The China History Podcast

We left off last time with Singapore being granted sovereignty by Britain on June 3, 1959, and Tunku Abdul Rahman’s “Grand Design” speech concerning a merger between Malaysia and Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew took this pro-merger message directly to the people of Singapore. We’ll see how Lee deals with the political left by launching Operation Coldstore on February 2, 1963. Once the merger was completed, Singapore and Malaysia gave it their best shot to make it work. Happening concurrently with this sensitive time in Singapore’s history, Indonesia’s President Sukarno, in May of 1964 spoke out against the merger and began the period known as Konfrontasi or confrontation. We’ll see how things weren’t fated to succeed as the two leaders envisioned. Both The Tunku and the PAP, despite promises not to get mixed up in each others’ politics, fielded their own candidates in each other’s election. The heat started to rise and tempers flared, leading to riots in July and September 1964. We’ll also see how the March 1965 bombing of MacDonald House also created a frightening atmosphere in Singapore. We close with the debate over privileges enjoyed by indigenous Malays in Article 153 of the Constitution and how it conflicted with Lee Kuan Yew’s concept of a Malaysian Malaysia. We’ll finish things off with the exit of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia and its independence on August 9, 1965. We’ll close the episode with an excerpt from one of Singapore’s founding father S. Rajaratnam’s speech before the United Nations. Irene Ng books of S. Rajaratnam: Amazon Link - https://a.co/d/eFD4f4g Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Post-WWII Singapore was a time that was loaded with historical events that shaped how matters would unfold throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s. The matter of how to handle the future of Malaya and Singapore begins to be seriously discussed and hotly debated. To showcase what the British and political leaders in Malaya and Singapore were up against, we'll first review the events of the 1950 Maria Hertogh case and the disturbances that followed. In this episode we'll begin to explore the early life of the most consequential leader in Singapore's history and in the greater Southeast Asian scene, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. His early life, including his marriage to Mrs. Kwa Geok Choo, will be introduced. In the early 1950s, Mr. and Mrs. Lee returned from the UK and began their law careers. This led directly to Lee Kuan Yew's involvement in local Singaporean politics and the later founding, in 1954, of the PAP (People's Action Party). The elections of 1948, 1955, and 1959 will also be presented and how the results shaped the future of Singapore politics. Events will unfold that will contribute to Lee Kuan Yew's rise as the leading voice in Singapore's politics and independence. Other major figures from this time will also be introduced such as David Marshall, Lim Yew Hock, Lim Chin Siong, Fong, Swee Suan, and Ong Eng Guan. We'll close with Tunku Abdul Rahman's May 1961 "Grand Design" speech and how this became a game changer as far as how to handle the potential merger of Malaya and Singapore. This will all be introduced next time in Part 8. Thanks to all of you who have kindly supported me by signing up for my Patreon. All ten episodes are already available there. You have my deepest appreciation. https://www.patreon.com/c/TheChinaHistoryPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we see how Japan marched and bicycled their way across the Johor Strait and proceeded to quickly defeat the British Commonwealth troops. Then we see how Japan carried out a brutal and repressive occupation. Massacres at Alexandra Hospital and against the local Chinese residents of Singapore (Sook Ching Massacre) will also be introduced. After Japan's defeat, the British will attempt to resume business as usual. We'll see how the independence movement in Malaya had other plans and why the Malayan Union failed. In Singapore too, the politicians and the people had other aspirations than what the British had in mind. A new leader will emerge in Singapore who we we'll look at in the next few episodes. His name was Lee Kuan Yew. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Although all kinds of tension brewed beneath the surface, the mid to late 19th Century saw a continued bonanza for Singapore. A prosperous combination of hard-working men and women, fearless entrepreneurs, and fortunes made in tin, rubber, and oil refining turned Singapore into the best thing to happen for the British Empire since Trafalgar, or maybe even the defeat of the Spanish Armada. World events, new technologies, and geopolitical shakeups all happened in such a way that Singapore benefited. Today's episode will take us up to 1942 and the fall of Singapore to the Japanese Army. Next time we'll see what happened after that. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TeacupMedia CHP Premium: https://teacupmedia.supercast.com/ Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/chinahistorypodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices