The Joy and Problems of Self-Government
On 3 June 1959, 50,000 people went to the Padang to cheer the day when Singapore would no longer be completely ruled by the British. The crowd roared, "Merdeka! Merdeka!". The newly elected Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew spoke,
This great change was the changing of Singapore from a British colony to a self-governing state. The new chapter in Singapore's history was the beginning of a fully democratic government. Singapore had gained the freedom to rule itself in most matters except in matters of defence and foreign affairs.
The newly elected P.A.P. government inherited many
problems when it took over from the British. The three most
pressing problems were unemployment, poor housing and
education. The most serious of these was unemployment.
Dr. Goh Keng Swee, one of the P.A.P. leaders at that time, remembered
the early years,
The P.A.P. government was voted into power by the people of Singapore, so it was the government's responsibility to find a solution to this problem of unemployment. But the P.A.P. leaders felt that Singapore as a young country could not solve it alone. It needed the help and support of a larger country.
The
Singapore government felt that the best way to solve the country's
unemployment problem would be to join or merge with Malaya. In
the 19th century, Singapore depended on entrepot trade for growth and
posperity. But by the 1950s, entrepot trade was no longer
enough to provide jobs for the growing population. Singapore
did not have any raw materials, so it had to depend on industries to
help the country grow and prosper. However, not all goods
produced by the industries could be sold in a small market like
Singapore. A bigger market was needed for these goods.
Malaya could be that big market. But since Malaya had become
independent from the British, the Malayan government had introduced
certain import and export duties on goods traded between Singapore
and Malaya. As a result, there was limited free trade for
Singapore.
It was hoped that if Singapore joined Malaya, a Common Market could be set up. In this Common Market, which would comprise Singapore and Malaya, goods could be bought and sold freely. Goods traded within this Common Market would not need to be taxed. As a result, there would be an increase of free trade between Singapore and Malaya. With increased trade, the industries would be able to grow and more jobs would be created for the people.
Another reason for seeking a merger with
Malaya was so that Singapore could break completely free from British
control. Although Singapore had gained full self-government in
1959, it was still not totally free from British rule. By
contrast, Malaya had become a fully independent nation, completely
free from British rule. But the British government felt that
Singapore was too small to be entirely on its own. If however,
Singapore was to merge with Malaya, the British government would
allow Singapore to break away from British control.
Across the Causeway, the Malayan Prime Minister, Tengku Abdul Rahman, was also thinking of a merger with Singapore. He was worried that the communists in Singapore would become too powerful. If they captured power from the P.A.P., they would form a communist government in Singapore. A communist government at its doorstep would be extremely dangerous for Malaya. If Malaya merged with Singapore, Tengku Abdul Rahman's government could control the communist activities.
Both Malaya and Singapore had different reasons for wanting a merger. Each country saw merger as a convenient way of solving its own problem. Merger was therefore looked upon as a union of convenience. This resulted in its eventual disintegration.
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The story of Malaysia began one day in May 1961 when Tungku Abdul Rahman told a group of newsmen in Singapore... |
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Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak were interested in Tungku's announcement. On 16th September1963, they merged with Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia. But Brunei did not join it. |
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The Federation of Malaysia was made up of 14 states, including Singapore. Each state had its own state government. The Central Government of Malaysia was in Kuala Lumpur (K.L.). It was controlled by the Alliance Party with Tungku Abdul Rahman as the Prime Minister of Malaysia. |
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Malaysia did not start off well. Right from the beginning, the P.A.P. and the Alliance Party in Kuala Lumpur did not get along well with each other. |
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Eventually, the disagreement became so serious that riots broke out in Singapore in July and September 1964. The riots were put down but the fire was not put out. |
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Then the P.A.P. began to talk openly of equal treatment of all races in in Malaysia. This made the Malay Alliance leaders even angrier because they believed that Malays had certain special rights. The relationship between the P.A.P. and the Malay Alliance leaders turned from bad to worse. |
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On 9 August 1965 Singapore was separated from Malaysia |
National Day is celebrated every year on 9 August. This is because Singapore left Malaysia and became an independent nation on 9 August 1965. It was free from British rule and independent of Malaysia. The people were from then on known as Singaporeans. They were no longer British subjects or Malaysians. Neither could they consider themselves citizens of China, India or Indonesia.
Singapore became a Republic with a President as Head of the Republic. The first President was Yusoff Ishak. The Legislative Assembly was renamed the Parliament. The Assembly members became known as Members of Parliament (M.P.s). The Executive Council was renamed the Cabinet. The leader of the Cabinet, the most important man in the government, was the Prime Minister. Now that Singapore was an independent and democratic country, all the decisions of the nation would be made by the government elected by the people.
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