Singapore is out!

7 Aug 1965 - Tunku Abdul Rahman announced

that Malaysia will expel Singapore.
At 10 am on 9 Aug 1965 , Lee Kuan Yew
announced attainment of full independence.
Singapore became a Republic
Head of State Yusof Bin Ishak would be the
first President of the state
Legislative Assembly was renamed Parliament,
members known as Members of Parliament.

Recap:- What Spore

faced in the 40s, 50s and
Religious, racial issues- leading to
60s
riots
Political ideology- communism and
confrontasi(Indonesia)
Political differences- UMNO and
PAP over how Malaysia should be
run.
Social issues- Jobs, educations,
housing and defence

Singapore: 1965 and

beyond
Part 1(Chapter 7): Challenges
facing Singapore postindependence
Part 2(Chapter 8): How
Singapore and its peoples
lives were being transformed
after independence?

Part 1(Chapter 7):

Challenges facing Singapore
A) Internal and External
post-independence
Security

B)Economic Survival
C) Citizenship and Sense of
Belonging

A) Internal and External

Security
20 January 1963, Indonesia launched policy of Confrontasi
(*Key: Confrontasi by Indonesia and Vietnam War)

against formation of Malaysia- it believed this arrangement

allowed continued control of British over Malaysia indirectly.
37 bombings took place from 1963-66, the most serious one
being at MacDonald House, killing 3 and injuring 33 others

Instability in the region- Vietnam War fought between the

North( Communists) and South (Non-communists)
Singapore feared that the internal development and fight
against Communism might be affected should the Vietnam
conflict spread.

Establishment of Ministry of
the Interior and Defence
B4 independence, Singapore had small defence force made up of 2

*Why the
full-time
armyneed?
battalions- the 1st and 2nd Singapore Infantry
Regiments.
Each regiment had about 1000 soldiers, of which majority of them
were Malaysians supported by small number of army volunteers.
Equipment wise- Singapore had 2 old gunboats for the navy and no
aircrafts of its own to defend the air-space of the state.
Singapore could not depend on the British anymore as they had
announced in 1967 to withdraw all their troops by mid 70s.
It was challenging to replace the 26000 British troops stationed
here.
It was made worse subsequently that Britain decided to withdraw
by 1971, much earlier than announced.
The lack of defence and security would affect Singapores
economy-investors would not have the confidence to park their
money here!

How did Spore respond?

*Key: Establishment
of MID
and NSand
Establishment
of the Ministry
of Interior
Defence(MID) in October 1965 with Dr Goh Keng
Swee being its first Minister.
MID in charge of the Armed Forces and the Police till
1970.
The strengthening of the armed forces must be done
urgently as many Malaysian soldiers from 1 st and 2nd
SIR to be transferred to their Malaysian counterpart
following the separation.
Police force had to be build up fast following the
withdrawal of Malaysian Riot Police from Singapore.
He introduced National Service, believing that every
man has a part to play in Singapores defence.
1n 1967, first batch of enlistees numbered 900 in
1967 and by 1976, the full time national servicemen
and reservists numbered about 140000.

How did Singapore

Building strong ties and alliances with other countries B4 1965, Singapore
respond(cont)
relied
on British and the Malaysian government to manage its foreign
*Key:- Establishment
of Diplomatic
with
other
relations
with other countries,
but then Relations
, Singapore
was
on its own.
countries
+ UN for
membership
Singapore
applied
UN membership(21 Sept 1965) to gain recognition
as a state as well as the Commonwealth( 15 Oct 1965)
By 1966, Singapore was recognised by its neighbours like Indonesia and
the Philippines and it sought to develop friendly relations with it regional
neighbours.

To bring about understanding and cooperation, ASEAN was born with key
members like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines
in August 1967.
This strategy of building up defence and establishing good relations
brought about peace and security, allowing investors to have the
confidence to invest here

2) Economic Survival
Singapore has no natural resources such as oil,
rubber or precious minerals- thus no exports in
these commodity nor jobs linked to this.
Situations more challenging after independence.
The challenging relations between Malaysia and
Singapore and Malaysia had been a major market
for Singapores goods.
Protectionist policy such as increasing taxes on
Singapore goods to protect their own local
industries, thus putting pressure on these
industries within Singapore instead.

*key : entrepot , unemployment and Britishs Military withdrawal

Singapore could not continue to depend wholly

on entrepot trade as other countries restricting
imports of foreign-produced goods.( A diversified
economy is needed!!!)
Singapore had severe unemployment at point of
independence, 14.3 unemployment rate and
situation getting challenging with average of
20000 school leavers joining the workforce
annually.
The Britishs Military withdrawal set to worsen
the unemployment situation as the stationing of
the troops locally contributed significantly to
Singapores economy.
Thus all the above left many in Singapore
extremely concerned about their livelihood.

3)Citizenship & Sense of

Challenging task to forge a common identity and
Belonging
sense of belonging for the people.
Many were born in Malaysia and entitled to
Malaysian citizenship.
It seemed to many that Singapore could not
survive on its own and they would lose more by
remaining here.
Singapore appealed to them to take up Singapore
citizenship and it did not end there.
For those who remained, how to conceptualise the
idea of Singapore being their home, a place for
them to live and die here, a place they will protect
at all cost.
For the people, they must see themselves as
Singaporeans , and as one people , and not
different people who just happened to be in
Singapore

Part 2: How Spore and its peoples

lives were being transformed after
A) The Importance of the National
independence?
Symbols
- B)
Solutions
to Part
(1)
Building
Singapores
Defence: From
British Far East Command to the
Singapore Armed Forces(SAF)
Singapores Economic Development: From
Trading Port to Diversified Economy.
Developments in Housing: From
Shophouses, Squatter Settlements and
Kampongs to HDB Flats.