"
some of the best lessons are learned from past mistakes. The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future"- Dale E. Turner
Through the past mistakes, we gain more experience with dealing events and from what we learn we are able to use the experience that we gained to help us further progress in the future for success. Why should we remember the 1950s and 1960s? We should not take the racial harmony for granted. Singapore might seemed to be a peaceful and harmonious place for all races to live in now but in the past, there were a lot of racial conflicts happening almost everyday.
One mistake that Singapore made in the past was having racial tensions. One very famous example would be the Maria Hertogh race riot. It was caused by the custody battle between Che Aminah and The Hertoghs. The custody battle started as a small one but the situation was like a rolling snowball, just getting bigger and bigger into a racial conflict between the Eurasians and malays. Source A says"The riots took place over a period of three days and saw at least 18 people killed and 173 people injured."
Another example would be members of UMNO being unhappy with Mr Lee Kuan Yew who is a Chinese personal that wants merger with Malaya. Members of UMNO raised conflict in the malay citizens of Singapore into letting them show discord with PAP and allowing them to have more votes and win over Singapore. The UMNO was concerned that after merger there would be more Chinese compared to malays and the malays would lose their special rights they had. This action by the UMNO was caused as they disliked having more people of the different race. The result was that curfew had to be imposed and some people got injured.
(stated in source B)
Another reason why we should remember the 1950s and the 1960s is that during that period of time is when our country was on the road to independence. There were alot of uneasiness during that period of time. A very good example of the uneasiness would be that a lot of people did not supported the british government(Source C) during the 1955 elections. A great number of the locals did not vote for the British candidate due to the lack of trust and confidence they have in them. The british government was also unsure whether to to give Singapore its independence.
Due to the reason that Singapore wanted to be independent and governed by their own people, the british government allowed locals to be in-charge with some parts of the country like housing, medical etc.(source D) This is a very important step that Singapore took in her way to full independence.
Another reason why we must remember the 1950s and 1960s is that there were a lot of social unrest and whats more is the lessons behind it. The Hock Lee Bus Riot is a very great example of social unrest. There were a total of 4 deaths and the incident also left 31 injured. This event taught us that workers must be fairly treated.(Source E) Another great event that happened was the Chinese Middle Schools riots. One of the riot caused by Chinese Middle Schools are that Anti-NS riots. This riot left 26 people injured and a total number of 45 students were arrested(Source F) for joining the riots. This incident taught us that decisions that are made must be acceptable by most nation not the majority who wants it. Another incident that happened was that students camped in schools to protest against the governments decision to take stricter measures on pro-communist organisations.(Source G) During this incident more than 900 were arrested, 13 lives were taken and more than 100 were left injured. Due to all this events, the government establish the people's association on 1 july 1960 to promote racial harmony.( Source H)
Although the 1950s and 1960s was a hectic period for Singapore, the lesson learnt were valuable and would help Singapore progress even better in the future.
1.Racial Tension
Maria Hertogh Riots
- (Source A)
- The Maria Hertogh Riots between ethnic Malays and the European and Eurasian communities in Singapore occurred on 11 December 1950. The riots took place over a period of three days and saw at least 18 people killed and 173 people injured. It was sparked by the controversial custody battle between Maria's adoptive Malay family and her Eurasian parents.
Adapted from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_83_2005-02-02.html
Problems caused
- (Source B)
- These more extreme Malay nationalists within UMNO were also unhappy with the high profile adopted by Lee Kuan Yew, an ethnic Chinese politician, in the negotiation for Merger and the immediate period after Merger.Disorder spread to some other areas of Singapore in the next few days. 2 men were assaulted in the Upper Serangoon area at 9.15 pm on 22 July. Malay families living in Queenstown left their homes for fear of their personal safety. A dusk to dawn curfew was imposed island-wide to control the disorder on 23 July, and was only completely lifted on 2 August, 11 days later. 45 curfew breakers were jailed.
Adapted from http://www.littlespeck.com/ThePast/CPast-64riots-640721.htm
2.Road to independence
Locals want independence
- (Source C)
- Road to independence:
- Locals wanted independence as they felt that the british was not good towards them,betrayed and angry as they were not able to defend them from the Japanese .
- There were many riots in the early 1950s. Some examples are the Maria Hertogh riot,Anti NS and so on...
- In the 1955 elections,The Labour front won.The British were surprised by the results as most locals have voted for the most anti British group.This shows that the locals were unhappy with British rule and did not support political groups that were pro-British and conservative.
Source from history textbook
They want to be governed by their own people
- (Source D)
- In 1953 the colonial government appointed Sir George Rendel to head a commission to review the Singapore constitution and devise a "complete political and constitutional structure designed to enable Singapore to develop as a self-contained and autonomous unit in any larger organization with which it may ultimately become associated." The commission recommended partial internal selfgovernment for Singapore, with Britain retaining control of internal security, law, finance, defense, and foreign affairs. It also proposed a single-chamber Legislative Assembly of thirty-two members, twenty-five of whom would be elected, and a nine-member council of ministers that would act as a cabinet. The governor retained his power to veto legislation. The British government accepted the commission's recommendations, and the Rendel constitution went into effect in February 1954, with elections scheduled for the Legislative Assembly for April 1955. Voters were to be automatically registered, which was predicted to greatly enlarge the size of the turnout over previous elections. Although the new constitution was a long way from offering Singapore full independence, election fever gripped the country as new political alliances and parties were formed.
Adapted from http://countrystudies.us/singapore/10.htm
3.Social Unrest
(Source E)
Dismissed workers of the Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company went on strike from 25 April 1955. Joined by supporters and Chinese middle school students, these strikers picketed the bus depot and disrupted bus services. Police were called in to disperse the crowds and resorted to using water jets when warnings failed. The strike escalated into a riot on 12 May 1955 resulting in four deaths and 31 people injured.
Adapted from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_4_2005-01-06.html
- Chinese middle schools riots (anti NS riots)
(Source F)
Singapore's earliest attempt to introduce compulsory conscription in 1952 was vigorously resisted by the Chinese middle school students. On 13 May 1954, violence erupted when hundreds of students clashed with the police. As a result, 26 people were injured and 45 students arrested. The National Service Riots marked the beginning of intense communist subversion in the Chinese middle schools, which subsequently became the breeding ground for communist sympathisers in Singapore.
Adapted from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1202_2006-07-28.html
(Source G)
When the Chief Minister of Singapore David Marshall resigned in 1956, Lim Yew Hock took over and implemented tough measures on pro-communist organisations. The Singapore Chinese Middle School Students Union (SCMSSU) was forced to close down.
Students gathered at the Chinese High School and Chung Cheng High School for protests, and refused to soften their stand even after their parents’ persuasion. On 26 October, police forced their ways into the schools and dispersed the students using tear gas.
The angry students took to the streets, throwing stones at the police and overturning the cars. Curfews were imposed by the government, as more than 900 were arrested. The riots caused 13 lives and left more than 100 injured. The detainees were released in 1959 after the People’s Action Party (PAP) won the election form the government.
