In 1919, Singapore celebrated the centenary of the establishment of a trading port by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. Despite the Great Depression in the 1920s, the number of new migrants rose as the decade went by. In 1931 alone, for instance, the census report showed that the Chinese population reached 421,821. At this stage, there were two political organizations that sought to galvanize the Chinese. One was the Singapore branch of the Kuomintang (KMT) formed in 1912 and revived in the 1920s. The other was the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) which was founded in 1930. The MCP headquarters was in Singapore and was responsible to the Far Eastern Bureau of the Communist International in Shanghai. The 1930s was to mark a period of co-operation and political rivalry between both organizations as they sought to gain the support of the Chinese in Singapore.
1. Understanding the Anti-Japanese Feelings of the Chinese
Many Chinese looked towards China as their homeland. They saw themselves as "sojourners", coming down to Singapore to earn a living, and when things improved in China, to return home as rich men. In the 1930s especially, the political consciousness of the Chinese intensified and it was targeted at Japan:in 1931, Japan had invaded Manchuria, all Chinese officials and forces were driven out and Japan set up a puppet regime with the area renamed as Manchukuo; on 7 July 1937, the Japanese invaded China proper. Within the course of the next two years, Japan obtained possession of most of the ports, railways and chief cities.
2. Anti-Japanese Mobilization in Singapore
2.1 Contributions to War Funds
The KMT called for the Chinese in Singapore to raise money and sent volunteers back to China to fight the Japanese. The Nanyang Chinese National Salvation Movement was set up with Tan Kah Kee as the leading figure in anti-Japanese activities. In August, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce organized the Singapore Chinese General Association for the Relief of Refugees in China, with Tan Kah Kee as the president. In October 1937, Tan Kah Kee also headed a Malayan fund-raising movement that sought to sell Chinese government subscription bonds among the Malayan Chinese.
2.2 Boycott of Japanese Goods
The movement also organized the boycott of Japanese goods. Anti-Japanese feelings ran high as Chinese landlords evicted Japanese tenants, Chinese schools taught anti-Japanese propaganda, and shops selling Japanese goods were blacklisted by various groups. The Chinese National Emancipation Vanguard Corps, for instance, sent threatening letters to merchants selling Japanese goods and splashed tar on their signboards. Furthermore, under the guise of the All-Malayan National Liberation Front, the MCP used its influence to play a role in organizing anti-Japanese activities.
2.3 Organization of Conferences, Establishment of Associations and Co-ordination of Anti-Japanese Activities
In October 1938, the anti-Japanese organizations from various countries in Southeast Asia gathered in Singapore for a conference and organized a new Nanyang Chinese Relief General Association, whose aim was to co-ordinate the anti-Japanese activities in the region. Tan Kah Kee was elected chairman, and the Nanyang Siang Pau (established in 1923 by Tan Kah Kee) became the mouthpiece of the new organization. With a membership of more than 20,000, the association sought to raise money through the sale of Chinese government bonds, obtain investments for industries in China, and send men to work on the Burma Road. According to Tan Kah Kee, about $5,530 million Chinese dollars were sent to China between 1937 and 1942.
3. General Political Attitudes Before World War II
The Chinese and Indian immigrants were generally concerned about the politics of their respective motherland. Most Indians had little interest in Malaya prior to World War II and their activities were mostly directed towards their mother country, where they held strong economic, political and sentimental ties. Many of the Indians also did not place much dependence on their leaders in their struggle to improve their conditions and the majority of the Indians in pre-war Singapore were politically not too concerned. As for the Malays, their anti-imperialist activities were limited by poor organization, ineffective propaganda and lacked leadership. Before 1937, Chinese anti-imperialist movements were limited in scope and all their efforts were hindered by the lack of unity.
4. Anti-Japanese Activities and its Effects on the Local Japanese Community
The anti-Japanese activities following the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 did not affect the Japanese community in Singapore as few of them repatriated their families. In 1934, however, Mr. Yoshio Nishimura, the President of the Japanese Association, was arrested for espionage. On 5 December 1934, he committed suicide at the Central Police Station at Tanjong Pagar. On 4 August 1935, the Japanese Club was attacked by a Chinese mob. As international tensions worsened, 4,500 Japanese and 423 Japanese school students were repatriated from the island in 1936. Finally, on 23 December 1941, about two weeks after Japanese troops landed at Kota Bahru, the Japanese Consulate was closed.
5. Defence Arrangements
The people in Singapore left the defence of the island entirely to the British Empire. Reinforcements were brought in from India, Australia and New Zealand from the late 1930s to boost the military strength on the island. The Naval Base which cost ú63,000,000 to build was opened by Governor Sir Shenton Thomas in 1938, and Air-Raid Precaution (ARP) units set up. New airfields were constructed at Tengah and Sembawang. Heavy artillery and anti-aircraft defences were placed at Changi. These were supported by concrete machine-gun pillboxes, searchlights, barbed wire and other obstacles along the southern beaches. Fortress Singapore was built on the assumption that any attack on the island would be a sea-borne one, since it was believed that the dense jungle, malarial marshes and the wet, humid climate of the Malay Peninsula would hinder and deter any attempt from that direction. In the early months of 1938, British commanders had envisioned the possibility that the Japanese could potentially attack from the north thereby skirting all the major defensive emplacements that made Singapore the "Gibraltar of the East". This military plan was known as "Operation Matador". However, the plan did not materialize as resources needed to implement were not allocated by the British government in London. Sir Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister then had given priority to the defence of Europe, Russia and the Middle East over that of Malaya and Singapore. On 13 January 1941, Churchill noted that "the political situation in the Far East does not seem to require, and the strength of our Air Force by no means warrants, the maintenance of such large forces in the Far East at this time".
However, infantry brigades from India as well as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) arrived to boost British military strength on the island. The British defence also included men from the Singapore Volunteer Corps (SVC) and the Malay Regiment. At 5.30 pm on 2 December 1941, a British flotilla named Force Z arrived at the Naval Base. This task force consisted of two battleships - the HMS Prince of Wales and the HMS Repulse - and four destroyers - the Electra, Express, Vampire and Tenedos. But up to the moment just before the outbreak of war, as far as the public was concerned, Singapore was still seen as an impregnable fortress that could repel all enemy attacks. Consequently, life went on as usual for the British in Singapore. Keeping mainly to themselves, they continued to live a lifestyle of being "English-away-from-home". They continued to visit their exclusive clubs, partake in cocktails, dinners and attend dance functions at luxury hotels. In addition too, they participated in yachting, tennis and golf events. Nothing stunned the British more than the events of 8 December 1941.^^^
