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1. HOW DID THE BRITISH GOVERN SINGAPORE BEFORE WWII? Chapter
4
2. Q Do you know how long did the British government govern
Singapore?
3. Did you guess correctly? It is an astounding 140 years! Yes,
the British ruled Singapore for 140 years in total. But there was a
break in the British rule when the Japanese Occupation occurred
from 1942 to 1945.
4. Can you guess what these buildings functioned as under
British rule? RAFFELS HOTEL: It was established by two Armenian
brothers from Persia in 1887 to be a hotel. At the end of the WW2,
the hotel was used as a transit camp for prisoners of war.
5. Can you guess what these buildings functioned as under
British rule? Fullerton Hotel: Initially was designed as an office
building by Major P.H Keys of Keys and dowdeswell. 1874: General
Post Office and the Exchange Building in 1874 1942: Hospital during
WW2 1942 2001: Fullerton hotel
6. Can you guess what these buildings functioned as under
British rule? Old supreme court Colonial houses Hotel
7. What will you be learning about? Locals involvement in the
government Problems that the British faced in maintaining law and
order How British improved law and order How British improved the
social services British view on people of SG
8. British governance 1819 Established a trading settlement in
Singapore 1824 Signed the Anglo-Dutch treaty + acquired Singapore
1826 Combined three possessions: Singapore + Melaka + Penang into
the Straits Settlements > ruled by East India Company (E.I.C.)
1858 E.I.C was disbanded. British government took over control of
British India 1867 The Straits Settlement became a Crown Colony:
under direct control of the Colonial Office in London. Belonged to
the Queen (Queen Victoria)
9. Structure of the British government Colonial Office Governor
of the Straits Settlements British government in London Represented
Queen Victoria Had veto power: ability to stop the passing of
laws
10. Structure of the British government Executive Office
High-ranking British officials advised the Governor and helped him
run the Settlements Legislative Council High-ranking British
officials from Executive Council + nonofficial members who were
mainly Asian/European traders Advised the Governor + helped him
make laws
11. How were the locals involved in the British government?
Locals were in the Legislative Council as non- official members
They were often out-voted as there were too few of them as compared
to the official members And this made them very unhappy!
12. How were the locals involved in the British government? The
pressure to increase the number of non- official members were
finally met in 1924 when: number of official members = non-official
members in the Legislative Council Dr Lim Boon Keng and Eunos
Abdullah were the Asian members of the Legislative Council
13. Q Why do you think it is important to include Asians in the
Legislative Council?
14. Roles of the Asians non-officials in the Legislative
Council They helped to initiate some laws in Singapore Eunos
Abdullah: Set aside land for Malay settlement called Kampong Melayu
Provide low-cost housing Malays can earn a living by growing
fruits/ vegetables & rearing poultry
15. Roles of the Asians non-officials in the Legislative
Council Dr Lim Boon Keng: proposed to ban opium smoking Legislative
Council: unwilling to do so as it is source of revenue To make up
for loss of revenue, there was a proposal to have income tax >
met with strong opposition from members in the Legislative Council
Eventually, income tax law on opium was not passed
16. Q Now that we have covered the main structure of the
British government in Singapore, do you think it was easy for the
British to control Singapore?
17. Let us now turn our attention to the PROBLEMS that the
British faced in maintaining law & order in Singapore!
18. Problems in Maintaining Law and Order Keeping law and order
became difficult as more immigrants arrived in Singapore in the
19th century 1. Chinese Secret Societies 2. Abuse of Immigrants 3.
Piracy
19. Social problems in early Singapore Source B An excerpt
describing the social problems in early Singapore Most people had
no access to public health services such as chlorea and smallpox
caused severe health problems, especially in overcrowded
working-class areas. As a result of the predominantly male and
uneducated nature of the population, the society was lawless and
chaotic. In 1850, there were only twelve police officers in the
city of nearly 60, 000 people. Chinese criminal secret societies
were extremely powerful, and some had tens of thousands of members.
The secret societies created many problems for the police. Study
Source B. What does the source tell you about the state of society
in early Singapore?
20. 1st Inference I can Evidence from the source This can be
Explanation of inference based on evidence This suggests
21. 2nd Inference I can Evidence from the source This can be
Explanation of inference based on evidence This suggests
22. 2) Problems in Maintaining Law and Order: Chinese secret
societies Initially, these were organizations that helped the new
immigrants in Singapore to seek employment. Secret societies
provided young men with protection and security as well as a sense
of brotherhood in a foreign land However
23. 2) Problems in Maintaining Law and Order: Chinese secret
societies Soon the society members started to form gangs and secret
societies that: Robbed, killed and took part in unlawful activities
They operated opium houses, brothels and gambling dens Major secret
societies: Hokkein Ghee Hin, Teochew Ghee Hin, Ghee Hok, Ghee Kee
and Ghee Sin These secret societies then became a threat to the
public security
24. Opium house
25. 2) Problems in Maintaining Law and Order: Abuse of
immigrants Immigrants were too poor to pay for their passage from
China to Singapore Hence they turned to coolie-agents (credit
coolies) who would pay for their passage Immigrants had to work to
pay off their debts
26. 2) Problems in Maintaining Law and Order: Abuse of
immigrants They were very often ill-treated and abused by their
employers/coolie-agents For Chinese women immigrants, they were
often kidnapped and sold off to brothels.
27. 2) Problems in Maintaining Law and Order: Piracy This was a
threat to the merchant community in Singapore. Many trading ships
were attacked by pirates and their cargo taken/the people killed or
taken as slaves This led to many merchants keeping away from
Singapore > adverse effects on growth of Singapore Many
European/Chinese merchants asked for the government to step in to
deal with the pirates
28. 2) Problems in Maintaining Law and Order: Piracy Gunboats
were sent by the government to patrol the waters The arrival of
steamships helped greatly in fighting piracy as they could sail
very fast against the wind By mid 19th century, piracy became less
of a threat in Singapore
29. Q So what was the role of the British in improving the law
and order of Singapore?
30. 3) How did the British improve law and order in Singapore?
Police force Chinese Protectorate Set up to deal with the problems
of the Chinese community William Pickering was the first Protector
of the Chinese in May 1877 and he served till 1888 He could speak
many Chinese dialects
31. Role of the Chinese Protectorate Source C: An extract on
Pickerings role as the Chinese Protectorate in Singapore
Unfortunately, despite all that Pickering had done for the good of
the Chinese, there were still those within the community who
disliked him and mistrusted him. Pickering has made numerous
attempts to establish closer relations with the Chinese community
by helping the coolies from abuse as well as settle disputes
between the different Chinese immigrants. In addition, he also
lessened the power of the secret societies by exposing their
gambling dens. Study Source C. What does the source tell you about
the responsibilities of the Chinese Protectorate?
32. 1st Inference Evidence from the source Explanation of
inference based on evidence
33. 2nd Inference Evidence from the source Explanation of
inference based on evidence
34. 3) How did the British improve law and order in Singapore:
What did the Chinese Protectorate do? Secret societies All secret
societies had to register with the Chinese Protectorate Persuaded
the Chinese community to settle their quarrels at the Chinese
Protectorate > weakened power of secret society leaders
35. 3) How did the British improve law and order in Singapore:
What did the Chinese Protectorate do? Coolie-agents/lodging houses
All had to be registered with the Chinese Protectorate All coolie
ships were inspected to prevent abuse of the coolies Po Leung Kuk
(Protect Virtue Office) was set up to rescue young girls from being
sold to brothels However, there were still abuses and the existence
of secret societies as these were not reported to the
Protectorate
36. How did the British improve law and order in Singapore:
Police force Before Small police force unable to maintain law and
order Few wanted to join as policemen were poorly paid and equipped
The police force was greatly corrupted, policemen accepted bribes
readily There were few Chinese in the police force and this made it
hard to get information from the Chinese The police force was so
ineffective that the army was called in to help maintain the law
and order in the settlements
37. How did the British improve law and order in Singapore:
Police force After The government increased the pay of policemen
and provided better training for them Officials who were fluent in
Malay and Chinese dialects were employed Thomas Duncan was the
first police commissioner in Singapore in 1857
38. How did the British improve law and order in Singapore:
Police force Year 1862 1903 1906 1931 *by mid 1920s What happened
Detective Branch was set up to look into the activities of secret
societies Modern methods such as fingerprinting was introduced
Chinese detectives were recruited to help with investigations
Detective Branch was renamed as Criminal Investigation Branch
(C.I.D.) Law & order had greatly improved
39. Q What have they done to improve the social services for
the people in Singapore?
40. 4) How did the British government improve social services
for the people? Health First half of 19th century: death rate was
very high Common diseases caused by poverty, overcrowding and
malnutrition: tuberculosis, beri-beri, malaria The British became
worried as Singapores prosperity is dependent on the people Hence,
the British took measures to solve these problems Education
41. How did the British improve the social services in
Singapore? Source D An excerpt of Southeast Asian history in early
19th century One of the main problems that the British had to deal
with in the 19th century was crime. The British tried to recruit
police officers to help keep law and order but few wanted to join
the police force as policemen were poorly paid. The next pressing
problem was the poor health standards in Singapore. Diseases were
rampant and people were dying on a daily basis from various
illnesses. The British subsequently set up the Public Health
Department to improve the public health and it also helped to
improve housing conditions. Study Source D. What does the source
tell you about the role of the British in dealing with the social
problems in the early Singapore?
42. 1st Inference Evidence from the source Explanation of
inference based on evidence
43. 2nd Inference Evidence from the source Explanation of
inference based on evidence
44. In 1887, the Public Health Department was set up to improve
health in town Malaria committee was set up: supervise swamps,
replace pail system with modern water-carriage sewage system and
clearing streets/drains To prevent infectious diseases: General
Hospital, leper camp, lunatic asylum set up. Outpatient clinics
were also set up to serve the public Improve housing conditions:
reducing overcrowding in Chinatown Quarantine Law was passed Ships
were to be stopped at By 1940s, public health had St. Johns Island
to check for generally improved infectious diseases
45. How did the British government improve social services for
the people: Education 19th century: education was left in the hand
of the local organizations Late 19th century: government began to
set up English and Malay schools and provided *grants *What are
grants? Grants are regular sums of money given by a government to
an individual or organization for a particular reason such as
education
46. How did the British government improve social services for
the people: Education Why? Demand for people to be trained in
English to fill up posts in the government and trading companies
Which? Raffles Institution was set up A medical school was built
with money raised by Asian leaders: King Edward VII Medical School
(renamed King Edward VII College of Medicine in 1921) Raffles
College set up in 1928: higher education became available
47. How did the British government improve social services for
the people: Education What? Queens Scholarship was established for
top secondary school students to further their studies in British
universities Many of these students returned as doctors, lawyers
and teachers BUT the British did not treat all schools equally
48. How did the British government improve social services for
the people: Education English and Malay schools were given more
money: English-speaking seen as pro-British Chinese schools were
neglected: anti-British feelings among students
49. Q How did the British government as well as the Europeans
view the people in Singapore?
50. British government/Europeans view of the people in
Singapore Believed that they were more superior to the Asians
Asians were greatly discriminated: In government service:
Well-qualified Asians not given important posts In medical service:
Asian doctors not educated in British universities not allowed to
hold senior posts in hospitals In travelling: Asians discouraged
from travelling in first-class carriages At public places: not
allowed to use certain places reserved for the Europeans
51. Quick recap! We have covered: 1) How the locals involved in
the government Serving as non-officials in the Legislative Council
2) The problems that the British faced in maintaining law &
order Chinese Secret Societies Abuse of the immigrants Piracy 3)
The ways the British improved law & order Police force Chinese
Protectorate 4) How the British government improved social services
for the people Education Health 5) How did the British government
as well as the Europeans view the people in Singapore from
different sectors?
52. Conclusion Singapore did fare well under the British rule.
There was order, security and general improvements in the lives of
the people in Singapore.