Due to differing views in dealing with political, economic and racial issues, Singapore would eventually cease to be a part of Malaysia and become an independent sovereign country on 9 August 1965.

After Japan surrendered to the Allies on 15 August 1945, there was a state of anomie in Singapore, as the British had not yet arrived to take control, while the Japanese occupiers had a considerably weakened hold over the populace.

However, much of the infrastructure had been destroyed, including electricity and water supply systems, telephone services, and the harbour facilities at the Port of Singapore.

Unemployment, high food prices, and workers' discontent culminated in a series of strikes in 1947 causing massive stoppages in public transport and other services.

[3] On 1 April 1946, the Straits Settlements was dissolved and Singapore became a Crown Colony with a civil administration headed by a Governor and separated from peninsular Malaya.

The decades after and during the war saw a political awakening amongst the local populace and the rise of nationalist and anti-colonial sentiments, including a cry for Merdeka ("independence" in the Malay language).

Three months after the elections, an armed insurgency by communist groups in Malaya – the Malayan Emergency – broke out, and the British imposed harsh measures to control left-wing groups in both Singapore and Malaya; the controversial Internal Security Act, which allowed indefinite detention without trial for persons suspected of being "threats to security", was introduced at this time.

Tan Kah Kee, a local businessman and philanthropist, was denied re-entry into Singapore after he made a trip to China.

In 1953, with the communists in Malaya suppressed and the worst of the 'Emergency' period over, the government appointed a commission, headed by Sir George Rendel, to study the possibility of self-government for Singapore.

The British would retain control over areas such as internal security and foreign affairs, as well as veto power over legislation.