by Inoue Ikuyo

The history of Singapore has always been a controversial issue among academics and politicians alike, as various questions inevitably arise regarding the content, viewpoints and themes of a history of Singapore. When should Singapore’s history start – the fourteenth century or 1819? Should we write Singapore’s history as viewed by the Europeans or the locals?

The overall concept of the documentary is an attempt to portray the history of Singapore with the locals taking centre-stage, and their contributions – instead of the colonial powers’ – highlighted as the main driving force of Singapore through its evolution from a coastal port city into a global city state.

The documentary begins in the fourteenth century when Sri Tri Buana came upon the island then known as Temasek, and renamed it Singapura as depicted in the Sejarah Melayu.[i] The inclusion of Singapore’s history before 1819 will increase awareness of a more indigenous past and a greater appreciation of the presence of local characters, compared to the usual historiography – i.e. the heroic founding of modern Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles.

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Singapore’s history can be narrated from the fourteenth century as there is ample evidence to prove the existence of the settlement established by Sri Tri Buana. These include archaeological evidence unearthed during the 1984 excavations at places like Fort Canning Hill carried out by Dr John N Miksic.[ii] There were moreover eyewitness accounts from historical figures – e.g. Wang Dayuan’s description of Longyamen and Banzu[iii] as well as Dr John Crawfurd’s – the second Resident of Singapore – sighting of “antiquities” like “the tombs of the old Malay kings” on Fort Canning.[iv]

The roles of both Tengku Hussein and Temenggong Abdu’r-Rahman will also be highlighted in the documentary to put Raffles’ actions in context. The Temenggong had been responsible for welcoming Raffles to Singapore and Tengku Hussein was the one who granted permission to the East India Company to establish a factory on Singapore.[v] Yet there was hardly any mention of these two characters in history textbooks. Only one paragraph had made reference to Raffles acknowledging Tengku Hussein as the rightful heir to the throne in C.M. Turnbull’s book, A History of Singapore 1819-1988. In A History of Singapore, edited by Ernest C. T. Chew and Edwin Lee, there was no mention of the two historical figures.[vi]

In keeping with the local theme, the documentary will include their story to explore why they decided to allow the British to establish their company in Singapore. In this way, we could then view Singapore’s history from the perspective of the natives rather than simply focussing on Raffles and neglecting the roles and existence of Asian rulers like Tengku Hussein.[vii]

To better demonstrate the contributions of local historical figures, the patterns of trade which Singapore had experienced would also be discussed in the documentary to provide the setting, especially from 1819 to the 1870s when Singapore evolved from an entrepot trade centre to a staple port serving the Malayan hinterland.[viii]

The British colonial government was not solely responsible for the commercial success of Singapore contrary to popular belief. There existed in fact a “network of indigenous traders and merchants already active in the region” before Raffles landed in 1819.[x] The local Chinese, Malay and Indian communities working and living in Singapore from the nineteenth to the twentieth century were heavily involved in the building of schools, places of worship, publishing newspapers and even providing burial services[xi] for other fellow locals, for example, the founding of the first Chinese middle school, Nanyang Hua Chiao Chung Xue by Tan Kah Kee in 1919.[xii]

This clearly shows that the Asians of Singapore were also involved in the building of Singapore society. There was indeed “little support from the colonial government” in the creation of schools even though there had been an increased demand for education in the 1870s due to the growth of Singapore’s economy.[xiii] Highlighting local contributions to Singapore will allow the audience to understand the struggles they went through rather than merely narrating the privileged lives of the Europeans.

Another important milestone in Singapore’s history would be the Japanese Occupation from 1942 to 1945 when Singapore was renamed Syonan-to. This event has to be included in the documentary as the Japanese Occupation had both positive and negative impact on the origins of indigenous nationalism.

The locals were traumatised by the cruelty and hardship of Japanese rule and this not only spurred them on to rule Singapore themselves, but also created a bond and common history among them through the same hardships that they had suffered together.

According to Lee Kuan Yew, the Japanese Occupation had increased his determination for self-governance.[xiv] The Occupation also created local heroes such as Adnan Saidi, Lim Bo Seng and Elizabeth Choy.[xv] There were also consequences which while negative, were part of the nation-building process – such as the ensuing racial discord due to discriminatory Japanese policies.[xvi]

The journey in which Singapore had taken to achieve independence as a state from 1959 to 1965 is an integral part of Singapore’s history. Singapore attained internal self-government in 1959 with the People’s Action Party forming the first local government.[xvii] Singapore then became an independent state in 1965 following the separation from Malaysia. This incident is crucial in showing the audience the struggles that Singapore had gone through to attain independence to mark the beginning of present-day Singapore.

Finally, the documentary will end with the on-going story of nation-building in Singapore from 1965 to the 1980s. The process of creating a common identity and a bond among Singaporeans will be highlighted. For example, the implementation of National Service in 1967 to create a sense of common responsibility as well as the deliberate organisation of various ethnic groups in housing estates by the Housing and Development Board to promote social cohesion.[xviii]

On the whole, the documentary aims to provide the audience with an idea of how Singapore came to be a global nation from a coastal port city through an Asian perspective, rather than provide a colonial historiography of Singapore’s history without highlighting the contributions of the locals.

The author is currently a first-year undergrad majoring in Life Science in the Faculty of Science at NUS.

[i] Kwa Chong Guan, “From Temasik to Singapore: Locating a Global City State in the Cycles of Melaka Straits History” in Early Singapore 1300s to 1819: Evidence in Maps, Texts and artefacts, edited by John Miksic & Cheryl-Ann Low, (Singapore: National Heritage Board, 2004), p. 126.

[ii] John N Miksic, “14th-Century Singapore: A Port of Trade” in Early Singapore1300s to 1819: Evidence in maps, Texts and artefacts, edited by John Miksic & Cheryl-Ann Low, (Singapore: National Heritage Board, 2004), p. 46.

[iii] Ibid., p. 44.

[iv] Kwa, “From Temasik to Singapore”, p. 125.

[v] Kwa Chong Guan, “Why Did Tengku Hussein Sign the 1819 Treaty with Stamford Raffles?”, in Malays/Muslims in Singapore, Selected Readings in History 1819-1965, edited by Khoo Kay Kim, Elinah Abdullah and Wan Meng Hao, (Subang Jaya, Selangor: Pelanduk Publications, 2006), pp. 1-2.

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] Kwa, “From Temasik to Singapore”, p. 138.

[viii] Wong Lin Ken, “Commercial Growth Before the Second World War” in A History of Singapore, edited by Ernest Chew & Edwin Lee,(Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1991), p. 51.

[ix] Ibid.

[x] Mark Cleary and Goh Kim Chuan, Environment and Development in the Straits of Malacca, (London: Routledge, 2000), p. 107.

[xi] Carl A. Trocki, Singapore: Wealth, Power and the Culture of Control, (London and New York: Routledge, 2006), pp. 48, 67-69.

[xii] C.M. Turnbull, A History of Singapore, 1819-1975, (Kuala Lumpur; New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), p. 119.

[xiii] Trocki, Singapore, p. 69.

[xiv] Chew & Lee, A History of Singapore, p. 362.

[xv] Hong Lysa & Huang Jianli, “The Scripting of Singapore’s National Heroes: Toying with Pandora’s Box” in New Terrains in Southeast Asian History, edited by Abu Talib Ahmad & Tan Liok Ee, (Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2003), p. 225.

[xvi] Chew & Lee, A History of Singapore, p. 361.

[xvii] Ibid., p. 357

[xviii] Ibid., p. 364 and p. 357.

Tags: singapore history, Singapore Story

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