“ Singapore’s struggle to achieve internal self-government in the period 1945-1956 had its cost. Was it worth it? Give at least 2 reasons to support to support your stand.”



Well, I think that the cost of Singapore struggling to achieve self-government is worth it as without Singapore's people governing their own country, and having the British to govern us, we may not be what we are today.

The first example is the Anti-National Service Riots. The Chinese students were asked to contribute to the riot, to help the Chiese educated people fight with the police. The British thought that Chinese have anti-British feelings thus did not bother to hear what the Chinese have to say about the National Service thus resulting in the riots. If it was Singapore's people who governed Singapore at that time, they would care to hear what the people of Singapore have to say about the National Service and the riot would not break out resulting in so many casualties.

The second example is the Maria Hertogh Riots. The British were biased towards the Dutch and not the Malays, and the verdict was that Maria was to go back to her own country with her real parents and never return. Thus, the Malays felt that it was unfair and the riots broke out. If the British cared about other races' feelings, and the verdict is fair, the riots would not break out.

In conclusion, I think that after all the efforts the people of Singapore put in to achieve self-government was very worth it as with them leading Singapore, modern Singapore is well-developed and peaceful.