The document discusses Singapore's path to achieving full internal self-government between 1955-1959. It provides context on the 1955 and 1959 elections, including results that showed the PAP winning a majority in 1959. Full internal self-government meant local control over domestic affairs, with exceptions for security. The period saw unrest like riots and a crackdown on communists. The British were reluctant to grant self-government until satisfied the elected group could address security issues. Negotiations under Lim Yew Hock succeeded where David Marshall previously failed. In 1959, the PAP won by being united, organized, in touch with the people, and having a comprehensive governance plan. However, challenges around communism and expectations remained.

1. The Road to Full Internal
Self Government
1955 - 1959

2. Outcome

3. 1959: A Year of Firsts

4. 1955 Elections: Limited Internal Self
Government
Labour wins marginally.
Results:
 Labour: 10
 SPP: 4
 PAP: 3
 Others: 8

5. 1959: Full Internal Self Government
 PAP Victory: 43/51 seats.

6. What is Full Internal Self
Government?

7. How did it come to this?

8. Full Internal Self Govt: A Comparison

9. What is Full Internal Self Government?
 Simply put: Full Internal Self Government was achieved
when a locally raised political party has almost complete
control over domestic affairs .
 Exceptions: security related matters (internal and external)
and foreign relations.

10. What was at stake in the 1959
Elections?

12. Comparison: 1955 and 1959
1955 1959
No. of eligible voters 300,292 587,797
(electorate
Number of elected seats 25 51
Number of contesting 6 13
parties
Number of candidates 79 194

13. What was at stake in the 1959 elections?
Simply put: the Party that won the most votes would lead
Singapore into Full Internal Self Government and have almost
complete control over domestic affairs .
Exceptions: security related matters (internal and external)
and foreign relations.

14. What We have Learnt So Far…
 1959 elections first truly democratic elections in Singapore
 Local winner of elections to be given complete control over
domestic affairs.
 Exception of external affairs, defence and internal security.

15. The Big Question: How was
Full Internal Self
Government Achieved
between 1955 – 1959?

16. Issues:

17. 1959 Elections:
The Key Actors

18. 1955 – 1959: People Involved
Singapore Labour Front The Voters PAP
The Communists The British

19. The Constant Variable: British
Concerns
 Elected government
must NOT:
Either
 Be pro-communist
And/or
 Be unable to control the
communists

20. 1955 – 1956:
What happened in between?

21. Issues:

22. 1955: Singapore Labour Front Wins
Elections
 SLF wins 1955 elections by
10/25 seats.
 British expected SPP to
win.
 David Marshall becomes
Chief Minister.
 David Marshall’s power
limited.

23. 1955: Hock Lee Bus Riots
 Communist instigated
 April: Singapore Bus Workers Union
workers go on strike for better pay and
working conditions.
 229 workers dismissed
 Workers deliberately block front gate.
 David Marshall’s Commission of Inquiry
fails to appease strikers.
 Climax reached on 12 May 1955: 20
lorries with students arrive, riots get
violent.
 4 killed, 31 injured.
 Workers got their job back

24. 1956: First Merdeka talks
 Marshall leads a delegation
to London to negotiate for
full internal self
government.
 To be in effect by 1957
 Talks fail.
 Marshall steps down as
Chief Minister.
 Lim Yew Hock takes over

25. For Today…
 The British were not satisfied with Marshall’s performance in
relation to the communist threat and were not willing to
grant Singapore full Internal self government during the first
Merdeka Talks.
 However, it was Marshall’s drive for full internal self
government that paved the way for Lim Yew Hock to succeed
in pushing for elections full internal self government during
the Second Merdeka talks.
 Singapore still had a long way to go. The communist threat
was still not defeated, and the British were still not satisfied.

26. Issues:

27. Issues:

28. 1956: Prelude to Riots
 Lim Yew Hock clamps
down hard on
Communists by shutting
down Singapore Chinese
Middle Schools’ Student
Union.
 4 students leaders arrested
 142 students expelled

29. 1956: Student Riots
 Students Camp at Chung Cheng
High School and Chinese High
School for two weeks.
 Workers join in after talk by Lim
Chin Siong
 26th October, school stormed by
police
 Rioters take to the streets
destroying public property
 Curfew imposed
 13 dead, 100 wounded

30. Arrests Made:
Communists/ Associated
with Communists
Devan Nair
Lim Chin Siong
Fong Swee Suan
James Puthucheary
S.Woodhull

31. What do you think the British
and Chinese think of Lim Yew
Hock at this point?

32. 1957-1958
 1957: 2nd Merdeka talks Lim
Yew Hock leads second
delegation to London.
 Succeeds in negotiating for
full internal self
government.
 November 1958
Constitution approved

33. Issues:

34. 1959: Elections
 525,000 voters
 194 candidates
 51 seats
 13 political parties
 1 winning party

35. “Why did the PAP win?”

36. Issues:

37. Conclusion
 PAP won because:
 They built on the weaknesses and
achievements of the Labour Front
 They were united and well organised
 They were in touch with the people on the
ground
 They had a comprehensive plan for
Singapore.

38. Building on the Achievements and
Weaknesses of the Labour Front
 They built on the achievements of the Labour Front
government.
 David Marshall demanded for Full Internal Self Government, but
never won the confidence of the British.
 Lim Yew Hock, succeeded where Marshall had failed by gaining
the trust of the British by being hard on the communists.
However, he had lost the confidence of the Chinese educated.
 They Labour Front thus lost the confidence of the local
population. Moreover, the party underwent a split during Lim
Yew Hock’s term.
 All of this paved the way for the first truly democratic elections
to be held in 1959. Without this chance, the PAP may not have
had the chance to come to power.

39. They Were United and Well
Organised
 Large pool of voluntary
helpers from the Trade
Unions and Chinese School
 Portrayed themselves as
an honest party.

40. They Were in Touch with the People
“We combed every village, walking from
house to house. My knowledge of Malay
came in handy in Kampong Chantek; I
switched to Hokkien in the predominantly
dialect speaking neighbourhood of Yea Sua
Buay.”
Adapted from On the Beat to the Hustings: An Autobiography by
Lee Khoon Choy.

41. They Had a Comprehensive Plan for
Singapore
“We drafted policy papers on economics,
education, housing, health, rural development,
labour and women’s rights, which we published in
a series of pamphlets entitled, “The Tasks
Ahead…”
Adapted from “The Singapore Story”: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew.
By Lee Kuan Yew.

42. Conclusion
 PAP won because:
 They built on the weaknesses and
achievements of the Labour Front
 They were united and well organised
 They were in touch with the people on the
ground
 They had a comprehensive plan for
Singapore.

43. Was it So Simple?
“It was a victory but I was not jubilant. I had begun to
realize the weight of the problems that we were to face –
unemployment, high expectations of rapid results,
communist unrest, more subversion in the unions, schools
and associations, more strikes, fewer investments, more
unemployment, more trouble. Lim Chin Siong and Fong
Swee Suan would soon work on the Chinese- speaking
ground again to undermine us”
Adapted from “The Singapore Story”: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew.
By Lee Kuan Yew.