1. HOW DID THE BRITISH
GOVERN SINGAPORE
BEFORE WWII?
Chapter 4

2. Q
Do you know how long did the
British government govern
Singapore?

3. Did you guess correctly?
• It is an astounding 140 years!
• Yes, the British ruled Singapore for 140 years in
total.
• But there was a break in the British rule when the
Japanese Occupation occurred from 1942 to
1945.

4. Can you guess what these buildings
functioned as under British rule?
RAFFELS HOTEL:
• It was established by two Armenian brothers from
Persia in 1887 to be a hotel.
• At the end of the WW2, the hotel was used as a
transit camp for prisoners of war.

5. Can you guess what these buildings
functioned as under British rule?
•
•
•
•
Fullerton Hotel:
Initially was designed as an office building by
Major P.H Keys of Keys and dowdeswell.
1874: General Post Office and the Exchange
Building in 1874
1942: Hospital during WW2 1942
2001: Fullerton hotel

6. Can you guess what these buildings
functioned as under British rule?
Old supreme court
• Colonial houses
• Hotel

7. What will you be learning about?
Locals
involvement in
the government
Problems that the British
faced in maintaining law
and order
How British improved law and
order
How British improved
the social services
British view on
people of SG

8. British governance
1819
Established a trading settlement in Singapore
1824
Signed the Anglo-Dutch treaty + acquired Singapore
1826
Combined three possessions: Singapore + Melaka +
Penang into the Straits Settlements > ruled by East
India Company (E.I.C.)
1858
E.I.C was disbanded. British government took
over control of British India
1867
The Straits Settlement became a Crown Colony:
under direct control of the Colonial Office in
London. Belonged to the Queen (Queen Victoria)

9. Structure of the British government
Colonial
Office
Governor of
the Straits
Settlements
British government in
London
• Represented Queen
Victoria
• Had veto power: ability to
stop the passing of laws

10. Structure of the British government
Executive
Office
High-ranking British officials
advised the Governor and
helped him run the Settlements
Legislative
Council
• High-ranking British officials
from Executive Council + nonofficial members who were
mainly Asian/European traders
• Advised the Governor + helped
him make laws

12. How were the locals involved in the
British government?
• Locals were in the Legislative Council as non-
official members
• They were often out-voted as there were too
few of them as compared to the official
members
And this made them very unhappy!

13. How were the locals involved in the
British government?
• The pressure to increase the number of non-
official members were finally met in 1924
when:
number of official members
=
non-official members in the Legislative Council
• Dr Lim Boon Keng and Eunos Abdullah were
the Asian members of the Legislative Council

14. Q
Why do you think it is important
to include Asians in the
Legislative Council?

15. Roles of the Asians non-officials in the
Legislative Council
• They helped to initiate some laws in Singapore
• Eunos Abdullah:
• Set aside land for Malay settlement called
Kampong Melayu
• Provide low-cost housing
• Malays can earn a living by growing fruits/
vegetables & rearing poultry

16. Roles of the Asians non-officials in the
Legislative Council
•
Dr Lim Boon Keng: proposed to ban opium
smoking
• Legislative Council: unwilling to do so as
it is source of revenue
• To make up for loss of revenue, there was
a proposal to have income tax > met with
strong opposition from members in the
Legislative Council
• Eventually, income tax law on opium was
not passed

17. Q
Now that we have covered the
main structure of the British
government in Singapore, do
you think it was easy for the
British to control Singapore?

18. Let us now turn our attention to
the PROBLEMS that the British
faced in maintaining law & order
in Singapore!

19. Problems in Maintaining Law and Order
Keeping law and order became difficult as
more immigrants arrived in Singapore in the
19th century
1. Chinese
Secret
Societies
2. Abuse of
Immigrants
3. Piracy

20. Social problems in early Singapore
Source B
An excerpt describing the social problems in
early Singapore
Most people had no access to public health services such
as chlorea and smallpox caused severe health problems,
especially in overcrowded working-class areas. As a result
of the predominantly male and uneducated nature of the
population, the society was lawless and chaotic. In 1850,
there were only twelve police officers in the city of nearly
60, 000 people. Chinese criminal secret societies were
extremely powerful, and some had tens of thousands of
members. The secret societies created many problems for
the police.
Study Source B. What does the source tell you
about the state of society in early Singapore?

21. 1st Inference
I can
Evidence from the source
This can be
Explanation of inference based on evidence
This suggests

22. 2nd Inference
I can
Evidence from the source
This can be
Explanation of inference based on evidence
This suggests

23. 2) Problems in Maintaining Law and Order:
Chinese secret societies
• Initially, these were organizations that helped the
new immigrants in Singapore to seek employment.
• Secret societies provided young men with
protection and security as well as a sense of
brotherhood in a foreign land
However…

24. 2) Problems in Maintaining Law and Order:
Chinese secret societies
• Soon the society members started to form gangs
and secret societies that:
• Robbed, killed and took part in unlawful
activities
• They operated opium houses, brothels and
gambling dens
• Major secret societies: Hokkein Ghee Hin,
Teochew Ghee Hin, Ghee Hok, Ghee Kee and
Ghee Sin
• These secret societies then became a threat to
the public security

25. Opium house

26. 2) Problems in Maintaining Law and
Order: Abuse of immigrants
• Immigrants were too poor to pay for their passage
from China to Singapore
• Hence they turned to coolie-agents (credit
coolies) who would pay for their passage
• Immigrants had to work to pay off their debts

27. 2) Problems in Maintaining Law and
Order: Abuse of immigrants
• They were very often ill-treated and abused by
their employers/coolie-agents
• For Chinese women immigrants, they were often
kidnapped and sold off to brothels.

28. 2) Problems in Maintaining Law and
Order: Piracy
• This was a threat to the merchant community in
Singapore.
• Many trading ships were attacked by pirates and their
cargo taken/the people killed or taken as slaves
• This led to many merchants keeping away from
Singapore > adverse effects on growth of
Singapore
• Many European/Chinese merchants asked for the
government to step in to deal with the pirates

29. 2) Problems in Maintaining Law and
Order: Piracy
• Gunboats were sent by the government to patrol
the waters
• The arrival of steamships helped greatly in
fighting piracy as they could sail very fast against
the wind
• By mid 19th century, piracy became less of a threat
in Singapore

30. Q
So what was the role of the
British in improving the law and
order of Singapore?

31. 3) How did the British improve law and
order in Singapore?
Police force
Chinese Protectorate
• Set up to deal with the problems of
the Chinese community
• William Pickering was the first
Protector of the Chinese in May 1877
and he served till 1888
Ø He could speak many Chinese
dialects

32. Role of the Chinese Protectorate
Source C: An extract on Pickering’s role as the
Chinese Protectorate in Singapore
Unfortunately, despite all that Pickering had done
for the good of the Chinese, there were still those
within the community who disliked him and
mistrusted him. Pickering has made numerous
attempts to establish closer relations with the
Chinese community by helping the coolies from
abuse as well as settle disputes between the
different Chinese immigrants. In addition, he also
lessened the power of the secret societies by
exposing their gambling dens.
Study Source C. What does the source tell you
about the responsibilities of the Chinese
Protectorate?

33. 1st Inference
Evidence from the source
Explanation of inference based on evidence

34. 2nd Inference
Evidence from the source
Explanation of inference based on evidence

35. 3) How did the British improve law and order in
Singapore: What did the Chinese Protectorate do?
• Secret societies
Ø All secret societies had to register with the
Chinese Protectorate
Ø Persuaded the Chinese community to settle
their quarrels at the Chinese Protectorate >
weakened power of secret society leaders

36. 3) How did the British improve law and order in
Singapore: What did the Chinese Protectorate do?
•
Coolie-agents/lodging houses
Ø All had to be registered with the Chinese
Protectorate
Ø All coolie ships were inspected to prevent abuse of
the coolies
Ø ‘Po Leung Kuk’ (Protect Virtue Office) was set up
to rescue young girls from being sold to brothels
However, there were still abuses and the
existence of secret societies as these were not
reported to the Protectorate

37. How did the British improve law and order
in Singapore: Police force
Before
• Small police force unable to maintain law and order
• Few wanted to join as policemen were poorly paid
and equipped
• The police force was greatly corrupted, policemen
accepted bribes readily
• There were few Chinese in the police force and this
made it hard to get information from the Chinese
• The police force was so ineffective that the army
was called in to help maintain the law and order in
the settlements

38. How did the British improve law and order
in Singapore: Police force
After
•
The government increased the pay of
policemen and provided better training for them
•
Officials who were fluent in Malay and Chinese
dialects were employed
•
Thomas Duncan was the first police
commissioner in Singapore in 1857

39. How did the British improve law and order in
Singapore: Police force
Year
1862
1903
1906
1931
*by mid
1920s
What happened
Detective Branch was set up to look into
the activities of secret societies
Modern methods such as fingerprinting
was introduced
Chinese detectives were recruited to help
with investigations
Detective Branch was renamed as
Criminal Investigation Branch (C.I.D.)
Law & order had greatly improved

40. Q
What have they done to improve
the social services for the
people in Singapore?

41. 4) How did the British government improve
social services for the people?
Health
• First half of 19th century: death rate
was very high
• Common diseases caused by poverty,
overcrowding and malnutrition:
tuberculosis, beri-beri, malaria
• The British became worried as
Singapore’s prosperity is dependent
on the people
Hence, the British took measures to
solve these problems
Education

42. How did the British improve the social
services in Singapore?
Source D An excerpt of Southeast Asian history in
early 19th century
One of the main problems that the British had to deal with
in the 19th century was crime. The British tried to recruit
police officers to help keep law and order but few wanted to
join the police force as policemen were poorly paid. The
next pressing problem was the poor health standards in
Singapore. Diseases were rampant and people were dying
on a daily basis from various illnesses. The British
subsequently set up the Public Health Department to
improve the public health and it also helped to improve
housing conditions.
Study Source D. What does the source tell you about the role of the
British in dealing with the social problems in the early Singapore?

43. 1st Inference
Evidence from the source
Explanation of inference based on evidence

44. 2nd Inference
Evidence from the source
Explanation of inference based on evidence

45. • In 1887, the Public Health
Department was set up to
improve health in town
• Malaria committee was set
up: supervise swamps,
replace pail system with
modern water-carriage
sewage system and clearing
streets/drains
To prevent infectious diseases:
• General Hospital, leper camp,
lunatic asylum set up.
• Outpatient clinics were also
set up to serve the public
• Improve housing
conditions: reducing
overcrowding in Chinatown
Quarantine Law was passed
Ships were to be stopped at • By 1940s, public health had
St. John’s Island to check for
generally improved
infectious diseases

46. How did the British government improve
social services for the people: Education
• 19th century: education was left in the hand of the
local organizations
• Late 19th century: government began to set up
English and Malay schools and provided *grants
*What are grants?
Grants are regular sums of money given by a
government to an individual or organization for a
particular reason such as education

47. How did the British government improve
social services for the people: Education
Why?
• Demand for people to be trained in English to fill up
posts in the government and trading companies
Which?
• Raffles Institution was set up
• A medical school was built with money raised by
Asian leaders: King Edward VII Medical School
(renamed King Edward VII College of Medicine in
1921)
• Raffles College set up in 1928: higher education
became available

48. How did the British government improve
social services for the people: Education
What?
• Queen’s Scholarship was established for top
secondary school students to further their
studies in British universities
• Many of these students returned as doctors,
lawyers and teachers
BUT the British did not treat all schools equally

49. How did the British government improve
social services for the people: Education
• English and Malay schools were given more
money: English-speaking seen as pro-British
• Chinese schools were neglected: anti-British
feelings among students

50. Q
How did the British government
as well as the Europeans view
the people in Singapore?

51. British government/Europeans’ view of
the people in Singapore
• Believed that they were more superior to the Asians
• Asians were greatly discriminated:
Ø In government service: Well-qualified Asians
not given important posts
Ø In medical service: Asian doctors not
educated in British universities not allowed to
hold senior posts in hospitals
Ø In travelling: Asians discouraged from
travelling in first-class carriages
Ø At public places: not allowed to use certain
places reserved for the Europeans

52. Quick recap!
We have covered:
1) How the locals involved in the government
• Serving as non-officials in the Legislative Council
2) The problems that the British faced in maintaining law & order
• Chinese Secret Societies
• Abuse of the immigrants
• Piracy
3) The ways the British improved law & order
• Police force
• Chinese Protectorate
4) How the British government improved social services for the
people
• Education
• Health
5) How did the British government as well as the Europeans view
the people in Singapore from different sectors?

53. Conclusion
Singapore did fare well under the
British rule.
There was order, security and general improvements in the
lives of the people in Singapore.