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Singapore

Country in southeast Asia, off the tip of the Malay Peninsula.

Government

Singapore has a single-tier system of government. The constitution of 1965, amended in 1991, provides for a one-chamber parliament, whose 81 members are elected for five-year terms by universal suffrage from 40 single-member wards, two ‘non-constituency’ seats (with restricted voting rights), intended for opposition candidates, and, from 1988, 13 three-member Group Representation Constituencies (GRC) through a simple plurality system. At least one member contesting the multimember GRCs must be of non-Chinese racial origin. Since 1990, the government has been able to nominate up to six politically neutral members of parliament, who serve two-year terms and can vote on all but financial and constitutional legislation.

Parliament debates and votes on legislation. Executive power is held by a prime minister and cabinet drawn from the majority party within parliament, and by a president who, since 1991, is directly elected, with powers over financial matters and senior military and government appointments (including the post of prime minister). The president serves a six-year term. Stringent eligibility rules ensure that the president is drawn from the country's political-economic establishment.

History

Singapore was founded as a Malay kingdom some time between 1200 and 1300. It was known as Tumasik or, in Sanskrit, Singapura (the lion city). However, along with other parts of the Malay Peninsula, it was overrun and destroyed between 1360 and 1365 by Majapahit, a powerful Javanese kingdom.

The establishment of British rule

The island of Singapore was a swampy jungle when, in 1819, Stamford Raffles of the British East India Company concluded a treaty with the nominal rulers of Singapore, Sultan Hussein and the Temenggong Abdul Rahman of Johore, allowing the company to establish a trading base near the River Rochor. In 1824 a treaty was signed ceding the entire island and most offshore islands to the company, and in 1832 Singapore was incorporated in the Straits Settlements.

The island rapidly developed as an entrepôt centre, with its population growing from 120 in 1819 to 40,000 in 1840. The rule of the British East India Company ended in 1858, in the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny, and the territory passed to the British crown. It was from their political and commercial base in Singapore that the British intervened in the Malay Straits during the 1870s (see Malayan history to 1963).

Singapore in World War II

Between the two world wars the building of a great naval base at Singapore stressed the colony's strategic importance. The strategic concept upon which Singapore developed was that of a protected naval base from which a powerful fleet could operate, and it was therefore defended against sea attack by fixed coastal defences. Plans for defence along the Malay Peninsula were worked out when the base was completed, but these proved useless during World War II. The Japanese pushed the British forces down the Peninsula into Singapore in 1942 and on 15 February the British commander surrendered. The British retook the island on 5 September 1945.

The path to independence

Progress towards internal self-government was rapid after 1945, with political agitation led by David Marshall, leader of the Labour Front. In consideration of Singapore's strategic importance it was made into a separate crown colony when the Straits Settlements were disbanded in 1946. The legislative council inaugurated in 1948 under the new constitution of 1946 had only nine elected members; in 1951 this was increased to 12.

In 1953 the governor appointed a commission under George Rendel to review Singapore's constitutional position, and its recommendations were accepted in 1955 by the British. The following elections resulted in victory for the Labour Front, and Marshall became chief minister. He resigned in 1956 after disagreeing with the British government on the question of greater local control over internal security.

Marshall's successor, Lim Yew Hock, reached agreement with Britain on self-government, the internal-security question being covered by the proposed establishment of an internal security council. The new constitution came into force in 1959, when Singapore was granted self-government with Lee Kuan Yew as prime minister, although Britain retained control of defence and foreign affairs.

Singapore in Malaysia

In 1963 Singapore joined the new Federation of Malaysia. However, the existence of a large Chinese majority in Singapore, many of whom were hostile to central control by a predominantly Malay government, exacerbated racial and political tensions, and these led to Singapore's secession from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. Singapore became a republic within the Commonwealth in December 1965.

The authoritarian rule of Lee Kuan Yew

From 1966 the People's Action Party (PAP) government under Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew embarked on a policy of making Singapore a tightly disciplined ‘garrison state’ on the Israeli model. Lee established a national army, and extended the police force, the paramilitary bodies, and PAP community organizations. He brought the trade unions under PAP control, and legislated against political opposition.

One justification for the policy of strict regimentation and militarization was that Singapore as a wealthy, largely Chinese city-state surrounded by a hostile Malay population needed to protect itself; another was the need to achieve the political stability necessary for foreign investment; a third was the rundown of the British military presence announced in the British government's 1967 White Paper on defence. The PAP gained a monopoly of all parliamentary seats in the elections between 1968 and 1980.

After 1966, with the reopening of Indonesia to foreign investment, Singapore's servicing role in regional development was greatly enhanced. Under Lee's stewardship, Singapore developed rapidly as a commercial and financial entrepôt and as a centre for new export industries.

British military withdrawal

In 1967 the British military presence contributed 20% to Singapore's gross domestic product, but by 1971 this presence was minimal, and gradually the complex of military bases passed into local control. The British Far East Command ceased in 1971 and the British naval base was formally closed. In 1971 a consultative pact on the coordination of external defence was signed by Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and Britain, creating the joint ANZUK force. This force was officially disbanded on 1 January 1975, although there remained a token British contribution to the area's integrated air-defence system and a commitment to consult with other members of the five-power defence agreement. The Singapore government continued to provide servicing facilities for foreign naval vessels, but official policy was against the establishment of a naval base on the island by any power.

Opposition to Lee

During the early 1980s, as the pace of economic growth briefly slowed, opposition to the Lee regime surfaced. Support for the PAP fell from 76% to 63% in the December 1984 election, and two opposition deputies won parliamentary seats for the first time. Lee responded by taking a firmer line against dissent; J B Jeyaretnam, the Workers' Party leader, was found guilty of perjury in November 1986 and deprived of his parliamentary seat. Support for the PAP held steady, at 62%, in the September 1988 election and the opposition won only one seat.

In November 1990 Lee stood down as prime minister, handing over to his deputy, Goh Chok Tong, but he remained a senior member of the cabinet. The PAP was returned to power with 61% of the vote in the general election held, ahead of schedule, in August 1991.

Singapore after Lee

Lee gave up his chairmanship of the PAP in December 1992. In August 1993 Ong Ten Cheong became the country's first directly elected president, with increased executive power. In October 1996 parliament passed bills that would improve representation of minority races, including ethnic Indians and Malays.

In the general election of January 1997 the ruling PAP, led by prime minister Goh Chok Tong, reversed its recent slide in support and captured 65% of the vote (up 4% on 1991) and 81 seats in the 83-member parliament. The opposition only contested 36 seats, and it was reported that there were threats of withdrawal of government funding for housing renovation projects in any constituency that returned an opposition candidate.

Foreign policy

Singapore allied itself closely with the USA 1965-74. From the mid-1970s, however, the country has pursued a neutralist foreign policy and improved its relations with China. It is a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Economic crisis

In November 1998, affected by the broader Asian economic crisis, Singapore slipped into recession for the first time in 13 years, after two quarters of negative growth. In response, the government announced pay cuts for government and private sector workers.

S R Nathan, a former ambassador to the USA, was officially declared the new president of Singapore without an election, after all other candidates were screened out in August 1999. Nathan, of Indian descent, was favoured by the government as a representative of the state's non-Chinese minorities.

In September 2001, Singapore agreed to pay Malaysia for its water at 15 times the 2001 rate in order to guarantee the supply until 2061. In November the PAP won 82 of the 84 seats contested in parliamentary elections, and 74% of the vote. Despite economic recession and rising unemployment, the PAP's result was its best for 20 years.

Farrell, J(ames) G(ordon) Johor Bahru Lee Kuan Yew Leeson, Nick Malayan history to 1963

Malaysia Marshall, David Saul SIBOR Singapore City