Singapore - a history on our multicultural society

(extraced from "A Short History of South-East Asia" by Peter Church)

Singapore is an immigrant society. When acquired by Britain in 1819 it was populated by only a few hundred Malays living simple lives in fishing villages. It is now a thriving city-state, with a population of 4.2million, and by far, the highest per-capita income in Asia outside of Japan.

The Chinese were the labour force on which British Singapore was built and Sngapore was the conduit for the hundreds of thousands recruited to colonial Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies. Most Chinese came to Singapore as impoverished indentured labourers. Their numbers increased greatly from the 17th century.

In the 19th century, the Chinese population of Singapore was predominantly male. Most came to Singapore hoping to make a fortune, send money back, to marry, buy land and live as prosperous farmers. Some succeeded. Most lived and died in Singapore as coolie labourers, reliant on prostitution for female company and dependent on secret societies, opium dens and gambling parlours.

By the early 20th century, there were nationalist movements demanding independence in most SEA colonies. Singapore was an exception. There was no sense of being Singaporean; people identified themselves as Chinese or Nanyang Chinese (overseas Chinese). Politically aware Chinese in Singapore were far more concerned about the great events convulsing China in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s than about events in Singapore.

The indian community was far from united, with major divisons between Hindus and Muslims and between southerners and northerners. These were cross-cut by further divisions of caste and region.

On the eve of the Pacific War, Singapore was a multiracial, multilingual and multi-religious society governed by a British elite.

A major theme in Singapore's history since the end of WWII is has been the continuous effort to create a national identity. What does itmean to be a Singaporean? How can the predominantly Chinese cultural heritage be transformed into a distinctly Singaporean culture? How best can a small, ethnically Chinese, island relate to its overwhelmingly more populous Malay-Muslim neighbours in Malaysia and Indonesia?