Government's Plans for Konfrontasi Memorial

Madam, I am taking this question on behalf of the Prime Minister. Let me start by explaining the rationale and criteria for the two commemorative events that the Member had asked about.

The marker on the fight against Communism commemorates Singapore's long struggle against the violence and subversion of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) from 1948 to 1989. It pays tribute to all those who braved Communist violence and intimidation, and especially those who lost their lives and made sacrifices to secure a non-Communist future for Singapore.

In June 1948, a state of Emergency was declared when the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) launched an armed insurrection in a bid to establish a Communist regime in Malaya, including Singapore. Eight thousand civilians and security personnel were killed or wounded during the insurgency in Malaya and Singapore. In Singapore, at least 28 civilians and security personnel, including 11 police officers, were killed as a result of Communist violence. Many others survived Communist attempts on their lives, although some suffered serious life-altering injuries.

One such person was Abdul Wahid Baba, who was a young 21-year-old Police constable on duty in Geylang when Communist gunmen shot him in September 1950. He was paralysed from the waist down, but the tragedy did not stop him from reclaiming his life and contributing to society. Despite being wheelchair-bound, Abdul Wahid went on to represent Singapore at the Paralympics and Pacific Games. He passed away in 2011 at the age of 83.

Former President Mr SR Nathan was also among the many Singaporeans who stood up against the Communists. He personally witnessed the violence of the Communists, especially immediately after the war and confronted pro-Communist activists in the trade unions, where he worked in the 1960s. Mr Nathan will be the guest of honour at the event to unveil the marker. That is on the marker to mark the fight against Communism.

The other marker is the Konfrontasi memorial, and this will honour those who lost their lives and suffered, as well as those who fought during Konfrontasi. It will remind us of a

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significant episode at our birth as a nation that threatened our very existence.

As Members would know, Konfrontasi was a campaign using armed forces waged by President Sukarno of Indonesia from 1963 to 1966, to oppose the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. During this time, the First and Second Battalions of the Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR and 2 SIR), the only two regular army units that we had, were deployed elsewhere in Malaysia. Home-front defence was entrusted to the Singapore Volunteer Corps (SVC) and the Vigilante Corps (VC). The VC was established in 1964. Within two months, more than 10,000 people had volunteered.

During Konfrontasi, Singaporeans experienced dark days of insecurity. In Kota Tinggi, soldiers from 2 SIR were injured and killed in combat. But civilians were targeted too. In Singapore, there were at least 42 bombing attempts. Thirty seven bombs exploded, claiming seven lives and injuring at least 50 others.

Both conflicts – the struggle against Communism and Konfrontasi – not only claimed lives but fundamentally threatened Singapore's sovereignty and security. Had the Communist side won, we would be living in a totally different Singapore today. Likewise, if Sukarno's campaign to "crush Malaysia" had succeeded. So, it is important to have tangible landmarks to help younger and future generations of Singaporeans understand how we got here, and why it was critical that our forefathers supported and fought for the security and future of Singapore. We should honour the memory of innocent civilians who became casualties, as well as brave defenders who sacrificed life and limb to protect our way of life. These landmarks will also remind us to stay vigilant, and maintain a strong defence to safeguard our peace and security.

The Member also asked about the significance of the dates and the sites chosen for the landmarks. The marker on the fight against Communism will be unveiled on 8 December this year. December will be the 25th anniversary of the signing of the 1989 Haadyai Peace Agreements between the CPM and the governments of Malaysia and Thailand. The agreements marked the formal end to the campaign of violence and subversion by the CPM and its satellite organisations to replace the legitimately elected governments of Singapore and Malaysia with a Communist regime that lasted four decades.

We will place the marker in the Esplanade Park along Queen Elizabeth Walk. This is a central and prominent location in the Civic District, close to other historical memorials, namely, the Cenotaph, the Lim Bo Seng Memorial and the Tan Kim Seng Fountain, which have been collectively gazetted as a National Monument. By putting these markers and memorials together, we create a larger sense of Singapore's history and the context of our

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early years.

The Konfrontasi memorial will be located opposite MacDonald House, on the Dhoby Ghaut Lawn. This reminds us of the events of 10 March 1965 – a date remembered by many as the darkest day of Konfrontasi, when a bomb planted by two Indonesian saboteurs exploded at MacDonald House, killing three innocent civilians and injuring 33 others. Mdm Elizabeth Choo and Ms Juliet Goh died at the scene, while Mr Mohammed Yasin bin Kesit died two days later from his injuries.

In recent months, the Home Team has received feedback from some retired police officers. They recalled episodes of Communist violence, assassinations, student demonstrations and labour strikes, and asked that recognition be given to those who fought the Communists. The idea for the Konfrontasi memorial was suggested by the Singapore Armed Forces Veterans' League earlier this year. In fact, even before that, members of the public had written letters suggesting various commemorative efforts for the MacDonald House bombing.

So, the two markers have strong support from the community and Government. As Singapore prepares to celebrate 50 years of independence next year, it is important to reflect on our collective past and the struggles that we underwent to build today's safe, secure and prosperous Singapore. The Government and the people must continue to work together to instil in all of us, especially the younger generation, an awareness of the history that underpins our shared identity as a nation.

I thank the Minister for explaining the rationale for the establishment of these markers. The Minister may be aware that there are also efforts by students in our schools to find, for instance, the locations where the Maria Hertogh riots and the Hock Lee bus riots had occurred. This is no mean task, given the rapid physical changes that are happening in Singapore. So, I want to ask the Minister if there are plans to incorporate some of these ground-up, organic initiatives by members of the public as we seek to commemorate significant events in our history.

Madam, I share very much the Member's suggestion that the efforts to commemorate our history ought to incorporate a very strong ground-up element. I would first say that even for the two markers that are being proposed, these were markers that had been initiated also through extensive ground-up feedback, suggestions from the communities that were involved and were affected. The Government's efforts now to have these two commemorative markers are, in many ways, a response to the community

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feedback.

The Member is absolutely right that there are many other ground-up efforts and we are very keen to support these ground-up efforts and initiatives. At the school level, for SG50 next year, MOE has been discussing with the schools to do quite an extensive heritage trial to let the students initiate these. This project will be student-initiated. They will look at history from their perspective and they will find markers or historic sites which they would like to commemorate. These will be done as part of an SG50 event for the schools. This will range from Primary schools to University students. That is something that is already happening at the school level.

At the community level, there are quite a number of community groups that are very interested in marking the historic sites within their respective communities. A good example is a community group from Queenstown. They had come together and put together and documented the history of Queenstown, our first satellite town. The town has just celebrated its 60th anniversary recently and they had put in place markers to document and commemorate some of the historic sites. These were supported by the National Heritage Board (NHB).

NHB will continue to support these ground-up community efforts, both in the community and within the schools. We have also launched a heritage grant scheme so that our support also comes in the form of providing resources. I am happy to say that since the scheme was launched in July last year, NHB has committed almost $3 million in funding to a range of over 90 projects, initiated by individuals and community groups to collectively strengthen our sense of history and heritage. We will continue to support these ground-up efforts.