The University Socialist Club (abbrev: USC) was a left-wing student group active from 1953 to 1971 that played an important role in the politics of colonial Malaya and post-colonial Malaysia and Singapore.
Members of the club played a significant role in bringing independence from the British Empire and in debates over the shape of the post-colonial nation.
[3] In May 1954, the members of the Fajar editorial board were arrested for publishing an allegedly seditious article named "Aggression in Asia".
[5] While accordingly to the Poh Soo Kai's reminiscence, it was a person named John Eber, a former leader of the Malayan Democratic Union offered the arrangement of the free legal services of D.N.
However, there is no doubt that Lee Kuan Yew enjoyed a widespread reputation after achieving "the tremendous victory for freedom of speech" which was proclaimed in The Straits Times on August 26.
Firstly, the Fajar trial witnessed the historical period when Nationalist trends of thoughts exerted great influence on people of different backgrounds in Malaya.
Left-leaning individuals and organizations including the Chinese school students and workers contributed generously to the defense fund of the club.
[4] Secondly, for the Club itself, this unexpected victory undoubtedly was an effective and stimulant result for the members to propagate the ideas of socialism in Singapore, and even through the work of the Pan Malayan Students Federation to stir waves in Malaya.
After the trial, Lee was praised by all the Singaporeans as a diligent, trustworthy socialist lawyer who devoted himself into the national liberation endeavour against colonialism.
[4] People like Philomen Oorijtham, Tan Jing Quee, Albert Lim Shee Ping and Sheng Nam Chim have the ordinary membership.
[4] Others include Sydney Woodhull, Jamit Singh, A. Mahadeva, Albert Lim Shee Ping, Ho Piao and James Puthucheary.
He also defended this by giving numerous reasons including Lee Kuan Yew's friendship with Sydney Woodhull, the isolation of the club from political parties, their broad concept of socialism and the diverse ideologies under one consensus that is against western aggregation and imperialism and for civil rights and democracy.
[6] In the progress of shaping the new nation, multitudinous student organizations made the contribution to this historical period despite their diverse beliefs and political views (Loh 21).
Both English-educated groups and the Chinese-educated ones appeared to be issue-oriented and managed to seek common ground while reserving differences, respecting each other and pursuing collectively for the university autonomy.
[7] The club played an active role in the work of the Joint Activities Committee which was formed in October 1960 by the Socialist Club, the Singapore Polytechnic Political Society and the Nanyang University Political Science Society to fight against the PAP government's intervention of university autonomy and student right the alliance.
After PAP came to power and gained the absolute control over the new-born nation, the relationship between it and the club has experienced an essential change.
The period from 1966 when the student move broken out to 1971 witnessed the club's final struggle under growing social control of the PAP-ruled government.
Without a direct impact on the political area, the club took advantages of its forums, magazine and seminars to speak out the voice of people of all social stratum.
For most of the 1950s, the club went outside the campus to mobilize people from various socioeconomic groups, such as the working class and peasantry, facilitating the national coalition as the social bridge (25).
The club, based on its socialist thinking, made a significant contribution to the progress of decolonization by achieving the coalition of the diverse group against colonialism in its way (103).