Source Based Question Practice

Source A

The British Government of the Singapore

Because it was a trading port, the EIC had no interest in investing money to provide the settlement with the administrative structure it needed to rule effectively. While the EIC benefited from the port in terms of trade, there was not much revenue because Singapore was a free port. Rather than take a loss, they cut back expenditure on administration. In 1850, for example, the city had 59,023 people, but the police force consisted of only twelve constables and the governor was also the Chief of Police. The policemen were all Indians from Bengal, who had no idea what went on in the Chinese community. The British attitude was that as long as the problems in the Chinese community did not spill over into the community at large or threatens the economic health of the port, the Chinese could do what they liked.

Adapted from Jim Baker, Crossroads: A Popular History of Malaysia and Singapore,Times Book International

Source B

The Problem of Secret Societies in early Singapore

Another headache for the British Government in the 19th Century was internal law and order. Secret societies were more appealing to the Chinese population as they were looked upon as family compared to the foreign aliens. These organizations quickly gained control of the gambling dens and brothels, and set up protection rackets.
Riots originating from the crimes and rivalries of these different societies were frequent, and the British official, ignorant of any Chinese languages, were at a loss to know how to stop them. In 1851, a particularly vicious city-wide attack was made on all Chinese converts to Roman Catholicism, apparently regarded as a rival to the secret societies.

Adapted from Dick Wilson, East Meets West, Singapore, Times Printers SDN BHD, SIngapore

Compare Sources A and B. How similar are they in showing the British Government's policy towards the welfare of the people in early Singapore? Explain in detail. (Compare and contrast) (5m)

- This question requires you to provide both similarities and differences but the focus should be more on similarities. Hence you may give 2 similarities between Sources A and B and 1 difference.

- Focus on the key words in the question which would provide you with the criteria for comparison.

Similarities

Sources A and C are similar in showing the British Government’s policy towards the welfare of the people in Singapore. Source A shows that the govt had no interest in investing money as there was a shortage of revenue (showing evidence). This implies that the govt’s policy towards welfare is one of indifference. (conclusion) Source C also shows that the govt’s policy is one of care-less attitude because the source shows that riots, crimes and rivalries were rampant. Hence it implies that the govt did not care about the people.

In addition, Source A shows government had cut back on expenditure and there was only 12 policemen to a population of 59,023 people (evidence). This suggests that the govt did not really care about providing social services and law enforcement for the people.(conclusion). Similarly, Source C shows that vices like gambling and opium dens were controlled by secret societies. This implies that the govt did not do enough to stop the vices which meant that the govt’s attitude is bad.

Differences

On the other hand, Sources A and C are different in showing the govt’s policy. Source A shows the reason why the British did not invest was because of the lack of revenue and hence resulted in a care-less attitude whereas Source C merely shows that the secret societies were more appealing but did not explain the reason for the lack of welfare due to the government’s policy. Hence Source A is more detailed and specific while Source C is more factual.

In addition, Source A shows that the government’s policy was that the Chinese could do what they liked as long as trade was not disrupted. This suggests an attitude of resignation. However, Source C shows that the British officials were ignorant of the Chinese language and was at a loss of what to do. This implies the government did try but was not successful and hence does not show an indifferent attitude.

Structured Essay Question

Explain the causes of lawlessness in the early years of Singapore. (5m)

- This question requires you to provide the reasons why there is no law and order.

- Essentially you need to highlight the problems and then provide the reasons for these problems which resulted in no law and order.

The lawlessness in early Singapore was due to the problems created by the secret societies, piracy and the abuses of the coolie trade. Firstly, as a new settlement, Singapore attracted many immigrants. Hence many Chinese came to Singapore and some of them were criminals from China. Without any form of government’s regulation, immigrants were free to come and go. This made it difficult for the government to keep law and order. In addition secret societies were not made to register themselves and hence they could operate the gambling and opium dens without intervention by the government. This led to lawlessness in early Singapore.

In addition, piracy was rampant during the early days of Singapore. This is due to the poor conditions faced by the people in the Malay Archipelago and also the attractiveness of trade brought by foreign traders. This created a sense of insecurity amongst the people of Singapore. However, piracy was not stopped as there was a lack of government’ control. The British government had no revenue because Singapore was a free port. Besides, the British officials were mainly traders and hence they were not willing to spend money on improving the conditions for the people. Hence the British government had no interest in improving the welfare of the people as it would mean a loss of profits for them.

This lack of interest and intervention by the British government was also due to the fact that they do not understand the local culture and language of the immigrants. Most of the British officials were chosen by the Colonial Office and many had no experience in dealing with a foreign race and culture. This led to many misunderstandings and the Chinese would thus prefer to look upon the secret societies as their figure of authority. In addition, the policemen were mostly Indians and Sikhs. They were not able to enforce law and order because they could not understand the language of the locals. Besides, the police force was also very small as compared to the growing population and hence resulted in a lack of law and order in early Singapore.

Most importantly, this lack of knowledge of the local culture meant that the British Government was unable to understand the needs of the people. As such, they appeared nonchalant about the welfare of the people which resulted in most Chinese turning to secret societies for help and guidance. This created an atmosphere of mistrust between the locals and the government and enabled the secret societies to be more brazen in their operation of gambling and opium dens and even led to increased abuses of the coolies. With these activities, law and order in Singapore was lacking.