Chapter 6 - How did World War II Affect Singapore?To what extent was the Fall of Singapore the fault of the British?

What did the British do to defend Singapore before the War? Britain developed the ‘Main Fleet to Singapore’ strategy: meaning, Britain

would send ships from Europe to Asia if there was trouble Naval base was constructed in Singapore, completed in 1938 Defense system in Singapore:

15-inch guns mounted on Singapore, facing the sea to prevent any attack from the sea

Military airfields built in Tengah & Sembawang Underground bunkers built at Fort Canning, Labrador & Sembawang

As a result Singapore was known as the ‘impregnable’ fortress of the British Empire in the East

Events in other parts of the world: 1937, Japan invaded China USA & many other countries cut off oil supply to Japan in protest Japan began to plan to seize Southeast Asia for its oil & other raw materials Sep 1939, war broke out in Europe Sep 1940 Japan, Italy & Germany signed treaty of friendship & called

themselves the Axis Powers 1941, more troops from India, Britain & Australia arrived in Singapore 2 Dec 1941, HMS Prince of Wales & HMS Repulse also arrived 7 Dec 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbour in Hawaii Japan attacked Malaya & other parts of Southeast Asia at the same time 10 Dec 1941 the Japanese sank Prince of Wales & Repulse off the coast of

Kuantan

Why did the British fail to stop the Japanese? Before the war the Japanese set up intelligence services in Singapore & Malaya

to gather info on British defense & readiness The British also under estimated the Japanese that they were inferior

militarily In fact the British were wrong as the Japanese had a large modern air force

& naval fleet The British on the other hand had old & outdated planes The Japanese were better trained in jungle warfare The Japanese used tanks & bicycles to move around in the Malayan jungles.

The Battle of Malaya lasted only 7 weeks (Textbook, p.103) The Battle for Singapore lasted 2 weeks (Textbook, p.104) Surrender!

15/2/1941, General Percival wanted to fight on but his commanders advised otherwise

On the same day, General Percival & General Yamashita met at Ford Factory and signed the agreement of surrender

How did the people of Singapore react to the Japanese attack?

Many did not expect an attack from the Japanese Even after the Japanese attack had started, many Singaporeans thought that

the British would be able to hold the Japanese back Most did not expect the defeat & fall of Singapore

Changes the Japanese Occupation made Singapore was re-named Syonan-to or Light of the South/the Radiant South Fear and punishments

The Japanese military police, the Kempeitai were sent to Singapore to ‘maintain law & order’

The European soldiers & civilians had to march for a long distance to reach their prisons

‘Fear’ was used to rule & control Singapore Punishments were fast & harsh for even the smallest offense Many suspects were tortured or killed at the Kempeitai centre

The Eurasians The Eurasians were harshly treated as they were involved as members of the

Singapore Volunteer Corps & they fought hard against the Japanese Many were sent to prison & those suspected of helping the British were

executed

Malays and Indians The Malays & Indians were treated better as they were not viewed as threats to

the Japanese They tried to win the support of the Malays & Indians by promising them that

they would be freed from British rule The Indians were given the promise that Japan would help free India However some still suffered if they did not obey or please the Japanese Many Malays were sent to the ‘Death Railway’ in Thailand

The Chinese The Chinese however were victims to the Japanese rule This was due to the strong support the local Chinese gave to the Chinese govt

when the Japanese attacked China in 1937 Money was raised & sent back to China to help in the war Many went back to join the war against the Japanese Local Chinese businessmen organized boycotts of Japanese goods When the Japanese took over Singapore, the ‘Kempeitai’ carried out the ‘Sook

Ching’campaigns to identify & eliminate all suspected anti-Japanese Chinese All Chinese men between 18 & 50 years of age were summoned to reporting

centres at the YMCA building & the Central Police Station They were ‘examined’ by informers who wore hoods or masks & the anti-

Japanese ones were ‘identified’ The lucky ones who were not ‘identified’ were given a small piece of paper with

the Chinese word ‘examined’ rubber-stamped on them & sent home.

Those ‘identified’ were loaded up onto lorries & they were sent to Changi & other beaches where they were executed

The Chinese were made to pay the Japanese $50 million as a punishment for their involvement in the anti-Japanese war in China

Propaganda The Japanese tried to influence the minds of Singaporeans by using the

newspapers, the schools & the radio The Straits Times changed its name to the Shonan Times Reports were in favour of the Japanese & the West was constantly condemned

in the papers Schools had to teach the Japanese spirit (Nippon Seishin) Morning assembly would start the day & the whole school had to face the

direction of Japan & sing the Japanese national anthem (Kimigayo) Taisho or mass drill was compulsory for everyone in the school Teachers had to learn Japanese & all students had to study the language on the

school’s broadcasting services Radio stations were controlled by the Japanese & people could only listen to

these stations Those caught listening to foreign ones would be harshly punished or killed Only Japanese movies & propaganda films were allowed in the cinemas

The Hard Life People faced food shortages because trade was disrupted & all resources were

taken by the Japanese for their war efforts elsewhere Rationing introduced for basic goods like rice, salt & sugar Each household given a ‘Peace Living Certificate’ Using the certificate they were given ration cards to purchase essential goods They would lined up at the kumiai shop/distribution association for hours to buy

those goods Many suffered from malnutrition & diseases Essential goods were sold at high prices in the ‘black market’. Situation became worse when the Japanese printed the banana notes without

any limit The notes were not serialised, printed on poor quality paper & could be easily

forged Within months the value of the banana notes dropped making prices of goods

very high & thus people suffered even more

Anti-Japanese Activities Malayan Communist Party (MCP) formed the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese

Army (MPAJA) Force 136 formed with the support from the British with Lim Bo Seng as 1 of its

leaders Both carried out espionage, sabotages & guerilla warfare

Did life return to normal after the end of the Japanese Occupation? The Japanese surrendered in August 1945 after the dropping of the 2 atomic

bombs on August 6 & 9

12 Sep 1945 many Singaporeans were the Padang cheering for the return of the British

A provisional (temporary) govt called the British Military Administration (BMA) was set up to rule Singapore till 1 Apr 1946

The people in Singapore faced many problems after the war: Overcrowded living conditions, poor sanitation, lack of healthcare services,

unemployment But more seriously, shortage of food & lack of housing Shortage of water, electricity & telephone services Streets were dirty & virtually no law and order in the night The Japanese POWs were made to restore electricity, gas & other basic

services The harbour was cleared to allow ships to come in to unload the food supplies Port facilities were gradually restored Food rationing was introduced to ensure everyone had some basic food People’s Restaurants were set up to sell food at reasonable prices Food supplies increased after trade links re-established with other countries Rental of houses were high as there were shortage of housing People were forced to live in small & congested environment A law on rent control was introduced to stop exploitative landlords Some flats were built to help soothe the problem