secondary 2 history chapter 10
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 10: How did Singapore tackle its
challenges in its early years of independence?
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
How did this happen?
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Topics
4 challenges faced by Singapore, and the government’s responses and the results of…
• Housing and Hygiene
• Economy and jobs
• Education
• Defence
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Housing and Hygiene:Problems
• not enough houses for people
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Housing and Hygiene:Problems
• unhygienic and cramped living conditions in slums (easy for infectious diseases to spread, hard to escape from fire)
• Example of fire hazards: 1961 Bukit Ho Swee fire that destroyed houses and left 16000 people homeless.
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Housing and Hygiene:Solutions
• Housing Development Board (HDB) set up to provide public housing for the increasing population of Singapore.
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
• 1st Five-Year Plan:– Aim:
• to build as many flats as quickly and cheaply. • Resettling people living in slums to better areas
– What does this consist of?• ‘Neighborhood’ concept for housing estates
each neighbourhood will be self-contained, with shops, primary schools, clinics, community centres and playground.
• E.g.: Tiong Bahru, Queenstown, Toa Payoh
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Housing and Hygiene:Solutions
• 2nd Five-Year Plan:– Aim: Improving quality of housing programme. – What does this consist of?
• Improving the designs of houses and estates• More open spaces between buildings• Better facilities [E.g. carparks, playgrounds]
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Housing and Hygiene:Solutions
Queenstown, with a Kampong ‘feel’
• 3rd Five-Year Plan:– Aim: Provide housing that can suit the needs
of middle-income households who want bigger flats but could not afford private properties.
– What does this consist of?• Housing and Urban Development Company
(HUDC) was formed in 1974 to design flats that could cater to the needs of these people.
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Housing and Hygiene:Solutions
• people could afford to own their homes
• helped to encourage social stability [Different races mixed around in their neighbourhood promotes harmony among the different races]
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Housing and Hygiene:Results
• gave citizens a stake in the country and its future[People’s homes are now in Singapore]
• Promoted a sense of national pride and identity among Singaporeans
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Housing and Hygiene:Results
“Money no enough!”
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Economy and jobs: Problems
• No natural resources
• Economy not well diversified (too dependent on entrepot trade)
– Diversified economy: economy that has many different kind of economic activities such as manufacturing, banking and finance
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Economy and jobs: Problems
• High unemployment (due to high population growth)
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Economy and jobs: Problems
Economy and jobs: Solutions
2-pronged approach
• Provide incentives to multinational corporations (MNCs) from other countries to set up factories in Singapore
• Transform Singapore into a more organized and efficient country in the region
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
• Provide incentives to multinational corporations (MNCs) from other countries to set up factories in Singapore
– MNC: companies that have businesses in more than one country
– Reason: creates jobs for the unemployed.
– How: brand Singapore as a stable, low-cost manufacturing export centre to attract MNCs to invest here. (export led industrialization: setting up factories to manufacture goods for export)
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Economy and jobs: Solutions
• Transform Singapore into a more organized and efficient country in the region
– Reason: Singapore would be able to attract foreign investors and professionals to invest and work in Singapore
– How: ensuring that Singapore has high standards of public service such as health, security, education, transportation and telecommunications
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Economy and jobs: Solutions
– Airport: developed and expanded the international airport so that it can handle bigger aircraft and cargo.
– Port: Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) was set up to oversee, manage and develop port operations.
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Economy and jobs: Solutions
– Banking and finance: Banks were set up to provide the banking and financial supported needed to make Singapore’s industrialization a reality.
– The Public Utilities Board: Public Utilities Board (PUB) was set up to coordinate the supply of water, gas and electricity to people
Economy and jobs: Solutions
– Telecommunications: installed an average of 10000 telephones per year in the 1960s to ensure that Singapore remains part of the larger world.
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Economy and jobs: Solutions
– Economic Development Boards (EDB): set up in 1961 to handle and direct the development of new and existing industries
– Jurong Industrial Estate (JIE): was developed by EDB for industries and factories.
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Economy and jobs: Solutions
• By 1985, Singapore became a modern city-state, with diversified economy.
• Economic growth of 12.5% average per year from 1964 – 1985.
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Economy and jobs: Results
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Economy and jobs: Results
• important because it was a way to get people of different races to interact
• a means of supporting Singapore’s economic development [students to be equipped with relevant technical skills so that they are prepared when they enter the workforce]
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Education
Education:Problems
• There was no standard education because education was run by each ethnic and religious groups
• Different standards of the quality of education
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Education: Solutions
• Integration of different education systems (1959) – Aim: to increase the level of literacy of
Singaporeans
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Education: Solutions
Measures taken:• Introduced features such as
daily flag-raising, pledge-taking ceremonies
• Compulsory Civics Education • Large-scale recruitment of
teachers so as to increase the number of students that can enter schools
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Education: Solutions
• Key policy: Bilingualism – All students in primary
school had to learn two languages – English as well as their Mother Tongue.
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Education: Solutions
• Reason: – English was the language that the modern
and business world uses. Learning English would equip students for the future.
– English acts as a common language among the different races [this encourages racial harmony]
– Mother tongue helps to remind students about their ethnic roots
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Education: Results
• Education played a key role in shaping social relations of the different races
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
• Equipped the workforce with the technical skills to ride on the opportunities brought about by the globalization of the economy.
• Education system changes over the years to meet the needs of the nation
• Bilingual policy particularly effective.
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Education: Results
Defence
• Strong defence force is important in ensuring peace and stability in Singapore
• Stability = foreign investors would be attracted to set up factories and help develop Singapore economy.
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Defence:Problems
• No defence force of their own
• No experience in building up an army
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Defence:Solutions
• establishment of the Ministry of the Interior and Defence (MIDI)– Aim: to look into the formation of a national
defence force (a citizen’s army)
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Measures taken
• National Service Amendment Bill was passed in 1967.– Requires all Singaporean male citizens who
were medically fit, to be enlisted for National Service upon reaching the age of 18.
– Singapore citizens’ army = Full-time national servicemen, the Reservists, and regular soldiers
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Defence:Solutions
• Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute (SAFTI) was set up in 1966 to provide military training.
• Singaporeans not very supportive of NS– Campaigns to talk to parents and
Singaporeans to convince them about the need for NS. Radio and television broadcasted the purpose of national service; pamphlets were also produced and distributed.
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Defence:Solutions
• Established military cooperation with other countries to further ensure Singapore’s security – E.g. Five-Power Defence Agreement (signed
by Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore agreed to help one another if they are attacked by other countries)
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Defence:Solutions
Defence: Results
• NS ensures that there is a group of combat-trained male citizens ready to defend Singapore
• Becomes a rite of passage for young Singaporeans males
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
• Encouraged closer bonding among the males.
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
National ServiceNational Service
Defence: Results
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
Summary
• Challenges• Solutions• Effectiveness/Results OFHousing and hygieneEconomy and jobsEducationDefence
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?
How did Singapore tackle its challenges in its early years of independence?