Singapore is out!7 Aug 1965 - Tunku Abdul Rahman announced that Malaysia will expel Singapore.At 10 am on 9 Aug 1965 , Lee Kuan Yew announced attainment of full independence.Singapore became a RepublicHead of State Yusof Bin Ishak would be the first President of the stateLegislative Assembly was renamed Parliament, members known as Members of Parliament.

ActivityGet into your group of 5:-It must be a mix of genderPreferably to have representatives of min. 2 different racial groupAppoint a group leader to collect A-3 size paper and instructions.Group 1: 1945-1959, Group 2:1959-196515 minutes

Group taskTimeline: Post War(1945-1959)1955* Paste event1960* paste event**Optional:-Identify some other events and problems which occurs during this timeframe your group working on

Worksheet 1 (about all the problems during this time period!)PoliticalSocialEconomicCommunist

Recap:- What Spore faced in the 40s, 50s and 60sReligious, racial issues- leading to riotsPolitical ideology- communism and confrontasi(Indonesia)Political differences- UMNO and PAP over how Malaysia should be run.Social issues- Jobs, educations, housing and defence

Singapore: 1965 and beyondPart 1(Chapter 7): Challenges facing Singapore post-independencePart 2(Chapter 8): How Singapore and its peoples lives were being transformed after independence?

Part 1(Chapter 7): Challenges facing Singapore post-independence

A) Internal and External Security

B)Economic Survival

C) Citizenship and Sense of Belonging

A) Internal and External Security(*Key: Confrontasi by Indonesia and Vietnam War)20 January 1963, Indonesia launched policy of Confrontasi against formation of Malaysia- it believed this arrangement allowed continued control of British over Malaysia indirectly.37 bombings took place from 1963-66, the most serious one being at MacDonald House, killing 3 and injuring 33 others

Instability in the region- Vietnam War fought between the North( Communists) and South (Non-communists)Singapore feared that the internal development and fight against Communism might be affected should the Vietnam conflict spread.

Establishment of Ministry of the Interior and Defence *Why the need?B4 independence, Singapore had small defence force made up of 2 full-time army battalions- the 1st and 2nd Singapore Infantry Regiments.Each regiment had about 1000 soldiers, of which majority of them were Malaysians supported by small number of army volunteers.Equipment wise- Singapore had 2 old gunboats for the navy and no aircrafts of its own to defend the air-space of the state.Singapore could not depend on the British anymore as they had announced in 1967 to withdraw all their troops by mid 70s.It was challenging to replace the 26000 British troops stationed here.It was made worse subsequently that Britain decided to withdraw by 1971, much earlier than announced.The lack of defence and security would affect Singapores economy-investors would not have the confidence to park their money here!

How did Spore respond?*Key: Establishment of MID and NSEstablishment of the Ministry of Interior and Defence(MID) in October 1965 with Dr Goh Keng Swee being its first Minister.MID in charge of the Armed Forces and the Police till 1970.The strengthening of the armed forces must be done urgently as many Malaysian soldiers from 1st and 2nd SIR to be transferred to their Malaysian counterpart following the separation.Police force had to be build up fast following the withdrawal of Malaysian Riot Police from Singapore.He introduced National Service, believing that every man has a part to play in Singapores defence.1n 1967, first batch of enlistees numbered 900 in 1967 and by 1976, the full time national servicemen and reservists numbered about 140000.

How did Singapore respond(cont)*Key:- Establishment of Diplomatic Relations with other countries + UN membershipBuilding strong ties and alliances with other countries B4 1965, Singapore relied on British and the Malaysian government to manage its foreign relations with other countries, but then , Singapore was on its own.Singapore applied for UN membership(21 Sept 1965) to gain recognition as a state as well as the Commonwealth( 15 Oct 1965)By 1966, Singapore was recognised by its neighbours like Indonesia and the Philippines and it sought to develop friendly relations with it regional neighbours.

To bring about understanding and cooperation, ASEAN was born with key members like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines in August 1967.This strategy of building up defence and establishing good relations brought about peace and security, allowing investors to have the confidence to invest here

2) Economic SurvivalSingapore has no natural resources such as oil, rubber or precious minerals- thus no exports in these commodity nor jobs linked to this.Situations more challenging after independence.The challenging relations between Malaysia and Singapore and Malaysia had been a major market for Singapores goods.Protectionist policy such as increasing taxes on Singapore goods to protect their own local industries, thus putting pressure on these industries within Singapore instead.

*key : entrepot , unemployment and Britishs Military withdrawalSingapore could not continue to depend wholly on entrepot trade as other countries restricting imports of foreign-produced goods.( A diversified economy is needed!!!)Singapore had severe unemployment at point of independence, 14.3 unemployment rate and situation getting challenging with average of 20000 school leavers joining the workforce annually.The Britishs Military withdrawal set to worsen the unemployment situation as the stationing of the troops locally contributed significantly to Singapores economy.Thus all the above left many in Singapore extremely concerned about their livelihood.

3)Citizenship & Sense of BelongingChallenging task to forge a common identity and sense of belonging for the people. Many were born in Malaysia and entitled to Malaysian citizenship.It seemed to many that Singapore could not survive on its own and they would lose more by remaining here. Singapore appealed to them to take up Singapore citizenship and it did not end there.For those who remained, how to conceptualise the idea of Singapore being their home, a place for them to live and die here, a place they will protect at all cost.For the people, they must see themselves as Singaporeans , and as one people , and not different people who just happened to be in Singapore

Part 2: How Spore and its peoples lives were being transformed after independence?- Solutions to Part (1)

A) The Importance of the National SymbolsB) Building Singapores Defence: From British Far East Command to the Singapore Armed Forces(SAF)Singapores Economic Development: From Trading Port to Diversified Economy.Developments in Housing: From Shophouses, Squatter Settlements and Kampongs to HDB Flats.

Activity 2:Skill InferenceUsing all the sources to find the issues that affected Singapore post- separation.Then compare the 2 periods if the problems remained or had been resolved?

Questions to ponder.Now on your group work:-Please state above the time-line who is in charge of Singapore during that time frame.

who is in charge? Why is it crucial now? What will happen?(analogy:- You always wanted to get out of your family and have a life of your own, finally you are married and now divorced. Your parents died of heartache and your Abang (Malaysia) is leaving you.

Take-away:-Please write a short write-up on why Singapore needed to resolve all these matters unlike before? ( 100 words min.)