Lim Yew Hock

Lim Yew Hock ( zh, c=林有福, p=Lín Yǒufú; 15 October 1914 – 30 November 1984) was a Malaysian"Man who thumped the Reds"
''Straits Times'', 1 December 1984 politician and diplomat who served as Chief Minister of Singapore between 1956 and 1959. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cairnhill between 1959 and 1963 and previously a Member of the Legislative Council and later Legislative Assembly between 1948 and 1963. He and his family elected to take up Malaysian citizenship after the separation of Singapore.

In his early years, Lim worked as a clerk after he graduated from the Raffles Institution. Following the end of World War II, he joined the labour movement and later began his political career, joining the Progressive Party (PP) in 1947. In 1949, he became a member of the Labour Party. He founded the Labour Front (LF) with David Marshall. The Rendel Constitution was implemented in 1955 due to political instability and greater demands for independence in post-war Singapore. The LF won the Legislative Assembly election, with Marshall as Chief Minister. Lim was appointed Minister for Labour and Welfare, and served as his deputy during his term of office.

However, after talks with Government in London for self-rule authority failed, Marshall resigned as Chief Minister, and Lim took over. In order to gain trust from the British, Lim suppressed leftist movements. He led an all-party delegation to re-negotiate in talks for self-rule, eventually reaching an agreement with the British for a new constitution granting internal self-rule in 1959. However, Lim lost the support of the Chinese majority (PAP), then opposition, led by Lee Kuan Yew.

Lim's Singapore People's Alliance (SPA) was defeated by the PAP in the 1959 election, causing him to step down as Chief Minister, while Lee succeeded him as Prime Minister. After that, he was less involved in Singaporean politics and left the Assembly in 1963. He was appointed Malaysian High Commissioner in Australia by the then-Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman. However, he dropped out of Malaysian politics entirely shortly after his disappearance in 1966 during his term of office. Lim converted to Islam and moved to Saudi Arabia in his late years.

Life

Early years

Lim Yew Hock was born to Kinmen Hokkiens in Singapore of the Straits Settlements on 15 October 1914.Corfield (2011), pp. 159–160. He part of third generation of overseas Chinese in Singapore, and son of Lim Teck Locke.Lau (2004) Lim was the eldest son in his family and has a brother and two sisters. He attended English language schools; the Pearl's Hill School and Outram School from a young age. He obtained excellent results and received a four-year scholarship. He was admitted to the prestigious Raffles Institution and completed his secondary education in 1931."Man who thumped the Reds"
''Straits Times'', 1 December 1984

Lim had planned to study law in the United Kingdom upon graduation, and was ready to sit for Cambridge entrance examinations. However, his father's sudden death made it impossible.Tan, Guan Heng (2007), p. 141. He was only 37 years old when he died, so the assets he left behind was put under supervision of Lim's uncle, while Lim was being mistreated. As the Great Depression greatly impacted Singapore's economy, he had to earn a living by provision of "private tuition" during his post- secondary education years to support his family, made up of his mother and younger siblings.

Soon, he was employed as a junior clerk of the Imperial Chemical Industries in 1934, he transferred to Cold Storage as a junior clerk, which enabled him to earn a stable income. He was promoted as stenographer because of his outstanding performance in shorthand. During World War II, Japan launched the Pacific War in December 1941, leading to the fall of Singapore in February 1942. Lim lived on selling charcoal, until the end of Japanese occupation and Singapore's revert to British rule in 1945, when he returned to Cold Storage as private secretary.

Early political career

Lim became involved in trade union activities right after the war. He resigned from Cold Storage and worked as full-time Secretary-General of the Singapore Clerical and Administrative Workers' Union (SCAWU).Mukunthan (2004)"Lim Yew Hock dies in Jeddah" (1 December 1984) In March 1947, he became the first Singaporean to receive the British Council scholarship, to study local trade unions in Britain.Morais (1965), p. 234.

With his trade union background, Lim joined the newly formed Singaporean Progressive Party (PP) led by Tan Chye Cheng to start off his political career. In fact, there was a major change in politics of post-war Singapore. On the one hand, there were increasing calls for independence, and on the other hand, the Straits Settlements was dissolved in 1946 by the British Government, while the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements was restructured in 1948 as the Legislative Council of Singapore. In March 1948, Singapore held its first Legislative Council election to elect its six out of the 22 Councillors; Three out of five PP candidates won in the election. Lim did not participate in the election, but was appointed as an unofficial member in April, representing the trade union in the council.

Lim left the PP in July 1949 and joined the Singaporean Labour Party (LP), whom Lim shared a similar political stand with. Later in June 1950, he was elected LP's Chairman, and was chosen to serve as Chairman of the SCAWU in July of the same year. Under support of the union, he contested in the Keppel constituency during the Legislative Council election held in April 1951, and was elected as a Councillor. In this election, the number of elected seats increased from six to nine; The PP won six, LP won two, while the remaining seat was won by an independent candidate. In May 1951, Lim founded the Singapore Trades Union Congress (STUC) and appointed himself as chairman. In the same year, he was funded by the United States Information Agency to study the labour movement in the America. However, LP's internal struggle among the different factions was growing weaker. The faction led by party's Secretary-General Peter M. Williams successfully coerced Lim to step down as chairman. He eventually left the party.

Labour Front

Soon after leaving the party, Lim was appointed as a member of the Rendel Commission, chaired by British diplomat Sir George Rendel, which was formed in July 1953 by Singapore's colonial government to provide advice on constitutional development in Singapore. The Commission subsequently submitted a report in February 1954 for major changes in constitutional law of Singapore, heading towards self-rule. At the same time, Lim formed the Labour Front (LF) with Francis Thomas and well-known barrister David Marshall, with Marshall as president.

In February 1955, a new constitution, the Rendel Constitution, was implemented. Singapore would create its first Legislative Assembly with majority of the seats popularly elected, to replace the existing Council.Ng (2009) 25 out of 32 seats would be elected by the general populace, four seats would be allocated to Governor-appointed unofficial members, three seats taken by ''ex officio'' members, respectively the Chief Secretary, Attorney-General and Financial Secretary, while the remaining seat would be for the unofficial Speaker of the Assembly nominated by the Governor. Moreover, the post of the Chief Minister was added, which would be assumed by the leader of the majority party in the Assembly, sharing the responsibility with the Chief Secretary. The Chief Secretary continued to take control over areas such as external affairs, internal security, defence, broadcasting and public relations, whereas the power of policy-making for the people's welfare lied in the hands of the Chief Minister.

The existing Executive Council was replaced by the newly formed Council of Ministers, chaired by the Governor, composed of the three '' ex officio'' members (Chief Secretary, Attorney General, Financial Secretary) and the remaining six unofficial members, inclusive of the Chief Minister and five other members from the Assembly. Although the Governor presided over the Council of Ministers, the Chief Minister could lead discussions, whereas the other Council members who was also Assemblymen would also take up different ministerial posts, similar to the Westminster and parliamentary system.Sutherland (2010)

In April 1955, in the subsequent Legislative Assembly election, the Marshall-led LF won in the election with 10 seats. The remaining seats were taken by the PP (four), Singapore Alliance (coalition of UMNO－ MCA－ SMU, three), People's Action Party (PAP, three), Democratic Party (two) and three independent candidates."Singapore Legislative Assembly General Election - 1955" (2010) After the election, Marshall became Singapore's first Chief Minister, but as the LF did not obtain absolute majority, he formed a coalition government with the Singapore Alliance, and appointed two pro-LF unofficial nominated members into the Assembly under the help of Governor Sir John Nicoll.Wong (2002), p. 82. Lim was elected as Havelock constituency's Assemblyman. He was the only popularly elected Legislative Councillor who transited over to the Legislative Assembly.

After the election, Lim was appointed by Marshall as Minister for Labour and Welfare, while he resigned his chairmanship from the STUC. Then, workers were on strikes one after another, often escalating into civil unrest incidents, so Lim, as Labour and Welfare Minister, had to meditate and assist in subsiding such strikes. He had handled the April–May 1955 Hock Lee bus strikes, May–July 1955 Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association strikes, and also strikes from hotels, City Council of Singapore, Singapore Traction Company, etc. The Hock Lee bus strikes turned into a riot in May 1955, killing four and injuring many, including two police officers who died.Lee, Edwin (2008), p. 107.

Soon after, Marshall led an all-party delegation with Governor Sir Robert Black to London, UK in March 1956, to negotiate with the British for self-rule in Singapore. However, talks failed by May 1956, and in his return to Singapore, Marshall resigned as Chief Minister on 6 June. On 8 June 1956, Marshall's deputy, Lim, who was also Minister for Labour and Welfare, took over and became Singapore's second Chief Minister.Corfield (2011), p. xxv."THE NEW CABINET WITH SIR ROBERT" (9 June 1956)

Lim's Council of Minister was similar to that of Marshall's. Besides continuing to serve as Labour and Welfare Minister, while the other members include his deputy Abdul Hamid bin Haji Jumat (Minister for Local Government, Lands and Housing), J. M. Jumabhoy (Minister for Commerce and Industry), Francis Thomas (Minister for Communications and Works), Chew Swee Kee (Minister for Education) and A. J. Braga (Minister for Health). Marshall, former Chief Minister, later left the LF and founded the Worker's Party. In March 1958, Lim was chosen as LF's president.

Chief Minister

Chinese schools riots

After Lim succeeded as Chief Minister, his top priority was to achieve full self-governance for Singapore from the British Government. The British had taken to account Singapore's future early during Marshall's tenure as Chief Minister. The British had agreed to Malaya's (Malaysia's predecessor) independence, and due to the strategic value of Singapore's geography, the British wanted to continue taking control over foreign and defence affairs of Singapore. Hence, the British are inclined to granting Singapore self-governance instead of independence. Though Sir Robert Black, the then-Governor, had taken a more open and friendly approach to self-governance for Singapore, as compared to his predecessor Sir John Nicoll, he believed in gradual self-governance. If the handover of power were to be carried out too hastily, self-governing political leaders might not have sufficient experience in governing.

When Marshall led a delegation in March to May 1956 to negotiate talks with the British for self-rule, Black emphasised the priority of internal security issues, while anti-colonialist LF was ineffective in suppression of the series of riots incited by the communists. As a result, talks broke down and complete self-rule was refused.

To enhance the internal security, Lim arrested the leftist trade union members, teachers and students under the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance, in September to October 1956 and August 1957 upon taking office. Some of them were deported.Lee, Edwin (2008), p. 137. In addition, alleged pro-communist organisations such as the Singapore Women's Association, the Chinese Musical Gong Society and the Singapore Chinese Middle School Students Union were banned by the authorities."1956 - Student Riots" (1999) The series of raids prompted the teachers and students from Chinese schools in October 1956 to launch sit-in protests at Chung Cheng High School and The Chinese High School, eventually escalating into riots.

Under the support of Black, the riot police were dispatched by Lim to clear the school grounds. The Government also imposed a curfew from 26 October to 2 November, suppressing the riots effectively. However, the riots killed 13 and injured hundred more in the five days.Lee (2008), p. 138. Hundreds were arrested, including assemblymen Lim Chin Siong, Fong Swee Suan and Devan Nair, who were radicals from the opposition PAP. They were released when the PAP came to power in 1959.

Negotiation for self-rule

British Government was assured of Singapore's internal security due to Lim's tough stance against the communists. This allowed re-negotiations for self-rule from December 1956 to June 1958. Under Lim's leadership, a delegation of representatives from various political parties headed to London in March 1957 to commence talks with the British for self-rule.Lee (2008), p. 139. They reached a consensus in April, while Lim signed a new constitutional agreement with Secretary of State for the Colonies Alan Lennox-Boyd on behalf of Singapore."11 April 1957: Britain agrees to Singapore self-rule" (2005) Representatives from Singapore drafted a new constitution;Corfield (2011), p. xxvi. In August 1958, the British Parliament passed the State of Singapore Act, 1958. Based on the agreement, there would be a great increase in the number of Legislative Assembly seats to be contested in the 1959 election, where all seats would be popularly elected; Singapore would become a self-governing state, with the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers being replaced respectively by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Singapore, in charge of all affairs except defence and diplomacy; The Yang di-Pertuan Negara would replace the existing Governor.

Meanwhile, Lim prompted the Assembly in October 1957 to pass the Singapore Citizenship Ordinance, 1957. The Ordinance defined Singapore citizens as those who were born in Singapore, who were born outside Singapore whose fathers were born in Singapore and did not hold foreign nationality, who were born in Malaya and had been living in Singapore for at least two years, who were citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies living in Singapore for at least two years, and who were foreigners living in Singapore for at least ten years. In recognition of his performance, the University of Malaya conferred Lim the Honorary Doctor of Laws degree in September 1957, while he was presented the rank of ''Seri Maharaja Mangku Negara'' (S.M.N) in August 1958 by Malaysian King Tuanku Abdul Rahman, therefore being granted the title of Tun.

Acknowledging Nanyang

Lim had taken a friendlier approach to the Nanyang University prior to the creation of a self-ruling state in June 1959, in order to gain the support of the Chinese majority

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