Legislative Council of Singapore - Under The Straits Settlements

Under The Straits Settlements

The Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements was formed on April 1, 1867 when the Straits Settlements was made a Crown Colony that answered directly to the Secretary of State for the Colonies in London, instead of the Calcutta government based in India. 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 latter of which was entrusted with law-making in the colony, although the governor had a casting vote and the power of assent and veto on all bills.

The Legislative Council was composed of members in the Executive Council, the chief justice, and non-official members nominated 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 necessarily 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 the politicians from Malacca and Penang.

Despite this control by British subjects of European race, the local Asian population was usually apathetic about such control. There have been a 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 unsuccessful, 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 occurring back in China, fueled largely by the rise in Chinese nationalism sentiments.