Section 5: SG Post Independence Challenges

Question 1

what are the two aspects SG faced challenge in post independence

Answer 1

1. defence
2. economy

Question 2

DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 2

1. konfrontasi
2. communist/international terrorism
3. vietnam war
4. withdrawal of British defense force in 1967-1971

Question 3

konfrontasi

DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 3

Indonesia launched a policy called Konfrontasi to oppose the formation of Malaysia.
* felt that it would give the British continued control of the territories
* Indonesia also plan to unite the Malay Archipelago under them

During the Konfrontasi, there was fighting along the long land border that Malaysia shared with Indonesiam posing a significant security threat to SG.

Question 4

effects of konfrontasi

KONFRONTASI -> DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 4

**As many as 42 bombings were carried out to terrorize the population and disrupt lives **
* Deadliest incident (MacDonald House: 3 dead, 33 injured)
* Tarted military facilities and public utilities at first but changed to public places.

In response to the bombing, the Singapore government introduced several measures
* Singaporeans were advised to stay on high alert and to avoid handling suspicious looking parcels in buildings and along streets
* Volunteer force was deployed to patrol neighborhoods
* School also practiced emergency drills

Question 5

communist/ international terrorism

DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 5

1. Singapore still faced communist threats as the communists continued to carry out acts of terrorism
2. Singapore experienced its first international terrorism on 31 January 1974

Question 6

evidence of communist threats

COMMUNIST THREAT -> DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 6

While the MCP were no longer a formidable unified force and was split into smaller groups, they continued to pose a danger to the internal security of Singapore
* Killing of 7 years old girl in Changi
* Explosion of bomb
* attempted assisination

Question 7

laju boat incident (1974)

INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM -> DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 7

Foreign terrorists hijacked the ferry boat Laju and held the crew members hostage
Earlier attacked the Shell oil refinery on Pulau Bokom in attempted to disrupt oil supply from Singapore to South Vietnam
* Agreed to release hostage after securing demand for safe passage from Singapore to Kuwait

Question 8

vietnam war

DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 8

large scale conflict in Vietnam was threatening the stability of non communist Southeast Asian countries.
* Communism would spread to the neighboring countries and eventually the whole region if north Vietnam won the war
* This fear was heightened by the presence of communist movements in other SEA countries

Question 9

withdrawal of British defence force (1967-1971)

DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 9

singapore lost their external defense.
context: Historically, Singapore had always been a base for British military vessels and was always protected by the British Royal Navy
* military force deterred potential aggressors from threatening Singapore’s sovereignty
* provided a strong military front line should Singapore face any external threats

Question 10

why did british withdraw

BRITISH WITHDRAWAL -> DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 10

however, maintaining military presence in Singapore caused around £70 million, British was economically strained due to being heavily involved in the “Cold War,” did not have enough finance to continue support military base in Singapore
* hence they needed to withdraw their defense forces from Singapore in order to focus on rebuilding its economy

Question 11

why was it a bad time to withdraw military?

BRITISH WITHDRAWAL -> DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 11

singapore was facing external and internal threats

Question 12

why was the withdrawal a serious challenge for SG?

BRITISH WITHDRAWAL -> DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 12

• the withdrawal was a serious challenge as the strength of Singapore’s defense had been entirely dependent on British armed forces
• as a newly independent country, SG did not have the means to fill the gap left behind by the British with sufficient troops for military protection

Question 13

defence size

BRITISH WITHDRAWAL -> DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 13

• Only have 2 battalions, 1000 men each and 50 officers
• The first batch of 900 national servicemen had just started their training on 17 August 1967, leaving few well trained Singaporeans to take up the roles of the British defense force.
• Singapore was practically left undefended and vulnerable to any external aggressions and regional security challenges

Question 14

building a defence force

BRITISH WITHDRAWAL -> DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 14

settled british’s withdrawal and potential defense threat by introducing the national service in 1967
* Compulsory enrolment of people into NS
* NS rapidly expanded the defense force, known as Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and thousands of men were conscripted for at least 2 years of full time NS
* By the end of 1970s, the SAF had grown into a sizable defense force with an army, an Air Force and a navy and supplemented by People’s Defence Force (PDF) to form a large pool of manpower to meet its defense needs

to address defense needs and build a strong defense force after british forces departure, gov. established the SAF

Question 15

problems of defence force

BRITISH WITHDRAWAL -> DEFENCE CHALLENGE

Answer 15

At first, NS was received with some anxiety and uncertainty by many young men and their families
* Men were expected to find a job quickly upon leaving school and contribute to the household income
* With NS, their entry into the workforce would be delayed and their families would lose the potential income they could have earned

Furthermore, life in the military was unfamiliar to the majority
* Before NS was introduced, only a small number had experienced military life as regulars or as part time volunteers with the colonial forces
* NS was a big change for many of the conscripted men and they had to adapt to the disciplined lifestyle
* Many families were anxious about the well-being of their sons when they were conscripted into the SAF

Singapore now has a sizable force that can be mobilized to defend the country and national servicemen that form the bulk of SAF’s fighting force to contribute to Singapore’s peace and stability. It is the foundation of Singapore’s national defense which remains critical to Singapore’s continued survival and success

Question 16

what are the economic challenges

ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 16

• unemployment
• entrepot trade

Question 17

why did the unemployment rate increase after british withdrawal?

UNEMPLOYMENT > ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 17

British bases generated employment for locals who found jobs in managing British military (mechanics)
* base workers in Singapore would be rendered jobless
* Livelihood of >40,000 people dependent on supplying goods and services to British servicemen

Surge in unemployment rate
* economic instability and uncertainty for a portion of the population that had come to rely heavily on these jobs for their livelihoods. This created significant workforce disruptions that strained social and economic systems in Singapore
* When people do not have jobs, they will turn to ideologies that will support their lifestyles for example communism

Conclusion of withdrawal of British forces
* Withdrawal of the British forces underscored the importance of building indigenous defense forces and creating new jobs to further ensure economic growth

Question 18

threat of unemployment

UNEMPLOYMENT > ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 18

In 1965, there were already >70,000 unemployed persons out of a total labor force of >700,000

large number of young people who were about to finish their schooling would soon be joining the labor force [youth unemployment]

• If no jobs were available to them, Singapore’s unemployment problem would grow even worse

Question 19

entrepot trade decline

ENTREPOT TRADE > ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 19

Historically always reliant on entrepôt trade

The lifeline of singapore’s economy for more than a century had been declining rapidly since World War II amid growing competition from other ports of independent countries in the region
* Reducing Singapore’s importance as a regional trading hub
* Source of job creation was diminishing
* People were unskilled as there was no need for manufacturing goods originally

The Singapore government decided to diversify the economy to tackle the unemployment problems and the declining entrepôt trade by trying to find new and varied sources to support the countrys’ economy instead of being overly dependent on one singular source. This would make it more likely for the economy to grow steadily and ensure there were sufficient jobs available for the people.

Question 20

in response to the challenge

ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 20

• development export- oriented industrialisation
• setting up industrial facilities
• attracting foreign investment

Question 21

development of export-oriented industrialisation

INDUSTRIALIZATION > ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 21

Dr. Winsemius recommended an industrialisation programme for Singapore and advised them to provide job and training for locals to tackle high unemployment rate

Set up Economic Development Board (EDB) in 1961 to spearhead Singapore’s industrialisation programme
* Goal was to promote industrial development in Singapore
* Plans and executes strategies to enhance Singapore’s positions as a global business center to boost the economy

EXAMPLE:
Attracting foreign investments
Setting up industrial facilities

Question 22

how and why did EDB set up industrial facilities

INDUSTRIALIZATION > ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 22

In 1961, the EDB transformed almost 70 square kilometers of land in Jurong from a swampland to Singapore’s first industrial estate
* Jurong was built to accommodate the factories and industries that Singapore would need to move forward
* Following this, plots of land across the country were set aside for developments into industrial estates

Question 22

how did jurong industrial estate develop?

INDUSTRIALIZATION > ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 22

In 1967, Jurong industrial estate had attracted investment worth a total of about $178 million and generated jobs for some 6500 workers

Question 23

why did EDB focus on foreign investment?

INDUSTRIALIZATION > ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 23

As Singapore grew more industrialized, the task of managing industrial estates became more challenging so the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) was set up to take over the responsibility of building and managing industrial estates
* The EDB could then focus on attracting foreign investment
* The foreign investment was of utmost importance as it supported the development of industrial facilities concurrently

Question 24

how did singapore attract MNCs?

ATTRACTING FOREIGN INVESTMENT > ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 24

lower tax rates
* more financially attractive due to the lower costs for the most maximized profits for MNC to set up operations

reliable supply of labor
* large, young and growing pool of labor supported the industries that requires low wages, allowing the MNCs to achieve higher productivity and stronger economic growth

suitable location
* sizeable amount of land set aside for the development of industrial estates equipped with adequate facilities for factories and space for future expansion

good governance
* stable government under strong leaderships that is unlikely to change over times with structured policies and strong potential to be willing to do more than necessary to accommodate manufacturing factories

Question 25

how did attraction of MNC change singapore’s economic policy?

ATTRACTING FOREIGN INVESTMENT > ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 25

By attracting multinational corporations (MNC) to set up factories in Singapore, Singapore could adopt an export-oriented economic policy and majority of goods produced would be exported worldwide
* Texas instrument in 1969 marked the start of electronics industry

Question 26

what benefits did the new change have?

ATTRACTING FOREIGN INVESTMENT > ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 26

• Employment for thousands of people
• Valuable technical training and work experience for the local workforce
• Increased exports of locally manufactures goods to more overseas markets

Question 27

change in EDB policy?

ATTRACTING FOREIGN INVESTMENT > ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Answer 27

EDB reoriented the focus from labor-intensive industries to training the workforce for capital-intensive and higher-technology industries

Manufacturing activity in Singapore increased significantly. almost 150,000 jobs were created between 1967 and 1973 and by the early 1970s, unemployment was a thing of the past. In fact, there was a shortage of labor such that foreign workers had to be recruited. Singapore’s economy which had been vulnerable upon independence grew remarkably.