blog no.6

I strongly agree that setting up common market was the most important reason for merger between singapore and malaya.
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. And 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.
Although the main reason for seeking a merger with Malaya was that Singapore could break completely free from British control, but i think that it was like "one stone kills two birds", Singapore gets it completely free from british and after joining malaya, singapore people gets more jobs and get limited free trades.

Was it woth it??

Struggles from 1945 to 1955,
After Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 15, 1945, there was a state of anomie in Singapore, as the British had not arrived to take control, while the Japanese occupiers had a considerably weakened hold over the populace. Incidents of looting and revenge-killing were widespread.
When British troops returned to Singapore in September 1945, thousands of Singaporeans lined the streets to cheer them. Singapore was ruled by a British Military Administration (BMA) between September 1945 and March 1946, during which it also served as the headquarters of the British governor general for Southeast Asia. However much of the infrastructure had been destroyed, including electricity and water supply systems, telephone services, as well as the harbour facilities at the Port of Singapore. There was also a shortage of food including rice, and this led to malnutrition, disease and rampant crimes and violence. Unemployment, high food prices, and workers' discontent culminated into a series of strikes in 1947 causing massive stoppages in public transport and other services. By late 1947, the economy began to recover, facilitated by the growing demand for tin and rubber around the world. But it would take several more years before the economy returned to pre-war levels.
The failure of the British to defend Singapore had destroyed their credibility as infallible rulers in the eyes of Singaporeans. The decades after the war saw a political awakening amongst the local populace and the rise of nationalist and anti-colonial sentiments, including a cry for Merdeka, roughly translated to "independence" in the Malay language. The British, on their part, were prepared to embark on a program of gradually increasing self-governance for Singapore and Malaya.
On 1 April 1946, the Straits Settlements was dissolved and Singapore became a Crown Colony with a civil administration headed by a Governor and separated from peninsular Malaya. In July 1947, separate Executive and Legislative Councils were established and provisions were made to allow for the election of six members of the Legislative Council the next year.

The first Singaporean elections, held in March 1948 to select members of the Legislative Council, were rather limited. The right to vote was restricted to adult British subjects, of which only 23,000 or about 10 percent of those eligible registered to vote, In addition, only six of the twenty-five seats on the Legislative Council were to be elected; the rest were chosen either by the Governor or by the chambers of commerce. Three of the elected seats were won by a newly-formed Singapore Progressive Party (SPP), a conservative party whose leaders were businessmen and professoinals and were disinclined to press for immediate self-rule. The other three seats were won by independents.
Three months after the elections, an armed insurgency by communist groups in Malaya — the Malayan Emergency — broke out, and the British imposed harsh measures to control left-wing groups in both Singapore and Malaya; the controversial Internal Security Act, which allowed indefinite detention without trial for persons suspected of being "threats to security", was introduced at this time. Since the left-wing groups were the strongest critics of the colonial system, progress on self-government stalled for several years. The colonial government also tried to prevent contacts between Singaporean Chinese and China, which had just fallen under the rule of the Communist Party of China. Tan Kah Kee, a local businessman and philanthropist, was denied re-entry into Singapore after he made a trip to China.

A second Legislative Council election was held in 1951 with the number of elected seats increased to nine. This election was again dominated by the SPP which won six seats. This slowly contributed to the formation of a distinct government of Singapore, although colonial administration was still dominant.
In 1953, with the communists in Malaya suppressed and the worst of the Emergency over, the government appointed a commission, headed by Sir George Rendel, to study the possibility of self-government for Singapore. The commission proposed a limited form of self-government. The Legislative Assembly with twenty-five out of thirty-two seats chosen by popular election would replace the Legislative Council, from which a Chief Minister as head of government and Council of Ministers as a cabinet would be picked under a parliamentary system. The British would retain control over areas such as internal security and foreign affairs, as well as veto power over legislation.
The government agreed with the recommendations, and Legislative Assembly elections were scheduled for April 2, 1955. The election was a lively and closely-fought affair, with several newly-formed political parties joining the fray. In contrast to previous elections, voters were automatically registered, expanding the electorate to around 300,000. The SPP was soundly defeated in the election, winning only four seats. The newly-formed, left-leaning Labour Front was the largest winner with ten seats and was able to form a coalition government with the UMNO-MCA Alliance, which won three seats. Another new party, the leftist People's Action Party (PAP), won three seats.

Struggles from 1955 to 1959
The self-governance of Singapore was carried out in several stages. After the British joined Singapore once more and started, withought much success, dealing with post war problems, Singapore already wasn't happy with the British as their leaders. Since Singapore's founding in 1819, Singapore had been been under the colonial rule of the United Kingdom. The first local elections on a limited scale for several positions in the government of Singapore started in 1948 following an amendment to the Constitution of Singapore. This was further amended with the Rendel Constitution, strengthening local representation. Singapore was granted full internal self-government in 1959, but the colonial administration still controlled external relations and shared control of several key internal policies such as internal security.

I think it is quite worth it as in the end, we still get our self-government and we all live well now under our own sigaporean people.

suggestion to prevent Maria Hertogh riots in 1950

The Maria Hertogh riots or Natrah riots, which started on 11 December 1950 in Singapore, consisted of outraged Muslims who resented the court decision to give the custody of Maria Hertogh (or Bertha Hertogh), then 13, to her biological Dutch Catholic parents after she had been raised as a Muslim under the care of Aminah binte Mohamed, whom she regarded as her mother. The riots lasted till noon on 13 December, with 18 killed, 173 injured and many properties damaged – the worst incident of its kind ever witnessed in Singapore.
Prior to the riots, the disputed custody of Maria had received widespread press coverage. Many Muslims living in Malaya and Indonesia believed in the legitimacy of the adoption of Maria and a later short-lived marriage to Mansoor Adabi, two major points of contest in the court proceeding to determine the custody of Maria. They thus lent their support, financial and moral, to organizations that fought to keep Maria in Malaya. But some, such as the Malayan nationalists, seized the incident as an opportunity to further weaken the colonial government's position in the region. The insensitivity of the colonial government towards Muslim sentiments and the involvement of radical elements eventually culminated in the tragedy. I think that if judge allow Maria Hertogh to have 2 parents, for example monday to thursday with Che Aminah's family then friday to sunday with her biological parents, then it would be good to both Che Aminah and Maria's family since both of them could have the chance to get contact with Maria. As for religion, i think that the parents should let her choose herself.if Maria really wants to be a Muslim, then Maria's biological parents should let her be 1 rather than forcingher to be a Catholic. Same as for Che Aminah. With this 2 suggestion, i think that it can stop the riots in 1950.

Life better or worse?

Well,if you really want to know does industrail revolution changes the life of people,you must know what is industrail revolution first.There was a time when almost all products were hand-made and the factory system did not exist. The transition from a world of artisan manufacture to a factory system, and all its attendant benefits with which we are familiar, is known as the of the 18th century.Industrial Revolution. It began in Britain in the early years In a little over a century, Britain went from a largely rural, agrarian population to a country of industrialized towns, factories, mines and workshops. Britain was already beginning to develop a manufacturing industry during the early years of the early 18th century, but it was from the 1730's that its growth accelerated.The first satisfactory screw-cutting lathes were made by an English instrument maker, Jesse Ramsden (1735-1800) in 1770. His work had wide ramifications, probably inspiring a large screw-cutting lathe first designed by Henry Maudslay (1771-1831) in 1797 and produced in 1800. The micrometer for the bench work on this machine was accurate to 1/10,000 of an inch. Maudslay had a long-lasting influence on the British machine tool industry. Three of his assistants developed other variants of machine tools. Richard Roberts (1789-1864) introduced a more powerful lathe, and in 1817 built the first planning machine for metal, and shortly, his first gear cutting machine was made. He also improved the spinning mule and designed a punching machine for making rivet holes in 1847. Joseph Whitworth (1803-1887) improved and enlarged many of the early machine tools, which he first encountered in Maudslay's works. He is best known for constructing a measuring machine that could measure to an accuracy of 1/1,000,000 of an inch, and for first suggesting the standardization of screw threads in English industry. Probably Maudslay's greatest protégé was James Nasmyth (1808-1890), whose inventions include the milling machine and a planning machine or shaper.The Industrial Revolution started because that nation had the technological means, government encouragement, and a large and varied trade network. The first factories appeared in 1740, concentrating on textile production.As everyone know, Singapore has being prosper for quite a long time as Singapore are using the Industrial Revolution as Singapore are ‘importing’ scholars to make Singapore for the better by having them to be more creative and productive so more product will be produce and price will drop so that everyone in Singapore can afford it.so it do change our lifes better.

Reflection topic 2

Well,if i am really the representative of the museum,i would build both of them instead because they both contributed a lot to Singapore.but after all,i think i will build Tan Tock Seng statue.Well,because he contribute more than Sir Stamford Raffles.Tan Tock Seng was born in the year of 1798 at Malacca and died at 1850,at the age of 52.He was a prosperous Singapore businessman of the early 1800s,known particularly for his generosity to the poor.He contributed heavily to the 1844 construction of a new hospital for the indigent, which was then named Tan Tock Seng Hospital. After his death in 1850 his son Tan Kim Ching continued the family's support for the hospital, which continues as one of Singapore's most prominent medical centers.In 1819,he moved to Singapore to sell fruit,vegetable and fowl.He worked diligently and was able to set up a shop in Boat Quay and became a notable businessman.Ha also owned large tracts of prime land, including 50 acres (200,000 m²) at the site of the railway station and another plot stretching from the Padang right up to High Street and Tank Road.His other assets were a block of shop houses,an orchard and a nutmeg plantation which he co-owned with his brother.In time, he became an influential Chinese leader and was the first Asian to be made a Justice of the Peace by the Governor.He was skillful at settling feuds among the Chinese. In 1844,he contributed $5,000 to the construction of the Tan Tock Seng Hospital on top of Pearl's Hill.The hospital was later shifted to Tan Tock Seng Road because the building at Pearl's Hill was too small to cater to enough patients and it was too old. Tan also contributed money to the construction of the Taoist Thian Hock Keng Temple at Telok Ayer in 1842,the place of worship for the settlers from the Fujian province of China.Tan Tock Seng died in 1850 after catching an unknown disease. He left his wife Lee Seo Neo, who owned a large coconut estate in Geylang. Like him, she was unstinting in her support of the hospital and paid for a female ward. He also left behind three daughters, who were each bequeathed $36,000 in cash. His three sons, inherited his land parcels and the eldest, Tan Kim Ching, took over the duty of taking care of the hospital. Tan's grandson, Tan Chay Yan, was a well-known philanthropist and merchant in Malaya.So i will choose to built Tan Tock Seng statue.

Who Really Found Singapore?

A Founder is a person that had entablish a bussiness, organisation , school ect. I think the one who is really a founder of Singapore is Sir Stamford Raffles because he came to Singapore first from western side and also the first that modify Singapore.He entered the service of the East India Company at the age of 14. He was sent to Penang ( now in Malaysia ) as assistant secretary to the governor of the island in 1805. He remained in Java as Lieutenant Governor after a successful campaign against Dutch and French forces. He introduced reformed liberalising the harsh dutch colonial system. At the same year he was knighted and appointed Lieutenant Governor of Bencoolen, Sumatra (now Bengkulu, Indonesia). He established a settlement on the island of Singapore to extend British influence in Southeast Asia and later developed an administration in Singapore.I think William Farquhar is only a founder member as because Sir Stamford Raffles have to go back to his company so i think he is only a member of founder of Singapore.He entered the East India Company’s service as a cadet in 1790. However he became an ensign in the Madras Engineers in June 1791 and four years later the Chief-Engineer in the expeditionary force which took Malacca from the Dutch. Farquhar took a Malay wife and was known locally as the Raja of Malacca. He remained in Malacca for the next 27 years and was appointed Resident in 1803.Malacca was handed back to the Dutch in 1818, and keeping with the terms of the Treaty of London. Farquhar, with the intention of returning to Scotland, sailed for Penang. However when he ran into Raffles, he plan changed.William Farquhar finally left Singapore in December 1823, and complained to the E.I.C. Court of Directors about his treatment by Raffles, whom he accused of "acts of flagrant injustice and tyranny".John Crawfurd is also another founder member of Singapore. He was born in the island of Islay, Scotland, on the 13th of august 1783.After studying at Edinburgh, he become a surgeon in the East India Conpany's service.But still, i still think that Sir Stamford Raffles is the founder of Singapore.