Essay on Singapore: Ancient Buddhist Kingdom of Srivijaya's Outpost Since 5th Century AD

Introduction

Singapore Island served as the Sumatran Empire of Sriviya's outpost with the native inhabitants comprising of the pirates and fishermen. Since the 5th century AD, traders traveling between India and China are reported to have been plowing water in Singapore. For that reason, the country was the ancient Buddhist Kingdom of Srivijaya, which influenced the entire region between the 7th and 19th even with it being situated at Palembang, Sumatra ("Singapore History," n.d.). With the rise of Islam, Srivijaya was overshadowed in the 13th century, making Singapore become a Malacca empire. Located at the western coast of the current Peninsula Malaysia, Malacca dramatically grew into a center of commerce and thriving free port. By 1511, Malacca kingdom began to collapse under the Portuguese dominance and sway. As a result, the Muslim traders and merchants who founded the Malacca commercial moved to the smaller sultanate in Johor, new Catholic rule, and the Malaysian Peninsula in the south from Singapore.

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The superior Dutch ended Portuguese dominance over Malacca in 1644. The Dutch ruled until 1875. When Holland was defeated in a war in Europe by the British, the British longed to extend their powers in Southeast Asia such as Malacca ("Singapore History," n.d.). In 818, after the Napoleonic had ended, the British had agreed to give the Dutch their possessions. Based on this agreement, some of the people expressed their disappointment with the country lacking an expansion to influence Southeast Asia.

Singapore's economy improved significantly from the 19th and 20th centuries, an entirely different from most of the African countries that were under European control by that time. In Asia as a whole, the political clouds began to gather between the 1940s and 1950s (Tarulevicz, 2017). During this period, Japan wanted to have more control over land and natural resources. With that quest of power, Japan invaded China between 1931 and 1937, forcing the Chinese immigrants in Singapore to express their divergent views.

Japanese conducted a quick and successful invasion, in 1942, over Singapore. Japanese surprisingly penetrated through the jungles of Malaysia and Thailand, an act that could not be comprehended by the British guiding the southern sea (Tarulevicz, 2017). The Japanese invasion of Singapore forced the British to surrender, and most Europeans were held in custody in Padang where they were later sent to prison In Changi Prison.

Integration of Singapore

The British declared Sarawak, Sabah, Malay, and Singapore as the independent states of Malaysia in 1963. In this union, Singapore lasted for two years, where it decided to boot out of the Malaysian federation leading to various disagreements such as racial issues. Having gained its own independence, Singapore became steadfast in its ambitious plans, such as creating a telecommunication structure, modernizing its ports, building roads, and public housing ("Singapore History," n.d.). Singapore integrated English as its official language to enhance communication among the races. The idea of these aspirations was to put Singapore's nation at the leading front of commerce. By the late 1980s, the country had grown from a small and fragile state without any proven natural resources to a developed industrialized economy.

European Quest of Singapore

The strategic location of Singapore Island attracted sir Stamford Raffles. With an excellent harbor at the Island, Sir Stamford made the place a British tradition station providing a free trade policy that allured traders from all over Asia, including the merchants from the Middle East and America. Europeans were attracted to Singapore, especially during the opening of the Suez Canal. British could use the canal to boost their trades, making Singapore grow its importance.

Struggle for Independence

In 1945, the Japanese surrendered Singapore to the British, whose leadership was questioned by most of the natives. At the end of the war between the Japanese and British, the British had decided to group Peninsula Malay State where they exercised their power under Malayan Union over Sarawak and Sabah in Borneo (Tarulevicz, 2017). Singapore having a larger population of Chinese was excluded from the union.

The country found it hard to rebuild itself after the war. The previous battle had stroked the nation with ideological differences, unemployment, and poverty ("Singapore Profile," 2018). Besides the communist groups such as the socialist Malayan Democratic Union, Communist General Labor Union, and Malayan Communist Party had acquired massive support. These grievances were held by the public but were highly manifested by the communist groups

By the beginning of the 1950s, the Communists groups had launched an armed struggle campaign in Malaya, which was marked by the British declaring a state of emergency. In that process, the communist groups were outlawed. The communist, even after that experience, performed 12-year guerilla warfare (Wong, 2015). Gradually, the left-wing politics was snuffed out in Singapore and Malay state. Lee Kuan Yew, a rising star, emerged in the local political scene leading the socialist People' Action Party. In 1959, Lee became the first Prime Minister in Singapore.

Impacts of Independence

Like most nations before independence, the struggle of independence was marred with political tension and poverty. In the process, many people had lost their lives, especially when the British declared the states of emergency. In Singapore, most of the Chinese population was excluded from national matters ("Singapore History," n.d.). Such that they were subjected to hard labor, reduced wages, and inadequate housing.

However, after gaining independence, Singapore has improved its industrial economy in a place where land and resources were inadequate. Today, Singapore is one of the primary oil refining and distribution centers.

Post-Independence Problems

After gaining its self-government in 1959, Singapore was experiencing widespread population growth and a high employment rate. The country's economy was suffering from reduced trade with key trading partners, which was fueled by Indonesian-Malaysian Konfrontasi that occurred between 1963 and 1966. The depletion of the economy was further intensified by the withdrawal of British military forces which lasted from 1968 and 1971.

The other issue that was pressing the country was inadequate and proper housing, where most of the country's population resided in unsanitary conditions and slums ("Singapore Profile," 2018). The state also experienced ethnic tensions with communal clashes of 1964 and Maria Hertogh riots. The government under the PAP party implemented a host of policies on matters that dealt with the economic and social issues to create a state where there is a long-term social and economic development.

Communism

The communist groups were created based on political upheavals, lack of ideological direction, unemployment, and post-war climate of poverty. The groups that gained accessible supports to agitate for human rights in curbing the challenges, as mentioned earlier, included socialist Malayan Democratic Union, Communist General Labor Union, and Malayan Communists (Wong, 2015). The group conducted twelve-year guerilla warfare to counter the superior British force. The country's economy deteriorated, and many lives were lost in the process. These groups were aggressive in advocating for the Chinese population's rights and freedom.

References

Singapore History. (n.d.). Hotels.com - Deals & Discounts for Hotel Reservations from Luxury Hotels to Budget Accommodations. https://www.hotels.com/go/singapore/singapore-history

Singapore Profile. (2018, May 10). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15971013

Tarulevicz, N. (2017). A Brief History of Singapore. University of Illinois Press. https://doi.org/10.5406/illinois/9780252038099.003.0002

Wong, T. (2015, August 5). Could Singapore Have Become Communist? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33621862