Major events of this period

The Straits Times, Oct 3, 1945 Excerpt from commentary Price control for locally-grown foodstuffs, without a strict rationing system, is impossible in this country. This has been proved time and again under the Japanese regime. One might contend that the Japanese did not enjoy the co-operation of the public, and that there is a different spirit about under British rule. There is a different spirit about, a better one, but -- let us face facts -- it does not penetrate into empty larders or hungry stomachs. There is not a police force in the world that could hope to enforce controlled prices in this place with any measure of success at the present time. Three and a half years under the Japanese have taught the public all the tricks, evasions and subterfuges that go with blakc-marketing. Unless you put a policeman in every vegetable garden, and at every food stall, ways will be found to defeat the control. And even if you do so, the vegetable gardener will let the stuff rot in the ground ... There is a simple way out, provided adequate supplies of rice are available or can be procured. From the experience gained during the Japanese occupation it may be confidently asserted that if the population's requirements for rice can be met at a price of somewhere about 10 cents per katty, the prices of meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, etc., will remain steady and on a reasonable level. The announcement as to rice rations and control price in Singapore for October, made last Saturday, was thus as sound as it was welcome. The ideal solution, of course, is to go back to the former peace-time position of having an unrestricted supply of rice, sold at competitive prices, but that will not be possible until normal conditions are restored in Siam, Burma and Indo-China, and in shipping services between those countries and Malaya. So long as the present emergency lasts, a local rice policy based on the October price and rations will go far towards allowing prices for other foodstuffs to find a level which will make it possible for the population to eat reasonably well -- although not on a pre-war scale ... Emergency relief for Singapore's poor The Straits Times, Oct 2, 1945 Excerpt As a result of investigations into the gravity of destitution in Singapore, the British Military Administration has authorized the Emergency Relief Committee to pay special relief grants with effect from yesterday. Under the new scheme, each man (head of a household) will receive $5 per month, each woman $4 and each child $2. For a man, his wife and three children, with no means of support, payment on this basis will amount to $15 per month. The only stipulation is that in no case will payment exceed $20 per month ... Prior to the adoption of the new scheme, it was clear to the British Military Administration, within a few days of its arrival in Singapore, that emergency relief measures, for which provisional plans had been prepared, would have to be put into operation immediately. Accordingly, immediate relief wither in cash up to a maximum of $5 per destitute family over and above the special issue of rations was given ... Up to Sept. 29, 1,500 cases had been dealt with on the interim scale at the central relief office at the Victoria Memorial Hall, and between 3,000 and 4,000 at other centres ... The Straits Times, Oct 13, 1945 Extract of report: Several industries have been restarted, with good progress being made generally with industrial revival in Singapore, the Straits Times understands. Among those already started are the Oxygen-Acetylene plant in Pasir Panjang and the Singapore Rubber Works, while a rubber milling factory is ready to start work immediately. ... a tremendous range of goods, including materials necessary for the revival of industry, has been ordered... Col Williams (chief of Trade and Industry Department) said he had observed a certain amount of reluctance on the part of the local inhabitants to resume business or restart industry. He felt there was no need to for this hesitation, since no one was required to obtain prior permission from his department before resuming industrial operations. Letters from the public Opium, please! Job-hunting Then and now Previous Moses' start page Leslie's start page Chee Beng's start page Nura's start page Copyright © 1998 Singapore Press Holdings. All Rights Reserved.