The Singapore Disorders of 1955: Communist Use of Student Organizations to Harass a Government

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-00915R000400330002-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 3, 2000
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: February 7, 1957
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Releas@?:2001/08/20: CIA-RDP78-00915R000400330002-9
SVB,ZECT: The Singapore Disorders of 1855:. Communist Use Of
Student Organisatione to Harass a Government
1. -Students and youth have long been particular targets of
Communist parties in the Par Eastern countries and in other leaner
developed countries. Since such students 'and youth are particularly
susceptible to the blandishment of the ante-colonial and economic
development shibboleths, they offer the Communist movement a fertile
field for development and recruitment. In addition,. in the Far Eastekh
.area. racial is sues are exploited by the Communist movement to appear
to youth need student groups. By organizing and controlling youth and
student. elements, the Communist movement develops useful Instruments
to affect public opinion, and by sictending their interests t eyond the
normal ken of youth and student groups, these groups In a number of
countries have developed a potential for affecting the political situation.
2. The attached paper to an
exa~Ple of how youth and student
y
groups dominated by Communists and "left-wingers",' acting in-concert
'With left-wing -labor groups, succeeded in harassing and embarrasuing
the Mar.ehall Government of'Singapore in 1955. Beginning their actions
to support of a labor strike called by one of the left-wing unions, the.
even they were successful in forcing the 1955 Singapore Government
to back down from measures and counter 'actions aimed at containing
.the disorders Incited_by the "left-wing" groups.
The attached paper describes and discusses.the tactic,s
and.xnaneuvers used by the Comcunist-dozxanated youth and student
groups during the 1955 disorders. The tactics used included mass
meltingb, demonstrations, riots and. sit-down strikes. The last",
named tactic describes the students' occupation of school premises
from which they defied the Singapore Government's orders to vacate
and disband.
': The paper also contains a sunnfliary of the 1954 disorders
incited by the .satnq Communist-dominated student groups. In'..these
earlier disorders the successful 19.55 tactics were tested. Staged In
opposition to the Government'. requirement for registration for
ztaticiaal service, the 1954 disorders were successful In delaying the
registration requirement.
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5. The study, in order to place the events and tactics in
their proper perspective,, presents some of, the background to the
1955 events. It includes a sun unary of the earlier 1954 student
disorders; 'a description of the role of the Chinese middle schoolu
in the overwhelmingly Chinese population in Singapore; and a des-
cription of the links between the left-wing student groups and the
international Communist front organizations for Youth and students,
the World Federation of Democratic Youth, and the International
Union of Students. The- concluding part of the paper contains a
detailed chronology of the activities of the striking students and
the Siangapore Governaiaent'*s ineffective countermeasures.
6. The year 1956: presents a completely different picture
of the relationships bet*een Co nmunist-dominated student, youth
and labor groups, and the Singapore. Government now headed by
Chief Minister Lim Yew. Hock The Government from ,its.. 1954
and 1955 experiences had identified the leading suspect ConununiQt
and Communist-dominated groups,. and wss familiar with the
anti-government tactics employed by the groups and individuals.
Armed with this knowledge; the Singapore Government of 1956 acted
firmly and confidently.. The Government provoked the Cormnunist-
domii ated elements into anti-government actions. Riots and demon.-
strations and other tactics. successful in 1954 and 1955, were staged
by the anti-government groups. This time, however, the Singapore
Government was: ready and prepared, and moved quickly and with
planned precision: The riots and demonstrations were quickly con-
tained and dispersed by the local security forces. With support and
approval from the leading Singapore citizens, including many Chinese
leaders, the Lim Government methodically ieolated'and "deactivated"
.the subversive student.and labor groups and their leaders. The riots
and demons t&%8 never got "off the: ground" arid the leading Conz-
munist-dominated organizations were shattered,
7. The 1956 Singapore Government, in countering the subversive
tactics, employed legal and psychological pressures, and a minimum of force.
Acting under previously passed laws and regulations, the new Singapc e
Government banned several of the known Communiet-dominated organizations,
closed. several of the centers of the Communist activities, and arrested
a number of the known leaders of the Communist-dominated student and
labor groups in Singapore., ? In addition by judiciously dispersing the quickly
acting security. forces, Llrn Yew Hock prevented rallies and demonstrations
from developing into bloody riots and disorders. Sites of sit-down atrilcea
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were surrounded and outside support of the student otrilkers was
prevented. Then, after the student strikers failed to heed parental
requects and the Govern nt'a ultimatum to disperse, police units
moved in and forcibly broke the sit-down strikes. The Government
also closed several of the offices of the Communist-dominated labor
unions. Simultaneous with. these measures, the Singapore Government
of Lim, Yew Nock received overahelming votes of confidence from the
National Assembly, any, approval from many of the leaders of the corn-
munity , including leaders of'the Chinese community. By its actLon,
the Singapore Government succeeded in isolating the striking elex iento
and leaders from the local population and succeeded in preventing
the subversive elements from gaining any popular or mass support
or approval of their actions. The anti-governmes t tactics succeas-
fully employed by the Coxsimunist elements in 1954 and 1955 were
unsuccessful in 1956, and the effectiveness and influence of the Com-
munist-dominated student and youth groups were sharply reduced.
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