Why are people arguing over how we should remember Singapore's colonial past?

It is more important to know history first than to judge it.

Henedick Chng | June 07, 2017, 12:08 PM

In the unlikely event you don't read The Straits Times forum pages, a debate has been raging over how Singapore’s colonial past under the British Empire should be viewed.

On one side, people are arguing that Singapore’s colonial past forms an important part of our island’s history, so the era should be appropriately remembered or celebrated (here and here).

This camp also points out that colonialism did bring benefit to Singapore, such as laying the foundations for multiculturalism and for modern Singapore to develop from a fishing village to a thriving city, from mudflats to metropolis.

Here are the letters, in case you're interested to read them:

Bicentennial of S’pore’s founding offers teachable moment (May 22)

Colonial era an important part of Singapore’s story (June 1)

Root of multiracial, multicultural S’pore linked to colonial past (May 30)

On the other side are those who believe Singapore’s colonial past is a blight in our history, stressing the British strong-arming of their Western supremacy onto our local population and asserting excessive domination over us.

Naturally, any form of celebration to mark the milestones in Singapore’s colonial past is roundly inappropriate, even offensive. This especially because to them, colonialism should not be credited for sowing the seeds of multiculturalism in Singapore.

Here are those letters:

Inappropriate to mark anniversary of colonisation (May 26)

Seeds for multiculturalism planted long before Raffles arrived in Singapore (June 3)

Acknowledging colonial legacy and celebrating it are two different things (June 1)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="414"] Stamford Raffles founded Singapore in 1819. Picture source: Wikipedia[/caption]

It's not as simple as saying it's good or bad — it's both

Now, which is it, you might be wondering? Was colonialism a good or a bad thing for us? Should we celebrate it, or try to forget it?

History can be subjective, and the merits and demerits of the British colonisation of Singapore can easily fill up volumes of academic texts with no clear conclusion.

And it is true that, among other ills, the British exploited and subjugated the local population for their own benefit, while propagating the myth and overall impression of Western superiority, which does arguably prevail today. This can be gathered from Rudyard Kipling’s observation of Singapore, among other available accounts.

But to see the issue for its negativities (or positivities) alone is too narrow and problematic.

One lesser-addressed point of irony is that despite the general subjugation of the local population during the colonial era, many of our early pioneers and first-generation political leaders who fought for independence from the British actually benefited from the colonial administration in their early years.

The likes of Lim Boon Keng, Song Ong Siang, Yusof Ishak, EW Barker, and Lee Kuan Yew received their education at Raffles Institution – a school set up by Stamford Raffles before he left Singapore for good in 1823.

Lim, Song, Barker, and Lee’s wife Kwa Geok Choo were also recipients of the Queen’s Scholarship — a scholarship set up by colonial governor Cecil Clementi Smith. They pursued their studies at prestigious British universities, too: Lim studied medicine at Edinburgh University, while Song, Barker, and Kwa went to Cambridge.

From left: Lim Boon Keng, Song Ong Siang, EW Barker, & Kwa Geok Choo. Photo source: National Archives

 

Having gained their education and success through the colonial structures of education, these pioneers returned to Singapore to serve our community, including fighting for Singapore’s independence from the British.

And while the British exploited Singapore for their own means, they also developed Singapore into a port that was a prized target for the Japanese during the Second World War.

So, Singapore’s colonial era was fraught with problems for the locals, but the British also laid foundations for our first generation political leaders to inherit and run with in developing Singapore at the blistering pace that it did in the past 50-plus years.

It is more important to be aware of history than to judge it

No one disputes this: the year 1819 marked a turning point in Singapore’s history, for better or worse, when the British colonised our little island till 1963 (with a brief pause from 1942 to 1945 because of the Japanese Occupation).

With the bicentennial of this founding milestone coming up in two years' time, we should not look upon any commemorative events as a paradoxical celebration of the ills of colonialism.

Instead, we should view, and perhaps commemorate, it in the same spirit with which we remember the anniversary of Singapore’s 1964 racial riots. These, if you recall your days in school, are marked by a celebration of racial harmony.

In the same vein, therefore, we could celebrate Singapore’s success, 200 years after its modern founding.

Top image from visitsingapore.com

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