志异 Draft by Drama box July 2014 (english) | Page 40

the Equator Art Society stopped
agreeing with the PAP’s political
direction when the latter came to
power, it turned its support to the
main opposition party of the 1960s,
the Barisan Sosialis, against the
PAP.
Cartooning in the 1950s and 1960s
were exciting times for the artists
as they created works that would
influence the public’s opinion
about the British or the PAP. They
appeared in the newspapers like
The Straits Times, Nanyang Siang
Pau, Sin Chew Jit Poh (these two
Chinese papers would amalgamate
to become Lianhe Zaobao in
1983) and many other dailies and
magazines in the newsstands
back then. However, that changed
as the government tightened its
control over the press and sent out
the message that ‘you are either
with us or you are against us’.
Singapore gained self-government
from the British in 1959 and full
independence in 1965 (after two
years of merger with Malaysia
between 1963 and 1965). The 1960s
to the 1980s were seen as years of
nation-building and the press was
expected to take part in the building
of social consensus and preserving
the social fabric. The press was not
column three – ct lim

to play the role of the fourth estate
like in the West.
From 1961 onwards (the year
members of the PAP split from
the party to form the Barisan
Sosialis), political cartoons stopped
appearing in The Straits Times.
While they continued to appear in
other newspapers, there was less
usage of political caricature as
they were deemed disrespectful
to members of parliament and
ministers. The cartoons became

Cartoons were
part of the arsenal
against colonial
rule in Singapore
and there was the
reemergence of
local concerns and
topics in cartoons.
Cartoonists and
artists became
part of the
independence
movement, raising
the people’s
awareness about
social and political
conditions.

disjuncture & discord in singapore comic & cartoon