Saturday, October 18, 2008
Singapore is one of the countries in SEA.
So this post is going to be about it. :D
On 9 August 1965, Singapore gained independence. This is why Singaporeans like me celebrate National Day on 9 August every year. This year, Singapore has celebrated it's 43rd birthday.
So far, National Day Parades have been held in the Singapore National Stadium (which was officially closed on 30 June 2007 and would be demolished to make way for the Singapore Sports Hub) , Padang and in Marina Bay. (This year it was held in Marina Bay.) During the parade, there will be events such as the marching-in of Colours Party and Guard-of-Honour, Inspection of Guard-of-Honour and the Ceremonial Gun Salute. There will also be exciting performances which are different every year.
Every Primary 5 student studying in Singapore also has the chance to watch the National Day Parade Preview. I watched it in 2006 and I really enjoyed myself. The atmosphere at the National Stadium (where NDP was held that year) was very overwhelming and the performances were simply awesome.
Ok, enough about NDP. We shall now travel back in time and look at Singapore's history..
In 1819, Thomas Stamford Raffles founded Singapore and Singapore became part of British colony.
Singapore was known as a trading port due to its geographical location and many people traded here. However, the work of ruling this island was the British's responsibility.
However, good times soon ended when Japan bombed Singapore on 8 December 1941. On 9 February 1942, the Japanese (who was previously focusing on conquering Malaysia) came into Singapore. They attacked and captured important areas in Singapore such as Bukit Timah and Sentosa where the British soldiers supplies and weapons were kept and located.
By 15 February 1942, the Japanese had taken control of most of Singapore. The British decided then that they would have to surrender Singapore to Japan as the British was running out of ammunition, supplies and manpower. In the evening, Lieutenant-General Percival met Lieutenant-General Yamashita at the Ford Motor Factory in Bukit Timah (which had become the Japanese headquarters) and agreed to surrender Singapore.
From 1942 to 1945, Singapore fell under Japanese rule. Life was a nightmare and the Japanese treated the people badly, especially the Chinese as they had helped China in the war against Japan. Many Chinese men were shot dead when they were suspected of being involved in anti-Japan activities.
On 12 September 1945, after a 3 1/2 years of Japanese Occupation, the Japanese surrendered at the Muncipal Building (now known as City Hall). Singapore was under British rule again. Although they welcomed the British, they no longer saw them as powerful and capable of protecting Singapore. Some even lost their respect for the British.
After the war, life remained difficult. People bacame unhappy with the British government and strikes and riots started. In fact, 1947 was know as "The Year of Strikes" as there were more than 300 strikes that year.
Ok, that was a lot of information. The information on Singapore's history was taken from "Social Studies Discovering Our World 4B - The Dark Years"
5:00 PM
