Singapore - A proud British colony

Singapore is a proud ex British colony, is going to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the colonisation of Singapore by the British in a big way. While many ex colonies have erased everything they could from their humiliating past under the rule of colonial masters, with names like Calcutta, Bombay, Goa etc totally wiped out, Singapore retains and cherishes all the ex colonial trimmings in the island and often glorifies them. Stamford Raffles was dearly embarrassed as the white god that founded Singapore. 

The statestimereview has reported, "Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also announced that he will be having an undisclosed budget to “celebrate” 200th anniversary of British colonisation of Singapore in 1819:
 
“We should commemorate this bicentennial appropriately, just as we marked the 150th anniversary in 1969. It is an important milestone for Singapore; an occasion for us to reflect on how our nation came into being, how we have come this far since, and how we can go forward together.”


1819 is indeed an important milestone in the history of Singapore. The colonisation of Singapore by the British that then turned it into its colonial outpost and commercial headquarter for ruling SE Asia was the event that transformed Singapore from a fishing village to a commercial hub, a thriving entrepot of the day. That was the foundation that contributed to what Singapore is today.
 
Many Singaporeans remember and cherish that day they read in British written history books when Singapore was colonised as a glorious day. The reason must be that without the British landing here to rob the island from the native ruler Singapore would not be what it is today. A point to note here is that Singapore was returned to the native rulers when Singapore became part of Malaysia. The British in a way handed back Singapore to the Malay rulers in 1963 to square the score. The robbing of Singapore from the native ruler ended on that day.
 
With a twist of fate, the Malay rulers gave their blessing for Singapore to be an independent state to start a new chapter from a clean slate. In 1965, Singapore became an independent country, not robbed or stolen from Malaysia. The leaders of both states signed an agreement without a gun pointing at their heads.
 
In terms of significance, 1965 is more important to Singapore as an independent nation than 1819 when it became a British colony. Singapore became a free independent country with the blessing of Malaysia, no more stolen by British raj from the Malay rulers. 1819 was a milestone, a watershed in that it was colonised by the British, similar to the colonisation of Syonan-to by Imperial Japan in 1941. They are historical milestones of Singapore's history. Singaporeans should remember these dates, 1819, 1941, 1959, 1963 and 1965 and earlier days that predates to the time of the Sri Vijaya Empire and Parameswara. I hope Singapore would never think of celebrating 1941 just like naming the Ford Museum as Syonan Museum. There are days of glory and days of infamy and both must be treated accordingly.
 
1819 is controversial. Was it a day of glory to be celebrated in a big way or a day of infamy to be remembered dearly? The white Americans remember the landing of Columbus in America as a day of discovery, Thanksgiving Day, a day to be celebrated for conquering a new land. The American natives remember it as a day of infamy, a day when their forebears were massacred by the Europeans and their land stolen from them. The natives of America would not celebrate Thanksgiving Day. That day their land was stolen by the white invaders and their forefathers killed! They knew their history. They remember the day they lost their country and the massacre.
 
Singaporeans must know our history from our own perspective, not from the perspective of the colonial masters. The sillies would still have fond memories of singing God save the king or the queen and think affectionately of the times when they were British subjects and longed to be British subjects once again. Wait till they lose this country once again and become boat people, then they will know what it is like to be stateless.