministers to gain control over all internal matters concerning Singapore.

He threatened to resign if the British were unwilling to grant self-government.

Role of the Labour Front Even though the Labour Front won the most number

of seats in the 1955 election, it did not have an absolute majority (winning 50% or more of the seats) in the Assembly.

As a result, the LF formed a coalition government with the Alliance Party.

The new government had to deal with the challenges posed by the strengthened Communist movement that organized regular industrial disputes and strikes.

Hock Lee Bus Riots

Hock Lee Bus Riots Workers from two trade unions

(Singapore Bus Workers Union and Hock Lee Employee’s Union) went on strike for better pay and working conditions in April 1955.

David Marshall attempted to settle the dispute between the bus company and the union by setting up a Commission of Inquiry. However, both parties failed to reach an agreement. The protests by the bus workers continued.

Hock Lee Bus Riots When the protest turned increasingly

violent, the government called in the police to control the workers and students by using fire hoses.

The strikes only came to an end on 14 May 1955.

Marshall seemed reluctant to arrest and imprison the Communists during the Hock Lee Bus riots. This caused the British to have a negative impression of Marshall.

Students’ Riots These riots started when it was announced that the

Singapore Chinese Middle School Students’ Union would be closed down due to its Communist activities. Four student leaders were arrested and 142 students were expelled for taking part in Communist activities.

Students retaliated by camping at their campuses for two weeks.

The government sent out the police, who used tear gas to force the students out from the schools. The angry mob then went on a rampage in the city. This continued for three days.

Students’ Riots A curfew was imposed in vain. Eventually, the

army was called in and road-blocks were set up during the curfew to prevent the congregation of large crowds.

The riots only ended when the police arrested almost all the union leaders, including the pro-communist Lim Chin Siong as well as Fong Swee Suan.

do-whatever-you-want break.your one minute begins now.

Merdeka Talks Merdeka refers to a Malay word meaning freedom.

First Merdeka Talks Marshall led a team to London to negotiate for self-government. Prior to the discussions, Marshall had promised to resign from his position should the talks be fruitless. He demanded internal self-government for Singapore by 1957. In addition, he maintained that Singapore should have authority over defence and external affairs. However, the British did not trust that Marshall could deal with the Communist threat and did not grant Singapore internal self-government. The talks failed and Marshall stepped down as Chief Minister.

Lim Yew HockLim Yew Hock became the next Chief Minister.He did not believe in threatening the British in order to gain concessions since he identified that the British were concerned about the Communist threat and were thus reluctant to grant more authority to the people.Thus, Lim Yew Hock believed in cooperating with the British to curb the Communist threat and gain confidence of the British government.His success in suppressing the 1956 Students’ Riots gained the approval of the British.

Second Merdeka TalksLim Yew Hock led another group to London to re-negotiate for internal self-governments. This group included members of other parties.Although Lim Yew Hock wanted to obtain control over all internal matters of government, he was willing to compromise on the issue of internal security as he knew that the British were concerned about the Communist threat.

Second Merdeka TalksIt was decided that external matters like foreign affairs and defence would remain with the British.The proposals of the Marshall mission of 1956 now formed the basis for the talks. This resulted in the November 1958 Constitution being drawn up.Lim Yew Hock then announced that Singapore would have internal self-government with elections held in May 1959.

1959 elections

Progress towards internal self-govt

Branch Of Government

First Election 1948

Limited Self-Government

1955

Internal Self- Government

1959

Executive Power was in the hands of the British Rulers

Head Of State- British Governor

3 British Ministers

Chief Minister

6 Local ministers

Head Of State-Yang-Di-Pertuan

Negara

No British Minister

Prime Minister

All ministers are local

Progress towards internal self-govtBranch Of

GovernmentFirst Election

1948Limited Self-Government

1955

Internal Self- Government

1959

Legislative 6 elected non-officials

13 nominated by the British

3 selected by the Chambers of Commerce

No Specific areas of responsibility

25 elected members

7 nominated members

Areas of responsibility:

Trade and industry, health education and

housing

51 elected members

No nominated members

Areas of responsibility:

Trade and industry, health

education, housing, law and labour, finance

Progress towards internal self-govt Shared area of responsibility: Internal Security Under British Control: External Affairs and External Defence For Internal Security, local and British representatives sat on the Internal Security Council and shared responsibility for Singapore’s security. With internal self-government, Singapore would then be known as the State of Singapore. A head of State (the Yang di-Pertuan Negara) would replace the British Governor. The Legislative Assembly of 51 members could debate issues in English, Malay, Mandarin or Tamil.

1959 ElectionsThe 1959 Elections was Singapore’s first fully democratic election.A total of 525,000 people voted. Voting was made compulsory to ensure that people took part in the process of choosing their government.The jump in the number of voters was also due to the law known as the Citizenship Ordinance passed in 1957. This law allowed Singapore who were not born in Singapore to become citizens.

1959 ElectionsCompared to six parties in 1955, 13 parties took part in the election.There were 194 candidates running for seats in the government.Intense campaigning took place as parties tried to win the trust and votes of the people.There was increased interest by the general public on who should govern Singapore.

1959 Elections The PAP impressed the people with their plans, incorruptibility and unity while the other parties appeared disunited. As a result the PAP won 43 out of 51 seats in the Legislative Assembly. As the PAP had obtained a large majority in the Legislative Assembly, it formed the new government. Lee Kuan Yew, the leader of the PAP became the first Prime Minister. A few months later, Yusof bin Ishak became the Head of State.

1959 ElectionsSingapore had its own national anthem, its own state crest and its own national flag to replace the symbols of British government.However, Singapore was not an independent nation as the British still retained control over some areas and the Queen appointed the Head of State.