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Text File | 1994-05-02 | 3.8 KB | 91 lines

<text> <title> Singapore: History </title> <article> <hdr> Background Notes: Singapore History </hdr> <body> Although Singapore's history dates from the 11th century, little was known about the island until the 19th century, when in 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles arrived as an agent of the British East India Company. In 1824, the British purchased Singapore Island, and by 1825, the city of Singapore had become a major port, with trade exceeding that of Malaya's Malacca and Penang combined. In 1830, Singapore, Penang, and Malacca were combined as the Straits Settlements to form an outlying residency of the British East India Company; in 1867, the Straits Settlements were made a British Crown Colony, an arrangement that continued until 1946. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the advent of steamships launched an era of prosperity for Singapore as transit trade expanded throughout Southeast Asia. In the 20th century, the automobile industry's demand for rubber from Southeast Asia and the packaging industry's need for tin helped make Singapore one of the world's major ports. It is now second largest in the world in terms of annual tonnage. In 1921, the British constructed a naval base, which was soon supplemented by an air base. The Japanese captured the island in February 1942, however, and it remained under their control until September 1945, when it was recaptured by the British. In 1946, Penang and Malacca were united in a single British Crown Colony called the Federation of Malaya; Singapore remained a separate colony. In 1959, Singapore became self-governing, and, in 1963, it joined the now-independent Federation of Malaya, Sabah, and Sarawak (the latter two former British Borneo territories) to form Malaysia. Indonesia adopted a policy of "confrontation" against the new federation, charging that it was a "British colonial creation," and severed trade with Malaysia. The move particularly affected Singapore, since Indonesia had been the island's second largest trading partner. The political dispute was resolved in 1966, and Indonesia resumed trade with Singapore. After a period of friction between Singapore and the central government in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore separated from Malaysia on August 9, 1965, and became an independent republic. Current Political Conditions The ruling political party in Singapore (in power since 1959) is the People's Action Party (PAP), headed by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. In the 1963 general elections, the PAP won 37 of the 51 seats in parliament. In October 1966, the opposition Barisan Sosialis Party (Socialist Front), a left-wing group that split off from the PAP in 1961, resigned from parliament, leaving the PAP as the sole representative party. In the April 1968 general elections, the PAP won all 58 seats--51 without opposition. In the general elections of 1972, 1976, and 1980, the PAP won all of the seats in an expanding parliament. In an October 1981 by-election, the PAP lost a seat to the Workers' Party Secretary General J.B. Jeyaretnam, the first time an opposition party had won a seat since 1963. In the 1984 elections, the PAP polled 62.9% of the popular vote, a 12% drop from 1980 returns, and lost a second seat. In 1988, the PAP polled 61.9% of the popular vote to win 80 of 81 seats. Following the 1988 elections, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew indicated that in 1990 he would retire as head of government but not from politics. First Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong has been designated to assume the office of prime minister as part of a transition process to a new generation of political leaders. Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, May 1990. </body> </article> </text>