On 12 November 1954, Lee, together with a group of fellow English-educated middle-class men whom he himself described as "beer-swilling bourgeois", formed the 'socialist' People's Action Party (PAP) in an expedient alliance with the pro-communist trade unionists. This alliance was described by Lee as a marriage of convenience, since the English-speaking group needed the Chinese-speaking pro-communists' mass support base while the communists needed a non-communist party leadership as a 'smoke-screen' because the Malayan Communist Party was illegal. At that time, almost 70% of Singapore spoke Chinese and various Chinese dialects as their native tongues, and those who speak English as their native tongue only comprised 20% or so of the population. They were therefore, a minority.[2]
Their common aim was to agitate for self-government and put an end to British colonial rule.
An inaugural conference was held at the Victoria Memorial Hall, attended by over 1,500 supporters and trade unionists. Lee became secretary-general, a post he held until 1992, save for a brief period in 1957.[2]
A staunch anti-communist and PAP treasurer, he was a Chinese-educated orator who was one of the pioneer members of the People's Action Party (PAP) Ong was well known among the Chinese community in Singapore, In the 1957 City Hall Elections, he was elected mayor after the PAP won 13 out of 32 seats contested, and due to the other opposition parties dividing themselves over the remaining 19 seats, the PAP gained the majority.
Ong's anti-colonial stance shocked the British government and every City Council meetings then were considered entertainment for the spectators there. Ong continued to be in helm over the city council for two years until when the PAP gained control over Singapore in 1959, when the council was scrapped.
Resultsedit
Summary of the Singapore PAP Prime Ministerial Election results[1]
^ abc"Lee Kuan Yew elected as Prime Minister of Singapore". AsiaOne. 10 September 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
^ abLee, Lee Kuan Yew (1998). The Singapore Story. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish.
March 16, 2024
1959, prime, ministerial, election, this, only, prime, ministerial, election, singapore, history, people, action, party, central, executive, committee, victory, 1959, singaporean, general, election, elect, prime, minister, election, kuan, mere, vote, that, vot. This is the only Prime Ministerial Election in Singapore history The People s Action Party Central Executive Committee met on the victory of the 1959 Singaporean general election to elect a Prime Minister 1 At the end of the election Lee Kuan Yew won by a mere 1 vote that was voted by the then party Chairman Toh Chin Chye Singapore PAP Prime Ministerial Election 195930 May 195912 votes from the Central Executive Committee of PAP excluding Chairman Candidate Lee Kuan Yew Ong Eng GuanParty PAP PAPPopular vote 6 C 1 6Percentage 50 50 Elected Prime Minister Lee Kuan YewPAP Contents 1 Candidates 1 1 Lee Kuan Yew 1 2 Ong Eng Guan 2 Results 3 ReferencesCandidates editLee Kuan Yew edit On 12 November 1954 Lee together with a group of fellow English educated middle class men whom he himself described as beer swilling bourgeois formed the socialist People s Action Party PAP in an expedient alliance with the pro communist trade unionists This alliance was described by Lee as a marriage of convenience since the English speaking group needed the Chinese speaking pro communists mass support base while the communists needed a non communist party leadership as a smoke screen because the Malayan Communist Party was illegal At that time almost 70 of Singapore spoke Chinese and various Chinese dialects as their native tongues and those who speak English as their native tongue only comprised 20 or so of the population They were therefore a minority 2 Their common aim was to agitate for self government and put an end to British colonial rule An inaugural conference was held at the Victoria Memorial Hall attended by over 1 500 supporters and trade unionists Lee became secretary general a post he held until 1992 save for a brief period in 1957 2 Ong Eng Guan edit A staunch anti communist and PAP treasurer he was a Chinese educated orator who was one of the pioneer members of the People s Action Party PAP Ong was well known among the Chinese community in Singapore In the 1957 City Hall Elections he was elected mayor after the PAP won 13 out of 32 seats contested and due to the other opposition parties dividing themselves over the remaining 19 seats the PAP gained the majority Ong s anti colonial stance shocked the British government and every City Council meetings then were considered entertainment for the spectators there Ong continued to be in helm over the city council for two years until when the PAP gained control over Singapore in 1959 when the council was scrapped Results editSummary of the Singapore PAP Prime Ministerial Election results 1 Candidate Party Votes Percentage Lee Kuan Yew nbsp People s Action Party 6 C 50 00Ong Eng Guan nbsp People s Action Party 6 50 00Valid votes 12 100 00Rejected votes 0 0 00Total vote cast 12 100 00References edit a b c Lee Kuan Yew elected as Prime Minister of Singapore AsiaOne 10 September 2009 Retrieved 16 December 2012 a b Lee Lee Kuan Yew 1998 The Singapore Story Singapore Marshall Cavendish Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1959 PAP prime ministerial election amp oldid 1111089662, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
