Post-war Singapore

Post-war Singapore refers to a period in the history of Singapore from 1945, when the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies at the end of World War II, until 1955, when Singapore gained partial internal self-governance. After Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 15, 1945, there was a state of anomiein Singapore, as the British had not arrived to take control, while the Japanese occupiers had a considerably weakened hold over the populace. Incidents of lootingand revenge-killing were widespread. When British troops returned to Singapore in September 1945, thousands of Singaporeans lined the streets to cheer them. Singapore was ruled by a British Military Administration (BMA) between September 1945 and March 1946, during which it also served as the headquarters of the British governor general for Southeast Asia. However much of the infrastructure had been destroyed, including electricity and water supplysystems, telephone services, as well as the harbour facilities at the Port of Singapore. There was also a shortage of food including rice, and this led to malnutrition, disease and rampant crimes and violence. Unemployment, high food prices, and workers' discontent culminated into a series of strikes in 1947 causing massive stoppages in public transport and other services. By late 1947, the economy began to recover, facilitated by the growing demand for tin and rubber around the world. But it would take several more years before the economy returned to pre-war levels. The failure of the British to defend Singapore had destroyed their credibility as infallible rulers in the eyes of Singaporeans. The decades after the war saw a political awakening amongst the local populace and the rise of nationalist and anti-colonialsentiments, including a cry for Merdeka, roughly translated to "independence" in the Malay language. The British, on their part, were prepared to embark on a program of gradually increasing self-governance for Singapore and Malaya. On 1 April 1946, the Straits Settlements was dissolved and Singapore became a Crown Colony with a civil administration headed by a Governor and separated from peninsular Malaya. In July 1947, separate Executive and Legislative Councils were established and provisions were made to allow for the election of six members of the Legislative Council the next year. 

Website : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-war_Singapore  (Date Accessed : 13 February 2013 )

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How and when did the Japanese surrendered ?

The state of war between Japan and the Allies formally ended when the Treaty of San Francisco came into force on April 28, 1952. Four more years passed before Japan and the Soviet Union signed the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, which formally brought an end to their state of war.

The surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, brought the hostilities of World War II to a close. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Late in the evening of August 8, 1945, in accordance with the Yalta agreements, but in violation of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact, the Soviet Union declared war on the Empire of Japan, and soon after midnight on August 9, 1945, the Soviet Union invaded the Imperial Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. Later that day, the United States dropped another atomic bomb, this time on the city of Nagasaki. The combined shock of these events caused Emperor Hirohito to intervene and order the Big Six to accept the terms for ending the war that the Allies had set down in the Potsdam Declaration. After several more days of behind-the-scenes negotiations , Emperor Hirohito gave a recorded radio address to the Empire on August 15. In the radio address, called the Gyokuon-hōsō ("Jewel Voice Broadcast"), he announced the surrender of the Empire of Japan to the Allies .

On August 28, the occupation of Japan by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers began. The surrender ceremony was held on September 2, aboard the United States Navy battleship USS Missouri (BB-63), at which officials from the Japanese government signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, thereby ending the hostilities in World War II. Allied civilians and military personnel alike celebrated V-J Day, the end of the war; however, some isolated soldiers and personnel from Imperial Japan's far-flung forces throughout Asia and the Pacific islands refused to surrender for months and years afterwards, some even as far as into the 1970s. Since the surrender of the Empire of Japan, historians have continually debated the ethics of using the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Website :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrender_of_Japan ( Date Accessed : 13 February 2013 )

How did the Japanese treated you ?

The Kempeitai (Japanese military secret police) committed numerous atrocities against the common people. They introduced the system of "Sook Ching", which means "purge through purification", to get rid of those deemed as anti-Japanese. The Sook Ching Massacre claimed the lives of between 25,000 and 50,000 ethnic chinese in Singapore and Malaya. These men were rounded up and taken to deserted spots around the island and killed systematically. Besides, the Kempeitai established a network of informers around the island to help them identify those who were anti-Japanese. These informers were well-paid by the Kempeitai and had no fear of being arrested. Japanese soldiers patrolled the streets and commoners had to bow to them when they passed by. Those who failed to do so would be beaten and some people would be taken away. 

Website : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Singapore  (Date Accessed : 13 February 2013 )

How and when did the British surrendered ?

By the morning of 15 February , the Japanese had broken through the last line of defence and the Allies were running out of food and ammunition . The anti-aircraft guns had also run out of ammunition and were unable to repel any further Japanese air attacks which threatened to cause heavy casualties in the city centre . Looting and desertion by Allied troops further added to the chaos in the city centre . At 09:30, Percival held a conference at Fort Canning with his senior commanders. Percival proposed two options : either launch an immediate counter-attack to regain the reservoirs and the military food depots in the Bukit Timah region and drive the enemy's artillery off its commanding heights outside the town ; or capitulate. All present agreed that no counterattack was possible . Percival opted for surrender . A deputation was selected to go to the Japanese headquarters. It consisted of a senior staff officer, the colonial secretary and an interpreter. They set off in a motor car bearing a Union Jack and a white flag of truce toward the enemy lines to discuss a cessation of hostilities. They returned with orders that Percival himself proceed with staff officers to the Ford Motor Factory , where Yamashita would lay down the terms of surrender. A further requirement was that the Japanese Rising Sun Flag be hoisted over the tallest building in Singapore , the Cathy Building , as soon as possible to maximise the psychological impact of the official surrender. Percival formally surrendered shortly after 17:15 . 

The terms of the surrender included:

• The unconditional surrender of all military forces (Army , Navy and Air Force) in Singapore. 
• Hostilities to cease at 20:30 that evening .
• All troops to remain in position until further orders.
• All weapons , military equipment , ships , planes and secret documents to be handed over intact .

To prevent looting , etc , during the temporary withdrawal of all armed forces in Singapore, a force of 1,000 British armed men to take over until relieved by the Japanese . Earlier that day Percival had issued orders to destroy before 16:00 all secret and technical equipment , ciphers , codes , secret documents and heavy guns . Yamashita accepted his assurance that no ships or planes remained in Singapore. According to Tokoyo's Domei News Agency Yamashita also accepted full responsibility for the lives of British and Australian troops , as well as British civilians remaining in Singapore . Bennett—along with some of his staff officers—caused controversy when he handed command of the 8th Division to a brigadier and commandeered a small boat . They eventually made their way back to Australia . 

Website : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Singapore  ( Date Accessed : 17 February 2013 )

Key Battles in Singapore and Malaya ( 8 December 1941 – 31 January 1942 )

The Malayan Campaign was a campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya , from 8 December 1941 to 31 January 1942 during the Second War World . By 1940 , the army commander in Malaya , Lieutenant -General Lionel Bond conceded that a successful defence of Singapore demanded the defence of the whole peninsula , and that the naval base alone would not be sufficient to deter a Japanese invasion . The defence strategy rested on two basic assumptions : first , that there would be sufficient early warning of an attack to allow for reinforcement of British troop , and second , that American help was at hand in case of attack .  By late 1941, it became clear that neither of these assumptions had any real substance . Once the Second World War commenced, Britain and the Middle East received higher priorities in the allocation of men and material. The desired Malayan air forces strength of 300–500 aircraft was never reached . When the Japanese invaded, they had over 200 Tanks . The British had plans for a pre-emptive invasion of southern Thailand, named Operation Matador , to forestall Japanese landings , but decided not to use them .

Website : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayan_Campaign  ( Date Accessed : 17 February 2013 )

Operation Clean Up ( Sook Ching Operation ) (18 February to 4 March 1942 )

The Sook Ching massacre was a systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore by the Japanese military during the Japanese occupation of Singapore , after the British colony surrendered on 15 February 1942 following the Battle of Singapore . The Sook Ching operation was later extended to include the Chinese in Malaya as well . The massacre took place from 18 February to 4 March 1942 at various places in region . The term of  Sook Ching means " a purge through cleansing ' in chinese . The Japanese referred it as  Kakyōshukusei or Shingapōru Daikenshō . The current Japanese term for the massacre is Shingapōru Kakyōgyakusatsujiken . No dispute in scholarly circles that the massacre had took place but the Japanese and Singaporean sources disagree about the death toll .




Website : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sook_Ching_massacre ( Date Accessed : 14 February 2013 )

Japanese Occupation of Singapore (1942 )

The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War Two occurred between 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942 . Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian , British , Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore . The occupation of them was to become a major turning point in the history of several nations , including that of Japan , Britain and the then-colonial state of Singapore . Singapore was renamed to ' Syonanto ' which means ' Southern Island gained in the age of Showa . The name is frequently mistranslated as 'Light of the South ' , even the Singapore textbooks . 

Website : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_Singapore ( Date Accessed : 13 February 2013 )