In April 1956, Marshall led an all-party delegation to London for talks with the British, in the first of what would later be known as the Merdeka talks.[5][6] The talks resulted in a deadlock as both sides refused to compromise on the security arrangements.[7] Marshall's administration failed to gain approval from Britain for Singapore's independence; in taking responsibility for the failure, Marshall resigned in April 1956;[8][9][10] and soon went on to form theWorkers' Party. Critics believed that the British were not convinced of Marshall's ability to govern Singapore well and deal with the rising threat ofinsurgency carried out in the name ofcommunism.[citation needed] Marshall was succeeded by his deputy,Lim.[1]
The LF-alliance government had faced various challenges in the nascent years of local governance.[11][12] Apart from the threat of the underground communist movement, Singapore faced problems in public order, poor economy, poor housing and sanitation, low living standards and government corruption. The then-oppositionPeople's Action Party (PAP), led byLee Kuan Yew, grilled the LF-alliance government several times on these issues in the legislative assembly sessions.[citation needed] Nevertheless, the LF-alliance government were able to implement a slew of measures that improved workers' welfare, such as ratifying the labour code, and establishing theCentral Provident Fund,Meet-the-People Sessions andLegal Aid Bureau. It was also credited with inculcating nationalistic sentiments into the populace, in lieu of colonial subservience, and resolving various constitutional challenges such as citizenship, Chinese education, and language. Through the Merdeka talks, Marshall had also set the framework to direct future negotiations towards realizing full independence.[13]
Under Lim's leadership, the LF-alliance government had ruthlessly suppressed the Chinese school rioters in October 1956, and many pro-communist union leaders in the PAP were detained under theInternal Security Act. The tough measures may have alienated a large portion of the Chinese speaking electorate.[14] In 1957 and 1958, two all-party delegations led by Lim eventually negotiated Singapore's status to be aself-governing state with aYang di-Pertuan Negara, to represent the titular head of state.[15][16] In 1959, the majority of LF led by Lim, left the core party to merge with theLiberal Socialists to form theSingapore People's Alliance (SPA).[17] In the1959 elections, the PAP won 43 of 51 seats in the legislative assembly, with a popular vote of 53%, having campaigned on ananti-colonial platform with an ambition to initiate reforms to improve the economy and living standards of the people, as well as eradicatecorruption in the government. The SPA lost power and was reduced to only a handful of seats in opposition, while the residual LF was reduced to a very small fraction of the original party and was eventually dissolved in 1960.[18]
^Chan, Heng Chee.A Sensation of Independence: A Political Biography of David Marshall (2008 ed.). Singapore: Marshall Cavendish.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
^All-Party Mission to London, Report on Singapore All-Party Mission to London, April/May 1956 (Report). National Library of Singapore: Govt. Print. Off. 1945. RCLOS 342.5957 SIN.
^Miller, Harry (17 May 1956). "Drama of the Last Hours".The Straits Times.
^Miller, Harry (21 May 1956). "Marshall to Resign on June 6".The Straits Times.
^Miller, Harry (6 June 1956). "The Marshall Diary".The Straits Times.
^Singapore Legislative Assembly, Governor's Address vol. 1 of Debates: Official Report (Report). National Library of Singapore: Govt. Print. Off. 22 April 1955. RCLOS 328.5957 SIN.
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