Singapore Nation Essay

901 Words4 Pages

Joey Yan Hui Yu
Tutorial Group D6
CA1

GES1010 CA1
‘In the making of the Singapore nation, the Japanese Occupation years (1942-1945) were of no relevance.’ Discuss.

The building of a nation is not a simple process, it make take years of effort before a country may be successful labelled as a nation. The definition of a nation varies accordingly, as such in this essay, I take on the assumption that a country may be considered a nation as long as the citizens are united as one with a common goal and common national identity. In the making of the Singapore nation, there were many external factors involved. One important event in Singapore’s history was the Japanese Occupation that happened during the year 1942 to 1945. This one significant event has paved way for changes and thus, it would …show more content…

The British were defeated easily because they were distracted with the diplomatic crisis happening in Europe, namely the second world war. The takeover of the Japanese meant that many changes were made in Singapore, for instance the education system. As the British returned after the surrender of Japan, they were left with a pile of mess and chaos that needed organisation. The Malayan Union was launched to reorganise the system however it mainly cater to the Malays as well as those who reside in Malaya. Singapore, which was predominantly made up of Chinese was excluded to prevent any possible conflicts occurring from the overpowering of the Chinese. Hence by year 1965, Singapore gained its independence and this led to the beginning of a new Singapore nation. The separation allow the development of the Singapore nation, with new sets of beliefs and system that concerned the citizens of Singapore, rather than issues such as managing the racial dispute when Singapore was still part of Malaya. The Japanese Occupation years allow for the emergence of an independent Singapore which nobody expected. The separation from Malaya allowed Singapore to start

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