Chap 5 Part 3 Peoples views

towards Singapore AFTER the

Japanese Occupation

Did the Japanese Occupation change

the way people viewed Singapore?
The different ways in which people
viewed Singapore
1)Singapore as home
2)British as rulers of Singapore
3)Singapore as an impregnable
fortress
What was the impact of
the Japanese Occupation?

Return of British colonial

rule
The USA dropped atomic
bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki on 6 and 9 Aug
respectively.
The Japanese
government surrendered
shortly and the Japanese
Occupation in Singapore
thus came to an end.
British colonial rule
returned.

Admiral Lord Louis

Mountbatten making a public
address on the Japanese
surrender at the Municipal
Building, Sep 1945

Parade celebrating the return of the

British, Sep 1945

Life during post-Japanese

Occupation
People in Singapore continued to face problems
after the Japanese surrendered.
1) Insufficient food. The black market thrived and
food continued to be sold at high prices.
2) Insufficient housing. People had to live in
overcrowded spaces and rental prices were high.
3) Insufficient schools, teachers and textbooks to
meet the high demands for education.
4) Not enough jobs as trade had been disrupted and
businesses need time to recover.

 The British colonial government did try to solve

the problems that people faced, but it faced
constraints such as a lack of funds and resources.
Shortages in housing, food and essential items
thus remained.
Strikes, protests and riots also took place very
frequently either because they were trying to
improve their living conditions or because people
were discontented with the British. One example
was the riots was the Maria Hertogh custody case.

Maria Hertogh custody case pages

49-50
Read about the custody case and
chart the events in chronological
order in your WS.

Growing Demands on the British

From 1951, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce
started to petition the British colonial
government to consider granting citizenship to
the China-born Chinese immigrants.
There were also demands for change from the
local civil servants who worked for the British
colonial government. They opposed the
governments unequal treatment of the locals
and demanded that the government raise their
pay.

Growing Demands on the

British
There began to be a demand for local
political involvement as well. Political
groups emerged after the Japanese
Occupation, suggesting that there
was increased political consciousness
among the people in Singapore.

Growing Demands on the

British
The fact that the British lost Singapore to the
Japanese showed people that British rule could
be challenged. The people in Singapore
wanted a greater role in shaping Singapores
political future and in how Singapore was
governed after the Japanese Occupation.
For example, the Malayan Democratic Union
(MDU) was formed in Dec 1945 by local-born,
English-educated Chinese, Indians and
Eurasians. The members discussed extensively
on how they wanted Singapore to be
governed.

Did the Japanese Occupation change

the way people viewed Singapore?
The different ways in which people viewed
Singapore
1)Singapore as home Grp 1, 2, 3, 4
(Sources A and B)
2)British as rulers of Singapore Grps 5, 6, 7,
8 (Sources C and D)
3)Singapore as an impregnable fortress
everyone

Singapore as impregnable
fortress
Question (Annex B)
1) Were people confident of the ability
of the British to protect Singapore?

Read Sources A and B and answer

the questions in Annex B.
Source A account by Chu Shuen Choo, a
teacher who switched to selling curry rice to
support her family during the Japanese
Occupation
People expected something different from the
British But it was nothing really better than
what we had before we expected the same
things we had pre-war, but with prices so high,
we could only just survive. And we had to work
hard to survive.

Read Sources A and B and answer

the questions in Annex B.
Source B account by Lim Choo Sye, a
teacher during the Japanese Occupation
I give the BMA credit for improving
conditions as fast as possible. But they
were handicapped because they had to
turn from a war machine into a civil
machine but they did help as far as
possible.

British as rulers of Singapore

Questions
1) Did people respect the British after
they returned to Singapore?
2) What were their expectations of the
British? Were their expectations
met?
3) Did they want to change the way
British ruled Singapore?

Read Source C and answer the

questions in Annex B
Source C account by a Teo Siak Kew, at a Chinese
Chamber of meeting in Jan 1951
Large sums are invested in Singapore by many
Chinese who, because they were born in China, are
regarded as aliens with no voting privileges, and
cannot get naturalisation papers. We have made our
homes here, our children are born here, and our lifes
interests are in this colony. We feel that the time is
ripe now to urge the government to consider
allowing us the privileges now only enjoyed by localborn Chinese.

Read Source C and answer the

questions in Annex B
Source D account by Goh Sin Tub, a teenager
whose education was disrupted during the Japanese
Occupation
During the post-war period, I went into university
and I told myself I am going to study very hard. I
had a sense of seriousness because the Japanese
Occupation had given me this attitude towards life.
Life is very serious. I am a student. My duty is to
study I am going to study hard and I am going to
do well. So with that attitude, I cut myself off from
other activities.

Singapore as home
1. Did people want to stay in
Singapore?
2. Did they express greater interest in
developments in Singapore?
3. Did they want to be more involved
in the way Singapore was governed?