A Map showing Singapore Electric Tramways' routes (c. 1905) (Source: 20th Century Impressions of British Malaya).
The Tramways Ordinance of 1902 allowed the London-registered company, Singapore Tramways Limited, to set up a tramway system in Singapore. The first electric trams on the island began operations on 24 July 1905 under a new venture, Singapore Electric Tramways Limited, which acquired Singapore Tramways Limited. The board of directors sat in London, with Sir Frank A. Swettenham as its first chairman. The initial acquisitions and operations were handled by their Singapore agents, Messrs. Guthrie & Company Limited.
Workers laying a track at North Bridge Road c. 1904 (Source: blogtoexpress.blogspot.com)
There were 50 single-deck passenger cars for its tram operations, which had three classes of travel. For the transport of freight, the company bought locomotives and freight wagons, and the types of cargo transported included animals, construction materials, agricultural produce, manufactured goods and wares and parcels. There were six tramway lines, which were based on the routes of the former 1886 steam tram service that was discontinued in 1894.
Steam Trams at Tanjong Pagar (c. 1892)(Source: National Library Board, Singapore)
Tramcar (modern design) (c. 1905). (Source: 20th Century Impressions of British Malaya).
Tramcar (open design) (c. 1905) (Source: 20th Century Impressions of British Malaya).
Goods tram (c. 1905) (Source: 20th Century Impressions of British Malaya).
The routes covered Telok Blangah Road to Keppel Road, Tanjong Pagar Road to Geylang Road, Anson Road to Johnston’s Pier, Bras Basah Road to Serangoon Road, Serangoon Road to Kallang Road and High Street to Tank Road. The generating station situated in McKenzie Road, adjacent to the Rochor canal, from which an ample supply of water was obtained for condensing purposes. The building comprised of the power station and boiler house, car shed, workshop, as well as the company's general office. The power station also supplied electricity to the Municipal Commissioners of Singapore which in turn supplied electricity to private consumers.
Singapore Electric Tramways Ltd's Power Station at McKenzie Rd. (c. 1905) (Source: 20th Century Impressions of British Malaya).
Power Station (interior) (c. 1905) (Source: 20th Century Impressions of British Malaya).
Boiler House (c. 1905) (Source: 20th Century Impressions of British Malaya).
Car Shed (c. 1905) (Source: 20th Century Impressions of British Malaya).
A peculiar feature of the traffic is its denseness through China Town along North Bridge and South Bridge Roads. Almost two-thirds of the total number of passengers were carried on this section of the line, which extends for two miles. The tramway also ran into the less populated areas such as Geylang and Serangoon. This encouraged the ensuing development of both areas.
Electric Tram at Geylang terminus (Source: National Library Board, Singapore)
Tram rides were initially charged by the number of sections in a route or by the full distance of the route, with fares ranging from 10 to 20 cents. This was expensive in comparison to other existing modes of transportation such as rickshaws and horse carriages. Besides the limited tram routes covering areas away from town, high fares and the complicated payment structure added to the public’s reluctance to commute via tram. Fares were eventually reduced to as low as three cents per section. More people began to use the trams and in 1909 an average of 32,000 passengers a day used the trams.
However, trams faced a variety of issues such as obstructions on tramlines, vandalism, boycotts by Chinese guilds, as well as infrastructure and mechanical issues. In 1922, under advice from the Shanghai Electric Construction Company, tram operations were revamped, including repairs to the tramcars and revised fare scales in an effort to keep the system going. The situation improved and the operators were able to turn a profit.
Despite this turnaround, the municipality commissioners decided not to renew the tramway concessions. They cited incompatibility of the parties’ interests over the state of the roads on which the trams ran. It is said that the commissioners were embarrassed that the reconstructed tracks of the company ran on fine, metalled surface, while the outside lanes managed by the municipality were battered. The tram company was wound up and a new entity, the Singapore Traction Company, was formed in 1925 to operate electric-powered trolley buses introduced pursuant to the Singapore Traction Ordinance of 1925. The conversion from electric trams to trolley buses occurred in stages, with the last changeover happening at the end of 1927. The Singapore electric trolley bus system, dubbed as the world's largest, ceased operations in 1962.
6. "Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources" Arnold Wright & H. A. Cartwright, Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Co. Ltd., 1908.
Kegagalan British melindungi Tanah Melayu semasa Perang Dunia Kedua telah membuka mata rakyat tempatan untuk menuntut kemerdekaan. Lebih-lebih lagi setelah British kembali dan mencuba nasib dengan penubuhan Malayan Union.
Penentangan terhadap Malayan Union oleh kesatuan-kesatuan Melayu di bawah pimpinan Dato' Onn Jaafar menghasilkan Perjanjian Persekutuan Tanah Melayu 1948. Secara amnya, British tidak beberapa khuatir tentang kehilangan kuasa kerana hampir keseluruhan pengeluaran hasil bumi Tanah Melayu masih dipegang syarikat-syarikat British dan proksinya. Apa yang penting adalah penubuhan sebuah pentadbiran "British friendly" supaya hak perdagangan mereka tidak terjejas.
Perjanjian Persekutuan Tanah Melayu 1948 dan fasa yang dirangka dibawahnya adalah penting kerana ia memansuhkan pelaksanaan Malayan Union yang hanya sempat bertapak selama 22 bulan. Perjanjian 1948 tersebut juga menyatukan negeri-negeri Melayu dalam sebuah Persekutuan untuk pertama kali di mana kedudukan Raja-Raja Melayu telah dikembalikan.
Dengan itu, melalui Perjanjian 1948 ini, Majlis Penasihat digantikan dengan Majlis Perundangan Persekutuan (Federal Legislative Council) iaitu merupakan langkah permulaan ke arah pentadbiran sendiri.
Pada tahun 1955, Majlis Perundangan Persekutuan tersebut telah dibubarkan bagi membolehkan pilihan raya umum diadakan buat julung kalinya. Pilihan raya umum Persekutuan Tanah Melayu ini diadakan pada 27.7.1955 iaitu dua tahun sebelum Tanah Melayu diisytiharkan merdeka. Hari ini genap 65 tahun peristiwa tersebut yang juga dirakam dalam klip filem pertama simpanan Imperial War Museums ini.
Klip filem pertama
Kilp filem tersebut merakamkan proses berkempen, pengiraan undi, sambutan kemenangan dan pasca pilihan raya. Ianya juga menunjukkan barisan kabinet yang bergambar di hadapan King's House dan mesyuarat pertama yang dipengerusikan oleh YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman selaku Ketua Menteri Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. Juga diulas tentang tugas beberapa orang Menteri dari kalangan rakyat tempatan iaitu Abdul Aziz Ishak (Menteri Pertanian), Sardon Haji Zubir (Menteri Kerja Raya), Ong Yoke Lin (Menteri Pos & Telekom), dan Dato' Abdul Razak (Menteri Pelajaran).
Klip filem kedua pula adalah klip kempen mengundi yang dikeluarkan sempena pilihan raya umum 1955 tersebut.
Klip filem kedua
Terdapat 52 kerusi dipertandingkan di mana parti Perikatan yang terdiri dari parti UMNO, MCA, dan MIC memenangi 51 kerusi dan berjaya membentuk kerajaan. Sebuah lagi kerusi dimenangi oleh parti PAS.
Setelah menerima barisan wakil kabinet parti Perikatan yang diumumkan pada 1.8.1955, Pesuruhjaya Tinggi British, Sir Donald Mac Gillivray mengumumkan kesemua 15 jemaah menteri pada 4.8.1955 di King's House, Kuala Lumpur. Pengumuman ini dibuat setelah Majlis Raja-Raja Melayu mengesahkan barisan kabinet tersebut.
Ahli Majlis Perundangan Persekutuan dengan itu bertambah kepada 98 orang iaitu 52 orang yang dipilih melalui pilihan raya umum (menggantikan 50 orang ahli tidak rasmi), 35 orang ahli yang dilantik mewakili kepentingan-kepentingan tertentu, dan 11 orang lagi terdiri daripada Menteri Besar dan wakil-wakil negeri.
15 jemaah menteri ini mengangkat sumpah taat setia menjalankan tugas dan akuan rahsia pada 9.8.1955 di hadapan Ketua Hakim iaitu Mr. Prethaser. Kabinet Persekutuan Tanah Melayu ini dibentuk semasa British masih lagi menjajah Tanah Melayu dan dengan itu masih lagi mengandungi pegawai tinggi British yang dilantik bagi portfolio-portfolio penting seperti kewangan, hal-ehwal ekonomi dan pertahanan bagi menjamin hak dan kesinambungan perdagangan British tidak terjejas. Ini mungkin sebab utama rakyat tempatan tidak mengiktirafnya sebagai PRU pertama dan juga persidangan Parlimen pertama. Lihat klip filem ketiga yang dirakam semasa persidangan parlimen selepas pilihan raya umum pramerdeka tersebut.
Klip filem ketiga
Walaubagaimanapun, apa yang tidak dapat disangkal adalah semangat kerjasama dan muhibbah di kalangan anggota parti Perikatan yang telah menjadi pemangkin kepada kejayaan yang diperoleh dalam proses awal pentadbiran sendiri. Seterusnya, kemuafakatan yang sama telah membawa kepada kejayaan dalam memperoleh kemerdekaan negara dua tahun kemudian iaitu pada 31.8.1957.
Picture 1. Chung Thye Phin's residence in Penang (c. 1907).
Photographs and a short passage on Chung Thye Phin (1879-1935), the last Kapitan China of Perak, extracted from the book "Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources" (1908) (Pictures 1-7).
Picture 2. Chung Thye Phin's residence in Penang (c. 1907).
Picture 3. Passage from "Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources" (1908).
Picture 4. Perak State Council, (c. 1907).
Picture 5. Chung Thye Phin's mine near Tronoh.
Picture 6. Chung Thye Phin's mine in Taiping
Picture 7. Chung Thye Phin's offices in Ipoh & Penang
A tin miner, a revenue farmer, a member of the Perak State Council, and later a member of the Federal Council, he was one of the richest man in Malaya. The mansion which is also depicted in an old postcard (Picture 8) came with grand entertaining rooms and subterranean passageways that connects to underground chambers and an undersea wing.
Picture 8. Chung Thye Phin' residence in Penang (c. 1900s).
Picture 9. Shanghai Hotel, Penang (c. 1950s).
This palatial structure was located at Kelawai Road, Gurney Drive, Penang. After Chung Thye Phin's death, it was sold and turned into a hotel (The Shanghai Hotel) in the late 1930s (Picture 9). It was later demolished in 1964 and on its footprint now stands 1 Persiaran Gurney Condominium.
References:
1. "Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources" Arnold Wright, H. A. Cartwright, Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Co. Ltd., 1908.
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