history cont.
Economics
Several adjectives can describe the conditions of Singapore after the war: disarray and devastation (e.g. bombed out harbors, lack of food and medicine as well as lack of electricity, gas, water, telephone…), corruption (e.g. gambling, opium, and alcohol was rampant), and inefficiency (the interim military administration was little help in fixing the problems at first). By April 1946 things were looking less bleak as the civilian’s were given control over the administration. The most vital issue that they still struggled with was enough provisions of food, which resulted in crime, and communist-led strikes. By 1947 Singapore was well on its way to recovery due to high sales of rubber and tin (which boomed even more in 1951 for the Korean war efforts) combined with the resolution of food shortages. By 1949 Singapore’s production had completely recovered.
Socially
More and more of the population, which originated as immigrants from China (or some from India), became more permanent and settled. Less Chinese were leaving to go back to the mainland or send support to relatives back there. Furthermore, 60% of the population was made up of natural born citizens rather than immigrants. Also, after the war education made great advancements and the English schools predominated, which made it easier for citizens to excel world-wide.
Politics
These were years of constant struggle against the communist party from gaining control in Singapore. Although about half of the citizens were trained in British schools that were anti-communist, the other half of the citizens were trained in Chinese schools that gloried in the communist party’s success in China. Because the communists had played a key role in the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army (which was very popular with the Singaporean people) the government in Singapore had to tread carefully in its opposition to communist leaders in Singapore that were associated with those war efforts. When they disbanded the Anti-Japanese Army and sought to collect all of its arms and ammunition the government also gave a parade and awarded medals to honor the leaders (however, most of the ammunition and arms were hidden in stockpiles rather than surrendered to the government).
In April 1946 Singapore became a Crown Colony once again (rather than under military administration and rather than being joined together in the Malayan Union which many people wanted). The Malayan Communist Party (MCP) involved itself in the labor unions in Singapore and backed other radical groups that would cause strikes. Also, the Malayan Democratic Union was another political party (most were not communist) that opposed Singapore’s separation from the Malayan Union. In March 1948 elections were to be held with a new constitution for Singapore. The Malayan Democratic Union opposed the new election and held rallies against it. The moderate Progressive Party was formed with an aim towards eventual self-government and ended up winning half the seats in 1948 and most of the seats in 1949. The communist leaders in Singapore left for the peninsula and began to reform what was formerly known as the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army, using the arms and ammunition that they had stockpiled in order to strike in acts of terrorism. Most of the violence was kept out of Singapore and remained on the Malay peninsula. But the MCP was banned in Singapore and the Malayan Democratic Union disbanded willingly. The Progressive Party basically agreed with the Colonial government’s way of doing things. However, very few people were actually voting or being properly represented (especially if they were not British educated).
Filed under: History
