They wren't getting enough pay,hence they riot to get more pay.They had poor living conditions as well.
Racial Tension - Maria Hertogh
- 1964 race riot
Significance of political figures - David Marshall
Hock Lee bus riots:
Source 1;
From youtube video:
http://youtu.be/7yDv2r783Tk
Quek Sin Liang ; an ex Hock Lee Bus worker
"Our pay was little,and the company refused to increase it.So we joined the Union to ask for more pay.We also worked long hours.Our Union leaders met with the company ,but there was no result,so we decided to strike. It was frightening.The stones fell all over the place.If you were older,you'd be unable to take the blows."
Source 2
Source shows the reason why did the riot started , showing the relationship between both parties , the employee and boss.
Why did they want to strike?
They wanted more pay and better living conditions for the long hours they put in at work.
1964 Racial Riot
From youtube video
http://youtu.be/sHoVRK_OrmA
Haji Aliman Hassan ; eye witness
"Whilst still at a distance ,an idea struck me.I turned my car radio from the Malay to the Mandarin station.And then they stopped me.They thought I was chinese because of the way I looked.They asked me in Hokkien:"Where are you going?" Because i was not so fluent in Hokkien,I answered them in cantonese,"I want to go home."They asked me where i stayed and I told them I lived at Jalan Sultan.They told me not to go home as many Malays were attacking Chinese.I told them it was alright because they were all my friends.They wanted me to leave this place quickly.And that's what I did.Otherwise,I might haven been beaten to death.
This shows that the Malays were only attacking the Chinese , that's why they asked Haji Aliman Hassan to leave quickly ,worried that he may get injured as well as he looked like a Chinese.
Why did the riot start?
The racial riots were, by far, the worst and most prolonged in Singapore's post-war history. A number of factors contributed to the outbreak of violence:
(1) to enforce their policy of Confrontation with the newly-formed Federation of Malaysia, a number of Indonesian activists had infiltrated into Singapore in attempts to arouse the religious fervour of the more fanatical Malays;
(2) Chinese Secret Society gangs seized the opportunity to stir up violence;
(3) inflammatory reporting in the vernacular press helped to fan racial emotions.
Hence, the Deputy Premier, Dr. Toh Chin Chye, suggested on 2 August 1964 that legislation be introduced to prohibit newspapers from publishing articles which incite communal strife. Furthermore, the leaders of both the Federal Government of Malaysia and the State Government of Singapore gave firm assurances that everyone, regardless of racial origin, "has a place under the Malaysian sun and all will be looked after without discrimination."
Source: The Sunday Times, 16 August 1964
Significance of Political Figures
http://www.slideshare.net/theracie/chapter-eight
Why did the British did not like Davis Marshall?
The British were not certain that the Marshall administration could protect British interests and prevent Singapore from falling into the hands of the communists. This was because Marshall seemed unwilling to arrest and imprison the communists.When Marshall requested for more authority for his government, the Governor turned him down. Marshall believed that the amount of self-government given by the British was insufficient and requested for full self-government.
David Marshall's contributions to Singapore?
The policies and ideas that Marshall introduced before and during his short tenure as Chief minister was later expanded and implemented by the Lim Yew Hock government and the PAP government. He inspired the meet-the-people sessions. During his tenure as the Chief Minister, the All-party Report on Education Policy and a white paper on education policy were published. They proposed many revolutionary ideas such as multilingualism and emphasis on learning English, which formed the basis for Singapore's present educational system.
Marshall also advocated use of multilingualism in the Legislative Council to get all citizens to participate in the affairs of the country. In 1958, it was implemented by the Lim Yew Hock government. Marshall proposed a scheme to resolve citizenship issue for the 220,000 China-born Chinese, which set the tone for future Singapore citizenship schemes. He appointed B. R. Sreenivasan to head the Malayanization Commission committee to look into appointing locals in the Civil Service. Sreenivasan's recommendations were included in the White Paper on Malaynization passed by the assembly later in 1956.
Marshall was instrumental in passing the Labour Ordinance towards the end of 1955 which brought an end to long work shifts. When he was in the Progressive Party, Marshall was interested in the idea of Provident Fund and in fact paid a lawyer to get some advice on this. When he came into office, the Central Provident Fund Ordinance of 1953 was amended exempting employees earning less than $200. He established an elected City Council which replaced the Rural Board. In this, he saw the opportunity to train and educate the populace on democracy and, later, self government.
Maria Hertogh Riot
Racial tension
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_83_2005-02-02.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPPRERt3m18
Why did the riot start?
The riots were a result of the court battle for custody of a young girl,Maria.
How did Maria feel throughout the riot?
Maria Hertogh also known as Nadra,herself on May 2009
"I didn't want her(birth mom). I despise her.Why does she come to make trouble?I didn't want her.She never loved me,that's why she gave me away."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdFtO6aOH_k
From Maria, documentary video
"I shouted I don't want to go,i want to stay here. They never loved me,I wasn't the boy they wanted"
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/tv/tvshows/daysofrage/nadra/959854.html
Why were the Muslims angered?
British did not recognize her marriage at the age of 13 as she was underage and not having the consent of her foster parents. Muslims were angry as they felt that their Muslim Laws were not respected by the British.
The riots highlighted the insensitive way the media handled religious and racial issues in Singapore. The British colonial authorities also failed to defuse an explosive situation when emotional reports appeared in the local press of the custody battle accompanied by sensational media photographs of a Muslim girl in a Catholic convent.
Although the rioters were mainly Malays, they included a large number of foreigners including Indian, Pakistani and Indonesian Muslims. Added to this, the mainly Malay Police Force appeared to sympathise with the Muslim rioters and displayed some measure of deliberate inaction and defection during the riots. Gurkha Police Riot Squad Detachment, constituting at least 149 men were unfortunately not utilised and were in fact withdrawn at critical locations.
As a result of this historic event, the Government of Singapore, upon independence in 1965, instituted legislation against racial discrimination. It became an offence to incite racial and religious hatred in Singapore. The local media exercised greater discipline in the coverage of sensitive issues. National integration and nation-building took top priority in the formulation of government policies.
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