People's views towards Singapore after the japanese occupation

the return of the british
The USA dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 august 1945 .
the Japanese government decided to surrender shortly after, this marked the end of the war in Asia .
the Japanese occupation in Singapore thus came to an end and the british colonial rule continued .
however the british would discover a difference in Singapore after the Japanese occupation .
many people hoped that the re-establishment of british rule would bring a return to the prosperity and
stability .but the people of Singapore still continued t face a number of  problems .

- there was insufficient food due to the disruption of trade, the black market thrived an food continued to be sold at high prices.

- houses were scarce, people had to live in cramp and overcrowded spaces. the rents were high to the housing shortage .

- may children did not attend school during the Japanese occupation . they wished to continuewith their education when the british returned but however , there were insufficient schools , teachers and textbooks to meet the demands for education .

- trade had been disrupted and business needed time to recover.
the BMA ( british military Administration ) did try to solve all these problems.
but they face contraints , such as a lack of funds and resources . thus shortages in housing , jobs and essential items remained . black market activities continued . many of these problems , such as unemployment and shortages of food and housing, remained even after the civilian government took over from the BMA .


seeing that all these problems still remained unsolved , the people of Singapore thus demanded for
better treatment of local civil servants . but the british officials continued to enjoy better pay and to hold senior positions within the civil service even though the locals were equally well-qualified .
the locals opposed the goverments unequal treatment of the locals and demanded that the government raise their pay . later than , political groups emerged , one party that emerged was the Malayan democratic union ( MDU ) . members of the MBU discussed how they wanted Singapore to be governed.

during the post-war period ( the BWA period ) , i went into the university and i told myself ,
" im going to study really hard " i had a sense of seriousness because the Japanese occupation had given me this seriousness towards life , life is very serious. i am going to do well...so with that attitude , i cut myself off from other activities .
- adapted from an account by Goh Sin Tub ,
a teenager whose education was disrupted during the Japanese occupation  .
the Japanese occupation had been a traumatic experience for many people in Singapore .
the fact that the british lost Singapore to the Japanese showed people that the british rule could be challenged , they wanted a greater role in shaping Singapore's political future and in how Singapore was governed after the Japanese occupation. All the developments drove the people to aspire towards a Singapore that was free from the colonial .

 ~ end of chapter 5 ~

Impact of the Japanese occupation on People's views towards Singapore (#3)

Living in Hardship
The rule of the Japanese in Singapore not only caused great fear among the people , it also brought about hardship in their daily lives. The war had disrupted trade, which limited the import of goods into Singapore from overseas. Furthermore , most of the available resources were channeled to Japan's war efforts rather than to people . As a result , there was a shortage of goods. Rationing was thus introduced to control the sale of essential items.


goods were also sold at high prices on the black market because of the shortages of goods . some people were able to obtain more goods by working for the Japanese . the situation was worsened by the the decreasing value of the new currency introduced by the Japanese . The Japanese government printed more notes whenever there was a need for money . thus , the currency became worthless .
for example , an egg which cost only three cents before the war , cost $100 at the end of Japanese
occupation

however , people found other ways to survive . to earn extra money , people took on second jobs  .
Many women , a great number of them whom never worked before , joined the workforce .

even young children chipped in to help .

in the morning I would study . when I finished at 1'oclock in the afternoon , we would go and pluck jambu ( a type of fruit ) and other fruits and we sell them on the roads or at changi  market.
- adapted from an account from an interview with victor Tan  who was about seven years old then .

resisting the Japanese
even thought the Japanese tried to win the supports of the people , many people in Singapore
became anti-Japanese . They either joined or supported anti-Japanese movement.

when I joined the war efforts , my idea was simple. it was to preserve our home and protect the land. Our second home was in Singapore, so we needed to protect it , the land. Our second home was Singapore, so we needed to protect it , the land here and its safety .There was no concept of a country then. we did not recognize British rule , and neither did the british recognize us , the british viewed us  ( the Chinese immigrants ) as temporary settlers in Singapore , likewise, we viewed Singapore as a birtish colony. if we were talking about protecting our country , the country that we were referring to would have been china .
- adapted from an account by Tan Chong Tee ,
a member of force 136, an anti-Japanese resistance force .
there were two main anti-Japanese resistance movements in Singapore during the Japanese occupation , they were force 136 and the Malayan people's anti-Japanese army ( MPAJA )



< force 136







< MPAJA
( Malayan people's anti-Japanese army )



force 136 was set up by the British war cabinet in1940 , with the help of a prominent businessman,
Lim Bo Seng . its members comprised mainly Malayan Chinese. the force concentrated its resistence efforts in Malaya by collecting information about the Japanese and organizing attacks whenever possible.

the MPAJA was one of the most organized resistance groups during the Japanese occupation. it was led by Lai Teck , a senior communist leader from Vietnam, and his right-hand , Chin peng , a Malayan Chinese from the state of perak .

the MPAJA operated mainly in the jungles or perak and Johor , it launched attacks on the Japanese troops , policemen and locals who worked with the Japanese. it was aided by force 136 . the role played by the MPAJA in resisting the Japanese was recognized by the British after the Japanese
occupation .

Impact of the Japanese occupation on People's views towards Singapore (#2)

The people of Singapore felt sorry for the POWs as they would never thought that a " white man "
would do such chores and tasks .

it was a pitiful sight to see the British and Australian Soldiers cleaning up the roads . We never
thought a " white man " would someday be a roadsweeper . so the Japanese occupation changedou impression of the " white man's " superiority.
- adapted from an account by Soon Kin Seng , A storekeeper at the Japanese Food Control Department .
The Eurasians were treated harshly . The Japanese hated the Eurasians because of their association
with the Europeans .many Eurasians were seen as British supporters , those who were suspected of
helping the British , were killed .

The Japanese also tried to cultivate a sense of Asian consciousness and pride . They spread the idea that Asians were just as good as Europeans. They actively promoted Japanese culture .
for example , in schools , students had to :
- sing the Japanese National Anthem .
- Learn the Japanese language instead of English
- take part in activities , such as gardening and cleaning , that promoted Asian values
such as hardwork and humility .

movies , books , newspapers and radio broadcasts were also used for propaganda  purposes .

^major newspapers were being taken over by the Japanese newspapers

sometimes the teachers gave us comic books to read ...( these books highlighted the kindness of the Japanese ) through the cartoons .... for example , I think they showed us a Japanese soldier giving things to people... A lot of these comics were very cheap ... I used to buy them with Japanese money, in booklet form .
- adapted from an account by Victor Tan , who was about seven years old at then .
Attempts to win local support

Japanese propaganda was a means to get the local people to look upon the Japanese rule favourably ,
besides promoting Japanese culture , they also introduced the policies that aimed to win the support of different communities .

for example ,  the Japanese encouraged the malays to be involved in the defence as well as the administration of Singapore . In order to prepare them for these roles , the Japanese promised to provide more opportunities in education for the malays .

the british had a superiority complex , The Japanese treated us all alike , I appreciate it .
- adapted from an account by Ismail Bin Zain , a clerk with the police during the Japanese occupation.
the Japanese treated different races nicely , and customized them to their needs .
but for the Chinese , it was a whole different story .
as the Chinese in Singapore opposed the Japanese occupation in Singapore and some even
volunteered to go back to china to fight against the Japanese .Thus , the Japanese became suspicious of the Chinese .

Daily life in " Syonan-to "

while the Japanese sought to win local supports , they also brought fear and hardship to the lives of the many people in Singapore. For example , they forced people to bow to Japanese sentries or face punishment .

my mother got beaten up very badly because she didn't want to bow to the Japanese guard ,
The Japanese felt that you were bowing to the emperor if you were bowing to the guard .So if you didn't bow , you were showing great disrespect towards the emperor , who was called the son of heaven .
- adapted from an account by joseph seah , a teenager during the Japanese occupation 

rule of fear and the Kempeitai
people experienced fear during the Japanese occupation as the Japanese tried to promote loyalty and obedience among the people through the use of force. The kempeitai , the Japanese military police ,
was sent to kill those who were suspected of being anti-Japanese .
Men who were identified as anti-Japanese in the Sook Ching Screenings were taken to change beach and other beaches to be executed . it was estimated , over 25000 Chinese to have been killed .

almost everyday , I was taken for interrogation... one day the interrogators put some bars of wood on the floor and they tied me up , and I had to kneel on this very rough wood. They stripped me ... and tied me to the woods that I couldn't move, then they applied electric shocks to me ... they brought my husband . He was kneeling there watching m being tortured .
- adapted from an account by Elizabeth Choy , who was arrested by the Kempeitai in 1943 .

 

Impact of the Japanese occupation on People's views towards Singapore ( #1 )

The Japanese know that there were big guns along the coast of Singapore , thus making a invasion by sea dangerous . They decided to invade Singapore from the north .They landed at Kota Bahru in Kelantan in December 1941 and successfully defeated the British forces . later then they invaded johor Bahru and ready to invade Singapore .
British was unable to send adequate reinforcements to defend Singapore . It had to concentrate most of its military forces in Europe and North Africa due to the fact it was the only European allied country left to fight against the Axis powers which were quickly expanding into Europe and North Africa then.

within eight days , the British surrendered .


when the British were defeated after they were claiming to be the strongest nation in the world ,
you question , " why is this superior , strongest nation in the world being beaten , but beaten within two weeks, with all of Singapore gone ? " you asked yourself why .
- adapted from an account of Lee Kip Lin as a teenager at the time of the British surrender .

^the surrender of the British

promoting Asia for Asians
Dispelling the  myth of the " white man " superiority
\with the fall of the Britain's " impregnable fortress " , Singapore came under the rule of the Japanese
Central Military Administration. Singapore was renamed as Syonan-to , meaning " light of south " .
People had few means to flee Singapore as shipping during this period was disrupted thus , they
had to face life under the rule of the new Japanese leaders .

^ a parade of Japanese soldiers walking through a street in Singapore
The Japanese sought to dispel the myth of the " white man" superiority ,
The Japanese interned the Australians , the British and other Europeans , including woman and
children , at the Sime Road Camp , Selarang Barracks and Changi Jail .


we remembered seeing the British marched to change Jail . Some of us saw our bosses marching haltingly , and asking for water along the way . We felt that the British were just human , with human weaknesses , like us .

- Adapted from an account by Gay Wan Guay , who witnessed the march of the British to the internment camps .



 

The Japanese ordered the Allied prisoners of war ( POWs ) to do tasks such as repairing and cleaning the dock facilities , water works and the airfield damaged by the Japanese bombs during the invasion .In the camp , little food was given to the POWs but many tasks were given ,
thus the POWs became very thin and malnourished .

Did the Japanese occupation changed the way people viewed Singapore ?

The Japanese occupation had affected many countries in southeast Asia .
It lasted for 3 years in Singapore from 1942-1945. It was a short but very important
event and period marked in Singapore's history . It was the time when it marked
the control of the Japanese causes a challenge up for the British Rules that us
Singaporeans came to break. It has come to us that whether if the Japanese occupation
had changed the ways of how we think and view things back then . In order to find out ,
we examine the lifes of those who survived the Japanese Occupation ,
and here is one of the source gathered :

Lee Kin Lin Lee Kin Lin was born into a well-known Straits-Chinese family .
Before the Japanese occupation , he did care much for his studies , and he was not really concerned

about the political developments of Singapore .During the Japanese occupation , he had to stop schooling as all the secondary schools were forced to shut down and thus , he began working for the first time in his life .

As he started working , he faced a lot of new different problems and many changes .
one of the changes and problems he had faced was that he always did not have enough food to
keep him full and he had to live in constant fear for his life . He also have to pick up a new language .
After the end of Japanese Occupation , he was relieved as he thought that his life would return to the way it was before the Japanese came .

But , this was not to happen , things would never be the same for Lee again . The experiences Lee had been through changed him entirely . He returned to his school a whole new entirely changed person. He excelled in his studies and became a leading architect .The Japanese occupation showed Lee that the British rules could be challenged , and one should not rely on it to protect their interests .
Thus , he became concern about the Political developments of Singapore , the future of it and how would Singapore be ruled .

this source showed us that the Japanese occupation had changed Lee Kin Lin ,
but what about the others ? lets use the views of local-born people to find out .
views of local-born people of Singapore before the Japanese
occupation .
Many local-born people and people who had lived in Singapore for a very long time think of Singapore as their permanent home as Singapore was where their family and friends are .
for example , the source below :

my family has been in Singapore for two generations . We do not know exactly where my forebears
originated , but it was somewhere in southern India . I never know much about my father's background and my mother was very malay in her style of dress. India did not figure at all in out lives .

- adapted from an accunt by S.R. Nathan , who was born in Singapore in 1924 and 18 years old when he was interviewed .
^ the source above shows that the local-born people and the ones who live in Singapore for a very long time did not care to find out about their origins even though they did not know much about it .
this shows that the people had thought of Singapore as their home and they do not care to find about their origins .

another important subject about the British as rulers of Singapore .
The British were given more privileged treatment than the well-qualified local people .
thus some , questioned the unequal system and wanted to negotiate with the colonial government for changes .The local non-official members tried to negotiate with the colonial government to increase the number of non-official members in the legislative council .
Some people also formed associations , such as the straits Chinese British Association , to improve the lives of the people .

Singapore as an impregnable fortress
in the 1930s Japan became increasingly aggressive . It invaded and occupied Manchuria in 1931 .
in 1937 , japan began to invade the rest of china . The USA and other western powers opposed this invasion . To force Japan to end the war , USA cut off its oil  supplies to Japan in 1938. But Japan refused to end the war , it began to look for other sources of raw materials .

southeast Asia offered a solution for Japan's problem . The dutch indies had abundant oil , and Malaysia had rubber and tin. Singpore lacked natural resources , but it has a strategic location that could Japan lauch attacks on the Dutch Indies .

Britain recognized the Japan was a rising power . Later than the British realized that Japan could be a threat to the British Empire and started to prepare to resist Japanese invasion . They decided to build a naval base in Singapore to protect British colonies in Southeast Asia , Hong Kong , Australia and new Zealand . This naval base was a important part of making Singapore a " impregnable fortress " .
a number of big guns were placed around the coasts of Singapore to protect against any Japanese invasion by sea .

Many people believed that Singapore was safe as it was well-protected by the British .
as the british controlled the largest empire in the world in 1941 and were known for their naval
power .But the belief of the " white man " race was superior to others was soon to challenged .