The Straits Settlements Association was founded in London by a group of ex-Straits Settlements residents on 31 January 1868. The association, which mainly comprised members from the mercantile community, aimed to safeguard the commercial and political interests ...
The People’s Action Party (PAP) was established on 21 November 1954 with the primary objective of striving for Singapore’s independence from British rule. The political party was first led by Lee Kuan Yew as its secretary-general, with Toh Chin Chye as its founding ...
On 16 September 1963, Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo (present-day Sabah) to form the Federation of Malaysia. Since its exclusion from the Malayan Union in 1946, seeking a union with Malaya had been Singapore’s projected ...
Barisan Sosialis, a now defunct political party, was formed in 1961 by the People's Action Party (PAP) left-wing members who were expelled from the party. It became the main opposition party in self-governing Singapore. However, following Singapore's independence ...
The Legislative Council was one of the predecessors to today’s Parliament of Singapore. Established in 1867, its core function was to enact laws for Singapore. It was replaced in 1955 by the Legislative Assembly.
Seet Ai Mee (Dr) (b. 31 March 1943, Singapore–) was Singapore’s first female Cabinet minister. She assumed the position in July 1991 when she was appointed Acting Minister for Community Development in a cabinet reshuffle. Seet is also known for her contributions ...
Kenneth Michael Byrne (b. 13 May 1913, Singapore–d. 14 May 1990, Singapore), or K. M. Byrne, was Singapore’s first minister for labour and law. He was one of nine ministers who made up the first cabinet of the People’s Action Party (PAP) government, which was also ...
On 2 April 1949, the Municipal Commission election was held to elect 18 of the 27 members of the Municipal Commission. This election was the result of the enactment of the Municipal Elections Ordinance in 1948. The 1949 Municipal Commission election was a political ...
Howe Yoon Chong (b. July 1923, China–d. 21 August 2007, Singapore) was the first chief executive officer (CEO) of the Housing and Development Board (HDB) when it was established in 1960 and head of the civil service from 1975 to 1979. After a civil service career ...
Tony Tan Keng Yam (Dr) (b. 7 February 1940, Singapore–) was the seventh president of Singapore (2011–17). After a career in banking, he entered into politics in 1979 and served as a minister in the cabinet, holding at various times the portfolios of education, ...
Established on 21 November 1954, the People’s Action Party (PAP) has been the ruling political party in Singapore since the city-state became an independent nation in 1965. During the early years of independence, national survival and nation-building were the foremost ...
Robert Brown Black (Sir) (b. 3 June 1906, Edinburgh, Scotland–d. 29 October 1999, Reading, England), also known as Robin, was the governor and commander-in-chief of Singapore from 1955 to 1957. An early dispute with the chief minister led to the governor’s powers ...
The communal riots of 1964 refer to two separate series of race riots involving clashes between Malays and Chinese that occurred in Singapore when it was part of the Federation of Malaysia. The first series of riots started on 21 July during a Muslim procession ...
The term “yellow culture” is a direct translation of the Chinese phrase huangse wenhua (黄色文化), which refers to what was perceived as degenerate behaviour, such as gambling, opium-smoking, pornography, prostitution, corruption and nepotism. The term originated from ...
Singapore became the 117th member state of the United Nations (UN) on 21 September 1965. This was an important milestone for the country as membership in the UN conferred international recognition of Singapore as a sovereign and independent state. On the occasion, ...
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an international organisation founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Its objective is to promote economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the Southeast Asian ...
The Singapore Progressive Party (SPP) was a nationalistic party formed on 25 August 1947 to contest in the Legislative Council election in 1948. The conservative SPP stood for gradual change and was willing to work with the British to introduce steady constitutional ...
The Malayan Emergency began in June 1948 after three British plantation managers near Sungei Siput in Perak were killed by insurgents of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). The CPM had aimed to overthrow the colonial government and establish a Communist People’s ...
Lim Hock Siew (Dr) (b. 21 February 1931, Singapore–d. 4 June 2012, Singapore) was a medical doctor, politician and political detainee. A founding member of the People’s Action Party (PAP), he later joined the Barisan Sosialis (Malay for “Socialist Front”) and was ...
Wong Kan Seng (b. 8 September 1946, Singapore–) is a former People’s Action Party (PAP) cabinet minister. During his political career, he has held various key positions in the Singapore government, including Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and ...