The document discusses the communist activities and unrest in Singapore and Malaya between 1945-1960. It describes how the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) aimed to end British colonial rule and establish a communist government controlled by China. This led to various strikes and riots organized by trade unions and students who were influenced by the communists. The British government declared a state of emergency in 1948 in response to increasing communist violence and guerilla warfare. While communist influence declined in the 1950s, student and worker strikes and riots continued due to lingering anti-British sentiments. A notable example was the Maria Hertogh riots in 1950 which erupted from a custody case and exposed religious and cultural tensions in society.

1. CHAPTER 8 Waves of Unrest Strikes and Riots after the War

2. Introduction The Malayan Communist Party (MCP) Communist Activities : 1945 - 1948 The Emergency in Malaya : 1948 - 1960 Workers and Students Unite : Strikes and Riots in the 1950s End of Communist Riots THE COMMUNIST IN MALAYA AND SINGAPORE

3. COMMUNISM What is communism? A system of society where property belongs to the whole community Each member work for the common good of the community according to his capacity and receiving according to his needs However, since 1917, the term has come to denote those who regard the Russian Revolution as the model for all communists to follow

4. VLADIMIR I. LENIN The Russian Revolution of 1917 Led by Lenin Created the communist state of USSR (Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic)

5. VLADIMIR I. LENIN Monument of Lenin in Moscow

6. THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY Started off as just a study group between a professor and a head librarian discussing issues relating to Marxism Mao Zedong

7. THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY Young Mao Zedong

8. Formed in 1930 AIM : End colonial rule in Singapore and Malaya and replace it with a communist government controlled by China THE MCP

9. During WWII After the war 1940s and 1950s THE MCP

10. Communist activities in Singapore and Malaya Trade Unions, Chinese newspapers and student leaders in Chinese schools Members : teachers and students in Chinese schools, Chinese workers COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES : 1945 - 1948

11. Stirred up feelings of the people to demand higher rice rations and cheaper foodstuffs Formed many trade unions to demand for better working conditions and higher pay influenced TU leaders to organise strikes British way of dealing with strikes made the workers even angrier STRIKES AND DISORDERS

12. Government measures against the communists passed laws to prevent TUs from being controlled by the communists allowed govt to monitor membership also to ensure money was not used for communist activities Workers lost interest in the communist cause for several reasons they were not paid during strikes tired of the disorder communists were actually not interested in fighting for workers’ rights some workers had obtained better paying jobs STRIKES AND DISORDERS

13. 1 9 4 8 - 1 9 6 0

14. Communists realised that their methods of stirring up anti-British feelings were not successful Turned to violence to drive the British out MCP moved into the jungles and towns of Malaya and carried out attacks against the British government Guerilla warfare : Attacking enemy in small groups in unexpected ways THE EMERGENCY : 1948 to 1960

15. Communist guerillas training in the jungles of Malaya

16. THE COMMUNIST CAMPAIGN (1948-49) CAMPAIGN : A series of military operations undertaken to achieve a large scale objective in war; an organized operation to accomplish a purpose

17. The British government declared a state of Emergency in Malaya and Singapore in June 1948 EMERGENCY : Govt banned the MCP Introduced measures to control the communists from getting the people’s support Increased number of policemen, soldiers and guards Introduce identification card to control movement of communists Communists were not successful in Malaya; looked towards Singapore By mid-50s, emergency laws were relaxed in Singapore THE EMERGENCY : 1948 to 1960

18. THE EMERGENCY : 1948 to 1960 Government troops searching for communist guerillas.

19. As the MCP was banned in Singapore, communists infiltrated into the trade unions One important person was LIM CHIN SIONG STRIKES AND RIOTS IN THE 1950s

20. STRIKES AND RIOTS IN THE 1950s

21. Besides the TUs, Lim also concentrated on getting the support of students from Chinese-medium schools Situation in Chinese-medium schools Why were the students unhappy? By the 1950s, anti-British among the students grew stronger They started strikes and supported many strikes organised by workers STRIKES AND RIOTS IN THE 1950s

22. A good example of how the communists stirred up anti-government feelings among Chinese-educated students May 1954 : Chinese students demonstrated against the British government’s decision to make young men aged 18 to 20 do part-time national service Many were above 20 as their education had been disrupted by the war Not willing to defend a government they were trying to drive out Demonstration led to rioting and police had to put down the riots 1954 ANTI-NATIONAL SERVICE RIOT

23. 1954 ANTI-NATIONAL SERVICE RIOT

24. 1955 : 275 strikes in all One strike that turned violent was the Hock Lee Bus strike 1955 HOCK LEE BUS RIOTS

25. 1955 HOCK LEE BUS RIOTS

26. Oct 1956 : riot by Chinese-educated students Closing down of SCMSSU by the government because of its communists activities Arrested 4 students leaders from Chinese High School and Chung Cheng High School Expelled 142 others for taking part in communist activities 1956 SINGAPORE CHINESE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ UNION RIOTS

27. 1956 SINGAPORE CHINESE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ UNION RIOTS

28. RECENT STRIKES IN SEOUL & HK

29. RECENT STRIKES IN SEOUL & HK

30. MARIA HERTOGH RIOTS (1950) Riots broke out between 11 and 13 Dec 1950 over a 13-year old Eurasian girl named MARIA BERTHA HERTOGH Born in 1937 to Dutch parents in Java Parents captured by Japanese during WWII A Malay woman, CHE AMINAH , and her husband looked after Maria Brought her up as a Muslim and named her NADRA Moved from Java to Trengganu in Malaya

31. MARIA HERTOGH RIOTS (1950) With the defeat of Japan, Maria’s mother, ADELAINE HERTOGH , was released Unable to locate her daughter in Java Finally found Maria in 1949 and wanted to claim her back Dutch Consul-General requested Maria to be put under the care of the Social Welfare Dept in Singapore Maria’s case was brought to the legal court in Singapore

32. MARIA HERTOGH RIOTS (1950) May 1950 : Court ruled that Maria be returned to her natural parents Che Aminah opposed and sent in an appeal 2 months later, the court returned Maria to Che Aminah

33. MARIA HERTOGH RIOTS (1950) When Maria was 13 years old and under Che Aminah’s care, she married a Malay teacher Nov 1950 : Judge did not recognised the marriage Returned Maria to her Dutch parents who put her in a RC convent Muslim community was upset ; felt that Muslim law was not respected

34. MARIA HERTOGH RIOTS (1950) Next two months : many newspaper articles on Maria Stirred up feelings of anger among the Muslims Che Aminah appealed again in Dec 1950 but was turned down

35. MARIA HERTOGH RIOTS (1950) Many Singapore Muslims felt betrayed by what they saw as the British taking the side of the Dutch The court order was seen as a direct attack on Islam by a court under Christian control After the verdict was announced on 11 Dec 1950, a large crowd of mainly Malays outside the Padang starting rioting

36. MARIA HERTOGH RIOTS (1950)

37. MARIA HERTOGH RIOTS (1950) Many Europeans were attacked. Why? Many vehicles burned A sign of growing unhappiness with British rule in Singapore Also a sign of British failure of British to be sensitive to the feelings of Muslims 2nd day : Curfew imposed; military police called in 3rd day : Situation under control

38. MARIA HERTOGH RIOTS (1950) Compensation claims : $20,848 (Straits Dollars) - a huge sum of money at that time Govt had to spend more money to repair many of the public facilities that were damaged

39. LESSONS LEARNT Whole country can be affected by strikes, disorder and riots People’s lives are upset; business disrupted; economy suffers Today, 40 years after it faded into history, the Maria Hertogh provides us with timely reminder of how easily a society can be torn apart by the unwise handling of sensitive issues. Maria Hertogh Riots show us how important it is to know, learn and appreciate the culture and customs of other races