Blog Topic 5

Singapore's struggle to achieve internal self-government in the period 1945 - 1959 had its costs. Was it worth it? Give at least 2 reasons to support your stand.

Of course it was worth it. If we hadn't made an effort to achieve self-government, we would probably still be under the control of the British.

The British didn't understand and treat Singapore like their how they would treat their own country. They treated Singapore as a place where they had power over the people and a place where there was prosperity and they could make lots of money out of trades and such.

Firstly, the local people of Singapore express their dissatisfaction with the British through many riots throughout 1945 and 1959, just to name a few, the Anti-National Service riots and the Hock Lee Bus riots.Even thought much destruction was caused in our country. The message it conveyed to the British made them wake up that we were not at all happy with how the British was ruling us. More and more riots took place as the British couldn't control them properly and didn't bother to make changes that caused these riots in the first place.

Secondly, The British were being a little biased towards other races which is unfair for the people of Singapore, which is also unjust considering that the British were the governing us. Also it would be more appropriate that if the local people ruled Singapore. The local people of Singapore knew the people best. They knew what living conditions they were living in and they knew how hard it was to earn a living at that time. Honestly, i really think that the local people would govern us better than the British.

In conclusion i definitely think that Singapore's struggle for internal self-government was worth it, despite all its costs.