ISLAND-WIDE SYMPATHY STRIKES (Statement by the Chief Minister)

The Chief Minister: Sir, since this House last met, events have occurred of a very disturbing character. Political Parties represented in this House have, through the Press, heaped abuse upon the Government for its handling of these events. Yet today we have the extraordinary position that not one single member of these political Parties has seen fit to challenge in this House the action of the Government. Though no Member of the Opposition seeks a debate, I consider it my duty to report to this House the facts as I know them.

There is, Sir, a clique of P.A.P. politicians who masquerade as trade unionists. On Friday, 10th June, I received from one of them what they called "an ultimatum to the Government", indicating that unless the Government settled the outstanding dispute between the Harbour Board and its Staff Association, more than 20 trade unions, wholly unconnected with the dispute, would be called out on a sympathy strike.

For several days prior to that Friday, Sir, the Press had been giving considerable publicity to a statement of a member of that clique, threatening an island-wide sympathy strike.

Sir, this Government has made repeated and earnest efforts to bring about a settlement between the Harbour Board and its Staff Association, but there never was question, and there can never be question, of Government seeking to compel an employer or an employee to surrender to the terms of the other party.

On the same day, Sir, that I received this so-called "ultimatum", reports began coming in of a very disturbing character, of intimidation of trade unions in an attempt to compel them to join the sympathy strike. These reports suggested that some of the same forces as those which brought about the tragedy of the recent riots were at work, and indicated that there was a strong possibility that organised violence might flare up under cover of the confusion of the sympathy strike. Our advisers, Sir, urged immediate action to protect peaceful citizens. Security arrangements were finalised, and I saw this P.A.P. clique on that Friday night. When they left my office at 8 p.m., I believed that there would be no sympathy strike and that I would on the following morning receive a communication from them. I did not hear from any member of this clique on the Saturday morning, and the emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers on that Saturday afternoon considered reports of heightened activities and intimidation in furtherance of this sympathy strike which was set for the following Monday. I made repeated efforts that Saturday afternoon to get members of this P.A.P. clique to see me. They did not appear.

The Government was naturally very anxious to avoid unrest and violence which would cause considerable harm to our people and our commerce. We were anxious to avoid using the Emergency Regulations. I dislike the Emergency Regulations, intensely. It was, however, an urgent question of protecting the people against an imminent threat of violence. In these circumstances, on Saturday evening, authorisation was given for the arrest under the Emergency Regulations of a small number of persons believed to be the sparking points of this threatened violence.

Immediately after this meeting, Sir, at 8 o'clock I sought once more to persuade members of this clique to see me, and despite my urgent request, they kept me waiting for one hour, and finally appeared at nine. At 9.20 p.m. they issued a statement agreeing to call a meeting of trade unions to consider calling off the sympathy strike. That statement, Sir, materially modified our original plan of arrests. A few arrests, however, were made and the headquarters of the P.A.P. pseudo trade unionists were searched. As a result of this, the P.A.P. clique promptly sought to prostitute the trade union movement and worked frantically for the next few days to call out workers of the Colony on strike, not for the purposes of bettering the conditions of the workers, not for any question of the welfare of the workers, but openly coercing Government into releasing the men it had arrested - an action thought necessary for the welfare of the people.

There was at no time any suggestion, Sir, from this clique or its associates that this House should assemble in order to consider the action of the Government which they so loudly decried, and for which they were prepared to put this country to such inconvenience and such risks. It was an open effort to substitute mob government for government by the people's elected representatives. Widespread intimidation and rumour-mongering were resorted to. The security forces were constantly on the alert, Sir, and the knowledge of the strength of these security forces and of Government's readiness to use them, as well as the few arrests which had been made, are believed to have been the reasons for the absence of violence during those days.

As hon. Members are aware, large numbers of workers, reaching a maximum of 15,000, excluding those who were on legitimate strike, were induced during those days to go out on strike, dislocating passenger transport and considerably inconveniencing the public, and alarming capital. Government made arrangements for the transport of school children, and later for members of the public. The threat by this P.A.P. clique to the democratic process collapsed, Sir, after five days, when the workers under their domination, led by the Singapore Traction Company workers, openly revolted against being used as pawns in a political game, and the threat to reinstate a general strike on the 26th of June failed to materialise.

In all, there were eight persons arrested - two are facing open trial in our Courts; four have been released as the danger of violence in which they might be used had passed, and I would like to assure hon. Members that their release was in no way accelerated nor conduced to by the strike, or the threat of a further strike. Government takes the view, Sir, that the Emergency Regulations should not be used, except for urgent and grave reasons. In these circumstances, only two of the eight continue to be detained. I would add, Sir, that it is our desire to present to this House at an early date suggestions for an improved procedure under the Emergency Regulations which would satisfy the public desire for open justice and the vital need for executive power to nullify the activities of those who seek to rule by violence.

The normal citizen of Singapore accepted the inconvenience of these strikes with good sense, with cheerfulness, and with loyalty, that made the defeat of this subversive attack on the Government possible. I consider it necessary to explain to this House why the Government did not act in the drastic manner that the circumstances seemed to require.

We had the knowledge, Sir, that illegal strikes were being fomented for purely political purposes entirely unconnected with any trade dispute whatsoever. We had the knowledge of the persons who were fomenting these strikes. We had the knowledge of a large number of persons behind the scenes who were acting as lieutenants of the P.A.P. clique that was fomenting the strikes. We had the knowledge of a small group of persons who might be used as sparking points for violence during these illegal strikes. It would have been easy to make a clean sweep of a large number of these people to such an extent as to prevent the general strike and subsequent threatened violence from materialising.

I would point out to this House, however, that a very large section of our working population is illiterate; that it has for generations developed an antipathy to Government as such; that the widespread arrests which were indicated would have involved a large number of persons in the P.A.P. movement. The forces that seek chaos in this country would have found it easy then to convince the common worker, Sir, that executive power was being abused with the intention of destroying political opponents, and of destroying the worker's movement by depriving him of his so-called leaders. The ingrained traditional antipathy to Government as such by a large section of our working population would have been only too ready to accept such an explanation, particularly as force and the Emergency Regulations are closely associated in the public mind with colonial rule. The people have not had the time, Sir, to recognise the very real distinction between past governments and this Government. In those circumstances, we might have done irreparable harm to the cause of democracy for which we exist.

The Government deeply regrets that the loyal citizens of this Colony should have suffered inconvenience and even run some risk in order that the illiterate worker should have the opportunity to learn for himself the extent to which his trust was being abused, and how his welfare was being sacrificed for the political ambitions of his so-called leaders. The Government hopes that this loyal section of the population will realise the tremendous importance of the task of attracting the loyalty of the illiterate worker to the democratic process, of making him realise that this is his Government, and of achieving the harmonious welding of all sections and all interests in this territory into a unified loyalty. It is the Government's belief, Sir, that the democratic process, which is now rapidly gaining ground, can best serve the welfare of all the people and can adapt itself to the pace of change that the public may demand at any time.

The misled workers who went out on strike at the behest of this P.A.P. clique have, in fact, begun to realise to what extent their welfare was sacrificed, and the trade union movement prostituted, for the personal, selfish political ends of some so-called leaders. To that extent it has been a victory for the democratic process, where there could have been a very grave setback, irretrievably losing the potential loyalty of a large mass of our population. This is but the commencement of the process, and as the Government gives further evidence of its deep desire for the welfare of the worker and the masses of this territory, it is hoped to attract and consolidate this loyalty of this illiterate section of the population.

I wish to express the gratitude of the Government for the patience and the loyalty of a large number of the citizens of this Colony in a time of stress, and for the sense of responsibility and stability shown by many trade union leaders who did not permit their unions to be prostituted.

I would like to assure this House that we have the strength to meet all emergencies that may arise, and we will use that strength when we consider it necessary for the welfare of all the people of this territory. In the meanwhile, Sir, I hope Members of this House and the loyal citizens of this country will continue to be patient with our forbearance in this vital formative period of democracy.