Bonniecanuck
DIEF WILL BE THE CHIEF AGAIN
- Location
- Formerly Hong Kong, currently London
- Pronouns
- she/her + they/them
Singapore's two-year stint in the Federation of Malaysia was marred by severe political tensions that culminated in deadly race riots that in time would contribute to its expulsion and independence in 1965. But what would've happened if the former Crown Colony was instead brought into the Federation of Malaya along with Malacca and Penang in 1947? By this time the British felt increasingly weary of their political hold in Southeast Asia and wanted to devolve their authority to local and regional positions, while nationalist sentiment was on the rise, spurred on by the Japanese invasion and occupation during the Second World War destroying any sense of the British Empire's infallible protection. Bringing Singapore into the Federation rather than keeping it as a Crown colony, while politically less face-saving for the British, probably could've helped them tackle the self-government issue earlier, and in the longer term ensure at least somewhat better political integration with the rest of Malaya. Additionally, integration could've provided more economic benefits, as even though Singapore's economy was still recovering, it could have benefited from access to the Malayan market to help facilitate commerce and trade as well as reconstruction.
On the flip side, the Malayan Emergency was on the verge of breaking out, and the Malayan Communist Party's presence in Singapore was already well-established by the time. Adding on to that, the failure of the Malayan Union, which had legally guaranteed the equality of the Malay, Chinese, and Indian populations, would've been another spanner in the works, as the Malays were unwilling to maintain the privileged position that the ethnic Chinese population had enjoyed, which was no more evident elsewhere than in Singapore. And of course the British were probably still going to want to keep Singapore because of its sheer strategic and economic value until holding onto it was no longer tenable.
So what was the feasibility of Singapore's integration into Malaya in 1947? And what would the outcome be? Would it eventually go independent as a result of ethnic, political, and economic tensions? Could this give rise to a Communist Malaya? How would politics and the economy be (re-)organised - would parties like the UMNO be more integrated, would governments take the form more of a Barisan Nasional-type coalition of politically like-minded parties representing various ethnic constituents, or perhaps single-party dominance akin to the PAP going across ethnic lines? Would the rest of Malaya benefit from commerce and trade in Singapore, and vice versa through Malaya's resources? Would Malaya even become Malaysia?
On the flip side, the Malayan Emergency was on the verge of breaking out, and the Malayan Communist Party's presence in Singapore was already well-established by the time. Adding on to that, the failure of the Malayan Union, which had legally guaranteed the equality of the Malay, Chinese, and Indian populations, would've been another spanner in the works, as the Malays were unwilling to maintain the privileged position that the ethnic Chinese population had enjoyed, which was no more evident elsewhere than in Singapore. And of course the British were probably still going to want to keep Singapore because of its sheer strategic and economic value until holding onto it was no longer tenable.
So what was the feasibility of Singapore's integration into Malaya in 1947? And what would the outcome be? Would it eventually go independent as a result of ethnic, political, and economic tensions? Could this give rise to a Communist Malaya? How would politics and the economy be (re-)organised - would parties like the UMNO be more integrated, would governments take the form more of a Barisan Nasional-type coalition of politically like-minded parties representing various ethnic constituents, or perhaps single-party dominance akin to the PAP going across ethnic lines? Would the rest of Malaya benefit from commerce and trade in Singapore, and vice versa through Malaya's resources? Would Malaya even become Malaysia?