1) From 1951, the Chinese chamber of commerce started to petition the British

colonial government to consider granting citizenship to China - born Chinese

immigrants over the age of 21. Large sums were invested in Singapore by many
Chinese who, because they were born in China, are regarded as aliens, with no
voting privileges, and cannot get naturalisation papers. Therefore, the people
urged the British government to consider giving them the privileges, such as voting
rights that were only enjoyed by local-born chinese, since they had the same rights
when they had Singapore as their home.

2) The locals started making demands for better treatment of local civil servants
from 1948 onwards. From 1948, the colonial government started to recruit more
locals into the civil service. This was partly because many British officials who
had been interned during the Japanese occupation had been sent back to Britain to
recuperate. However, British officials continue to enjoy better pay and to hold
senior positions within the civil service although the locals were equally well-
qualified. In 1952, it was also decided that these British officials would be paid
special family allowances. Thus, local civil servants started making demands for
better treatment of local civil servants because they were angered by the
unfairness. They were paid less, not given special family allowances and not
allowed to hold senior civil service positions.

3) The locals started making demands for local political involvement. After the
Japanese occupation, political groups emerged, suggesting that there was increased
political consciousness among the people in Singapore. One such example was the
Malayan democratic Union in 1945. The locals started making demands for local
political involvement because the Japanese occupation had been a traumatic
experience for the locals in Singapore. Many people were killed, tortured and lived
in fear during the Japanese occupation. Secondly, the British had lost Singapore to
the Japanese and this showed that the British was just like anyone else and thus
their rule could be challenged and that the locals could rule themselves.