The Legislative Council of Singapore became a council in its own right on 1946, when the Repeal Act abolished the Straits Settlements, and Singapore became a Crown Colony on its own. Based on existing systems already in place when the council operated under the Straits Settlements, it was partially opened for public voting in 1948, before being replaced by the Legislative Assembly in 1953. A Legislative Council in British constitutional thought is the second-to-top tier of a government led by a Governor-General, Governor or a Lieutenant-Governor, inferior to an Executive Council and equal to or superior to a Legislative Assembly. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The Straits Settlements were a collection of territories of the British East India Company in Southeast Asia, which were given collective administration in 1826. ... A United Kingdom overseas territory (formerly known as a dependent territory or earlier as a crown colony) is a territory that is under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but is not part of the United Kingdom proper (Great Britain and Northern Ireland). ... Jump to: navigation, search An election is a decision making process whereby people vote for preferred political candidates or parties to act as representatives in government. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Under the Straits Settlements

The Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements was formed in 1867 when the later was made a Crown Colony answering direct to the Colonial Office in London instead of the Calcutta government based in India on 1 April. Letters patent granted a Colonial Constitution on 4 February, which allocated much power to the Governor. He is assisted by an Executive Council and Legislative Council, the later of which was entrusted with law-making in the colony, although the governer had a casting vote and the power of assent and veto on all Bills. Jump to: navigation, search The Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements was formed in 1867 when the later was made a Crown Colony answering direct to the Colonial Office in London instead of the Calcutta government based in India on 1 April. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1867 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Jump to: navigation, search April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... Letters Patent by Queen Victoria creating the office of Governor-General of Australia Letters patent are a type of legal document which is an open letter issued by a monarch or government granting a right, monopoly, title, or status to someone or some entity such as a corporation. ... Jump to: navigation, search February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search This is a List of Governors of the Straits Settlements. ... An Executive Council in Commonwealth constitutional practice based on the Westminster system exercizes executive power and is the top tier of a government led by a Governor-General, Governor, Lieutenant-Governor or Administrator (all governors). Until the advent of responsible government, Executive Councils existed primarily to advise the governor of... Acceptance, in spirituality, mindfulness, and human psychology, usually refers to the experience of a situation without an intention to change that situation. ... The word veto comes from Latin and literally means I forbid. ...

The Legislative Council was made of members in the Executive Council, the chief justice, and non-official nominated members by the governor. These nominated members were intended to better represent the local people, including in its ranks Asian members. Mostly wealthy Asian business and professional leaders, they were not neccesarily a fair representation of the locals, however. Starting with four members, it started to grow through the years, with Singaporean members increasingly dominating the council to the displeasure of Malacca and Penang. Jump to: navigation, search In many countries, especially common law countries such as Canada and the United States the Chief Justice is the name for the presiding officer on a senior court such as the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of New Zealand... Jump to: navigation, search World map showing Asia (geographically) Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia and worlds largest continent. ... Jump to: navigation, search State motto: Bersatu Teguh Capital Malacca Town Governor Tun Datuk Seri Utama Mohd. ... Jump to: navigation, search State motto: Bersatu dan Setia (United and Loyal), formerly Let Penang Lead Capital George Town Governor Tun Dato Seri Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Abbas Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon Area 1,056 km2 Population  - Est year 2000 1,225,501 State anthem...

Despite obvious control by British subjects of "pure European descent", there was little opposition towards the system from the local Asian population. There has been few exceptions. Tan Cheng Lock, a member of the Executive Council and who had previously opposed several policies made by the Legislative Council (such as the Aliens Ordinance of 1933 which restricted immigration) as anti-Chinese, called for direct popular representation through popular votes, and to increase the number of non-official members to form a majority in the Legislative Council. Initiatives like these were unsuccesful, however, when there is little support from wider society who are widely apathetic to local politics, with the Chinese population paying more attention towards growing their commercial and professional interests, and in the events occuring back in China, fueled largely by the rise in Chinese nationalism sentiments. The late Tun Dato Sir Tan Cheng Lock (1883-1960) was a the founder and the first president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), who fought for the rights of the Malaysian Chinese. ... Jump to: navigation, search An election is a decision making process whereby people vote for preferred political candidates or parties to act as representatives in government. ... Jump to: navigation, search // Nationalism is an ideology which holds that the nation, ethnicity or national identity is a fundamental unit of human social life, and makes certain political claims based upon that belief; above all, the claim that the nation is the only legitimate basis for the state, and...

Post-war

After the second world war, the Repeal Act of 1946 dissolved the Straits Settlements, with Singapore becoming a Crown Colony on its own while Penang and Malacca joined the Malayan Union. The effects of the war led to major changes in attitudes towards the British colonial government, particularly with the drop in confidence in their ability to govern and protect Singapore, and a resulting desire to have greater say and participation in local affairs. With mounting local pressure, a new Colonial Constitution was passed, with the Singapore Colony Order-in-Council of 1946 to 1948 providing for public voting to take place for the first time with the first general election of 1948 Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Malayan Union was formed on April 1, 1946 by the British. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Legislative Council General Elections was the first election to be held in Singapore, taking place on 21 March 1948 when six of the 22 seats on the Legislative Council were open for popular voting, albeit only for British subjects. ...

Voted members of the Legislative Council were restricted to only 6 non-official members, however, and voting was only open to adult British subjects who have been residents in Singapore for at least a year before the elections. The rest of the 13 non-officials included four nominated members by the governor and three by the chambers of commerce. Nine official members complete the council. The governor continued to exercise significant power, included the right to veto bills by the council. Chambers of commerce are business advocacy groups which are usually not associated with government. ...

External links

• Road to independence
• Timeline
• Singaporean history