On 1 April 1946, the Straits Settlements was dissolved and Singapore became a separate Crown colony with a civil administration headed by a Governor.
The SPP wanted eventual self-government, but was too comfortable with the existing situation of cooperating with the British colonial government to set a target date.
The period after the war saw a political awakening amongst the local populace and the rise of anti-colonial and nationalist sentiments, epitomised by the slogan Merdeka, or "independence" in the Malay language.
In 1953, a British Commission, headed by Sir George Rendel, proposed a limited form 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.
The 1955 election for the Legislative Assembly held on 2 April 1955 was a lively and closely fought affair, with several newly formed political parties joining the fray.
His successor as Chief Minister, Lim Yew Hock, launched a crackdown on communist and leftist groups, imprisoning many trade union leaders and several pro-communist members of the PAP under the Internal Security Act.
[3] The British government approved of Lim's tough stance against communist agitators, and when a new round of talks was held beginning 11 March 1957, they were amenable to granting almost complete self-government, only retaining control over external security, and allowing internal security to be an area of shared responsibility between the local government and them.
The Legislative Assembly would be expanded to fifty-one members, entirely chosen by popular election, and the Prime Minister and Cabinet would control all aspects of government except defence and foreign affairs.
The British-appointed Governor was to be replaced by a Yang di-Pertuan Negara, to represent Queen Elizabeth II, who remained titular head of state.
[4] The British government would be represented by a Commissioner, who had responsibility for defence and foreign policy, apart from trade and cultural relations, and would preside over an Internal Security Council, consisting of three members from the United Kingdom, three from Singapore (including the Prime Minister) and one from the Federation of Malaya.
[3] Despite these ill omens, the PAP government embarked on a vigorous program to address Singapore's various economic and social problems.
The plan for the economy was overseen by the capable Goh Keng Swee, the new Minister of Finance, whose strategy was to encourage foreign and local investment using a wide variety of measures, ranging from low tax rates and tax holidays to the establishment of a new industrial estate in the Jurong area.
[3] At the same time, the education system was revamped with the goal of suiting the workforce to the needs of employers; more technical and vocational schools were established, and English was promoted over Chinese as a language of instruction.
Headed by the banker and industrialist Lim Kim San, the HDB constructed more than 5,000 high-rise, low-cost apartments during its first two years of operation.
They felt that the historical and economic ties between Singapore and Malaya were too strong for them to continue as separate nations, and campaigned vigorously for a merger.
[3] The UMNO leaders were also sceptical of the idea; there was some distrust of the PAP government, and some were concerned that a merger with Singapore, with its large urban Chinese population, would alter the racial balance on which their political power base depended.
Tengku Abdul Rahman later changed the date to 16 September to allow the United Nations to complete a survey with the people of Sabah and Sarawak on the merger.
Following these difficulties, Lee Kuan Yew reluctantly signed a separation agreement on 7 August 1965, after the Parliament of Malaysia voted for Singapore's expulsion from the Federation.