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Class: Register No:

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CRESCENT GIRLS’ SCHOOL SECONDARY TWO END-OF-YEAR EXAM 2019

HISTORY Additional Materials: Answer Paper

9 OCTOBER 2019 1 hour 40 minutes

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your name, index number and class in the spaces provided at the top of this page and on all separate sheets of paper used. Write in dark blue or black pen. You may use a soft pencil for any rough working. Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid. Section A Answer all parts of Question 1. Section B Answer one question. Write all answers on the writing paper provided. Start each question on a fresh sheet of paper. At the end of the examination, fasten Section A and Section B SEPARATELY. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.

Section A (Source-Based Case Study)

Question 1 is compulsory for all candidates Study the Background Information and the sources carefully, and then answer all the questions. You may use any of the sources to help you answer the questions, in addition to those sources you are told to use. In answering the questions, you should use your knowledge of the topic to help you interpret and evaluate the sources. 1 (a) Study Source A.

What does the source tell you about the reasons why Singaporeans voted for the PAP in 1968? Use the source and your knowledge to support your answer.

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(b) Study Sources B and C.

How different are both sources about the challenges faced by Singapore following her separation with Malaysia? Explain your answer.

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(c) Study Source D.

How useful is this source in showing the government’s concerns in the years after separation with Malaysia? Explain your answer.

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(d)

Study all the sources. ‘Economic survival was the main concern for Singapore in post-1965.’ How far do the sources agree with this statement? Use the sources and your knowledge to explain your answer.

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Was economic survival the most significant challenge for Singapore after her separation from Malaysia in 1965?

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Read this carefully. It may help you answer some of the questions.

Singapore became part of Malaysia on 16 September 1963 following a merger with Malaya, North Borneo, and Sarawak. However, it was an uneasy union. Disputes between the state government of Singapore and the federal government occurred on different issues. Seeing no alternative, the Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman decided to expel Singapore from the federation. The Parliament of Malaysia voted 126–0, with all Singaporean MPs boycotting the vote, in favour of the expulsion on 9 August 1965. On that day, a tearful Lee Kuan Yew announced on a televised press conference that Singapore was a sovereign, independent nation. The new state became the Republic of Singapore. However, as Singapore is a tiny island, many, both local and foreign, had little faith in the survival of the nation state. This could be attributed to the many challenges that the nation-state would face as a result of the separation. Study the following sources to understand the challenges Singapore faced after 1965.

Source A: A Singapore cartoonist depiction of the local sentiments in Singapore during the 1968 election.

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Source B : An adapted recollection published in 2016 by S.R. Nathan, sixth President of Singapore who had served in both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence before his Presidency.

When we separated from Malaysia, we were really exposed; we were independent but not in a position to defend ourselves. We did not have a counter-insurgency* force because the communist insurgency was mainly up the Malayan peninsula around the Thai border although the communist forces sometimes got close to Kuala Lumpur. Communist activity in Singapore was really related to an insurgency going on further north in Vietnam. Awareness of our vulnerability drove us. At the time of separation in 1965, the communists were attempting a come-back. So we were motivated to build up our capability in a fairly unfavourable situation.

* counter-insurgency: force to deal with rebellion.

Source C: Extracts of an interview by foreign correspondents with the Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, held at TV Singapura at on 30th August, 1965.

As far as internal security is concerned, I think we'll be far better off. The people by and large were relieved. And the less oppressed they feel; the less ground there is for the communists to cultivate. So, I would say, internal security-wise, the situation has immensely improved. I know Barisan Socialis are greatly alarmed that we may call snap elections and win all their seats. And never forget that the Singapore Police Force plus the little Army which we must build up, maybe five battalions, will be under the command of someone whom we must nurture and build and select. These are under the overall control of Dr. Goh Keng Swee who is not only an economist and knows that we can't go beyond a certain point or we break our economy, but was also a corporal in the last war.

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Source D: Budget Statement presented in Parliament on 9 March 1970 by Goh Keng Swee, Singapore’s first Minister for Finance on Singapore’s economic developments in its first decade since independence.

Before merger, Singapore’s concern was dominated by political events. The policy of the government was determined more by the immediate political necessity of defeating the communists than by long-term needs of economic development. Yet, the traumatic events of merger and separation inevitably left their mark on the economy. On the morning of 9 August 1965, I was in my office in Fullerton Building brooding over the economic problems facing the country and the Government. There we were, an island trading post with its economic hinterland in other countries, a vulnerable arrangement as confrontation had shown. Our token defence forces were manned mostly by citizens of another country. Even the water we drank had mostly to be imported. We had no natural resources other than a diligent and enterprising people.

Source E : Comments by foreign media on Singapore’s separation from Malaysia

pblished in the Straits Times on 12 August 1965.

Two financial newspapers, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, suggested yesterday that there may be a temporary slow-down in U.S. investment in Malaysia and Singapore as a result of separation. The newspaper said Singapore had suffered far more than Malaya from the Indonesian “confrontation” because of the lost entrepot trade resulting from the cut-off of Indonesian rubber and the shipments. “Singapore can hardly go it alone,” the Journal of Commerce observed, “and as an entrepot economy the island needs peace in the region more than anyone.”

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Section B: Structured-Essay Questions

Answer one question.

2 This question is on Singapore’s Aspirations from 1959 to 1965. (a) Explain why Tunku Abdul Rahman was reluctant on a merger with

Singapore initially. [8]

(b) ‘Disagreement regarding economic issues was the only reason that led

to the separation of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

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3 This question is on the transformation of Singapore from the 1960s. (a) Explain why the Singapore government set up the Housing and

Development Board in 1960. [8]

(b) ‘Developing manufacturing industries was the only effective measure

taken to diversify Singapore’s economy in post-1965.” How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

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End of Paper.

Acknowledgements:

1. Source A: Taken from: Joe Yeoh (1995). To Tame a Tiger: The Singapore Story. Wiz-Biz. 2. Source B: Taken from: Desker, Barry and Cheng Guan Ang. Perspectives on the Security of Singapore:

The First 50 Years. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd, 2016, p.281. 3. Source C: Taken from: http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/data/pdfdoc/lky19650830.pdf 4. Source D: Taken from: Goh, Keng Swee. 2004. The Economics of Modernization. 2nd ed. Singapore:

Marshall Cavendish Academic, pp.223, 227-228. 5. Source E: Taken from: “Investment slowdown seen for Malaysia and Singapore”. The Straits Times, 12

August 1965, p.3.