- Read the sources below regarding Lim Chin Siong.
- Post a comment about whether you think Lim Chin Siong really was a communist, and why. Refer to the sources in your argument (eg In Source D, Chin Peng states that...). Try to balance the sources agreeing with your point of view, against those that disagree.
- You may find more information regarding Lim Chin Siong here.
Documents and Sources
Source A
“Lim Chin Siong says: I’m not a Communist”
Excerpt of Letter to the Editor
Straits Times, 31 July 1961
Your editorial comments and news reports in the last week have focused attack on me. By repeating the fiction that I am a Communist front-man I suppose my political enemies hope that it would stick in the minds of some.
While Mr. Lee and his men keep crying Communism to cover up a multitude of sins, let me, for my part, try to get the record straight.
Let me make it clear once and for all that I am not a Communist or a Communist front-man or, for that matter, anybody’s front-man.
Lim Chin Siong,
Singapore.
Source B
“He [Lim Chin Siong] was well-meaning and seemed deeply sincere. All the applause and adulation of the crowds had not turned his head. But we never developed a close friendship. Instead, we recognized each other for what we were. He knew I was not a communist and I knew he was one. And we accepted each other as such. He needed me; I needed him. He would trust me to be honest in money matters, and in general not to lie to him. But he did not trust me in political matters. That was the nature of our relationship.”
Source C:
Harold Crouch: What sort of relationship did the people who became the Barisan Socialis in Singapore have with your people in southern Thailand at that time? Had there been any contact at all?
Chin Peng: I think among them, there were some communists, there were some non communists, for example, Lee Siew Choh. We considered him as radical left.
Anthony Short: Lim Chin Siong never had any contact with the Party in southern Thailand, did he?
Chin Peng: I don’t think so. I don’t think so. Lim Chin Siong never admitted he was Communist Party member.
Anthony Reid: Was the Barisan Socialis under the control of the CPM (Communist Party of Malaya)?
Chin Peng: I don’t think we can control it from far away. It would depend on the man on the spot. They discussed among themselves and they coordinated their activities, not controlled from the Central. Take the case of the Singapore left wing, I don’t think they used the name of communists. They all regarded each other as left-wing figures, and then they discussed themselves, they coordinated their policy, and they decided.
Chin & Hack (eds)., Dialogues with Chin Peng,
(Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2004), pp. 190 – 192.
Chin Peng was the head of the Communist Party of Malaya
Source D
“While we accept that Lim Chin Siong is a Communist, there is no evidence he is receiving orders from the CPM [Communist Party of Malaya], Peking or Moscow. Our impression is that Lim is working very much on his own and that his primary objective is not to create a Communist country, but to obtain control of the government of Singapore. It is far from certain that having obtained this objective Lim would prove an obedient tool of Communist China or Russia.”
Source E
“Contrary to the countless allegations made over the years by Singapore leaders, academics and the Western press, we never controlled Barisan Socialis. We certainly influenced them. But neither Dr. Lee Siew Choh, the Party chief, nor, as I understand it, other prominent opposition figures like the Puthucheary brothers – James and Dominic – had ever been CPM (Communist Party of Malaya) members. Nor had we ever been able to control them. Unquestionably we tried to control them, but we failed.”
Chin Peng (head of the Communist Party of Malaya), My Side of History,
(Singapore, Media Masters, 2003), p. 438.
Source F
“It is possibly because of Lim’s desire to remain part of Singapore’s history that he has denied, to his dying day, that he was a communist. While his denials in the 1950s, could be for political reasons (and so he will not be arrested), later denials may indicate a fear that he may be put out into the historical cold, given the still-existing sensitivity to communism in the nation. To Melanie Chew’s comment, ‘Throughout your career, you always had to deny you were a Communist,’ Lim vigorously responds, ‘To brand someone as Communist at that time … was the best and most convenient way to put him in jail’. Chew pursues the matter, asking bluntly: ‘Did you have any connection with the Communists?’. The simple response? A flat ‘No’.”
Lam & Tan, (eds.), Lee’s Lieutenants, (Australia, 1999), p.174.
24 comments:
Lim Chin Siong was not a communist.there is no evidence he is receiving orders from the CPM [Communist Party of Malaya], Peking or Moscow.He never admitted he as a communist party member.Impression that Lim Chin Siong was working hard on his own but he is not working to create a communist country.
By:Adeline Yeow (1)
2E
I think Lim Chin Siong was not a communist. He was just speaking out what he thinks is right.It does not mean that when a guy is a little harsh and rash means he is a communist as people are different and we cant judge them from this. People may think that he organised all the strikes but he did not and if he was a communist, he would no be in the PAP in the first place and also he said so himself that he is not a communist and we the people of singapore should give him the benefit of doubt. Thaddeus.
Lim CHin Siong was not a cmmunist. He wanted to control singapore , that why he uses different kind of methods. He also uses differnt kind of methods to gain his popularities. And there is no proof to say that he was a real communist.
From:WarzSinz
(22)
I think that Lim Chin Siong is not a communist.He was just trying to make his voice be heard.Yes,he may be a little harsh at times,but that does not prove that he is a communist.As he wanted to see quicker results,he may have been a little violent and harsh at times.But,not all the strikes and riots was organised by him,some of them may have been just blindly pointed at him.As he was disliked by many politicians like Mr, Lee Kuan Yew,he faced many interrogations instructed by Mr. Lee Kuan Yew.
I can infer that Lim Chin Shiong was not a communist . Although many people accused him of being a communist , he did not do anything wrong to prove that he was a communist . This is because there was no proper evidence to support him being a communist . He too never had any contact with the Party in southern Thailand .
Marissa
No I don't think he was a communist
there is no evidence that lim chin siong,have any contact with the communism party in malaya.lim still insisted that he is not a communist not until his death day, he still insist that he is not a
communist.Many people in the sources says that his not a communist.
Benjamin Tan--->2E
yes. i think he is a strong communist though there's no evidence to support it. it's basically because he acted like one and wanted to build up singapore's independence as quick as possible.according to philip moore, our impression is that lim is working very much on his own and that his primary objective is not to create acommunist country but to obtain control over the government of singapore. to my opinion, that is like some sort of an act of communism. that is why i say that he is a strong communist. he denied that he is a communist till his last breath as he is afraid he might be arrested.
by: yanyue... 2e.. 19.04.07
I don't think Lim Chin Siong is a communist. According to the sources, many people who wrote the sources claimed that he never wanted to be a communist and he had no contact with communist parties. He just only used violence to gain independence because he was rash in nature and not because of communist reasons. This is when Lee Kuan Yew had wrong intentions about him. He might he violent, but not a communist.
--Randal
Lim Chin Shiong is not a communist as there is no evidence he is receiving orders from the CPM and did not have contact with the party in southern Thailand.
Angeline =_=
I can infer that Lim Chin Siong was not a communist. Many people accused him of being a communist. There is no evidence to support that he is a communist. Lim Chin Siong never had any contact with the Party in southern Thailand too.
weilin
Lim Chin Siong was not a communist as Lim Chin Siong never admitted he was Communist Party member.
Thereis no evidence he is receiving orders from the CPM [Communist Party of Malaya], Peking or Moscow. Our impression is that Lim is working very much on his own and that his primary objective is not to create a Communist country.
By:Adeline yeow(1)
2E
I don't think Lim Ching Siong was a communist because there is no evidence towards it.The rumours saying that he was a communist may not be true as he did not admit being a communist even when he died.
Jennica...2e
i thimk Lim Chin Siong was not a communist. people gossiped that he was a communist. However, he admitted and said firmly ,until he died, that he was not a communist.Among the 6 sources, most of the source said that he was not a communist. One said he was, and the other one said he deny he was not a communist because he did not want to be arrested. i think that was wrong, i agree that he was not a communist. he even said himself he was not a communist.
Sheradya
At this point, most of you have agreed that Lim Chin Siong was not a communist.
As Spencer and Thaddeus have rightly pointed out, Lim merely wanted independence faster, thus engaging in riots and strikes. And as many have also observed from the sources (A C D E), Lim never did have contact with the CPM, nor did he ever admit to having communist ideals.
However, I must commend Yanyue on her keen insight, that the activities carried out by Lim Chin Siong were the sort of deeds associated with communists (ie worker strikes). The possible reason why he denied being one was his fear of being arrested as seen in Source F.
These are the kind of comments expected of you. To think critically about the sources and weigh them against each other.
No one has yet to comment on Lee Kuan Yew's belief that Lim was a communist. To what extent can we trust Lee's words?
Lee Kuan Yew did say he knew that Lim Chin Siong was a communist, and they both accepted it. Maybe Lim Chin Siong was a communist but he just told it to Lee Kuan Yew because it is stated that they trust each other and not to lie.
Angeline.
No, I do not think that Lim Chin Siong was a communist. As there is no enough evidence showing that he is one. Although people may think that his denials could be for political reason(and so he will not be arrested). But all these were the people wishful thinking, as there no proof to say that his denials is because of this reason. Lim Chin Siong also does not have any contact with the party in Thailand. We could see that Lim Chin Siong is working very hard on his own not to creat Singapore a communist country so we can trust that he himself is not one. People are spreading rumour thta he was a communist and so everone started to believe he was one. We should not believe rumour as they are not truth.
I think that he is a communist as he started riots and strikes but there is not enough evidence to prove it as he denied till his dying day.Most of all,there must be a reason why Lee Kuan Yew would recognise Lim Chin Siong as a communist.Could he be a communist once or was he still a communist then? Lim Chin Siong was a leader who wanted to build up Singapore's independence as quickly as possible,thus riots and strikes started.Therefore some people would think he was a communist.
Done by:Carlvin(2E)
I refer to Source A,B,C,D,E and F and in my own opinion I believe that Dr Lim Chin Siong is not a communist. In source A, he himself said that he is not a communist. He must have got a shock when he read the news. Of course his enemies would want us to think that he is a communist. On the otherhand, as stated in Source B Mr Lee Kwan Yew cannot be trusted. He too, was Dr Lim Chin Siong's enemy. So he would also be insisting that Dr Lim Chin Siong was a communist. Source C showed that Dr Lim Chin Siong had no contact with the Party in southern Thailand . He might be harsh as he has a different mindset that Mr lee kwan yew that took things slow But there's no evidence that Dr Lim Chin Siong was truely a communist.
JACQUELINE.[16] two'e'
19/4/07
The lack of eveidence force me to conclude that he is not a communist.
Lim Chin Siong's political enemies said that he was a communist, they may have said so to change the views of the people on Lim Chin Siong.
In source A and F, Lim Chin Siong himself has always denied that he is a communist. It is unfair that people judge him as a communist as he is just trying to take control of Singapore. The methods that he used to do so may be rash and harsh as he organised strikes but he just want more control over the country.
It is not true that Lim Chin Siong is involved in CPM as there is lack of evidence that he was recieving orders from CPM. Therefore we cant conclude that he was communist.
thus i conclude that Lim Chin Siong is not a communist and not a member of the CPM.
georgia 2e
Lim Chin Siong could also be a communist as soure F said that ‘To brand someone as Communist at that time … was the best and most convenient way to put him in jail’ he could have denied he is a communist as he is afraid of being put in jail. this could be the reason why he denied being a communist all this while.
we could not trust Lee Kwan Yew's words as he said 'he did not trust me in political matters.' it shows that they dont really trust eah other. So lee kwan yew words could not be trusted as he could be trying to give a good impression to the people by not accusing lim chin siong as a communist.
georgia 2e
I think that LIM CHIN SIONG was not a communists asthere is not much evidence to tell that he was.Even though Lim has set many riots like the 'Barisan Socialis',he was not a communist party member as he only wanted to obtain the control of the government here in Singapore.By reading this sources,we can also say that Mr. Lim is a very perservearing person because even up to the day he died he still denied he was a communists.Mr lee Kuan Yew also said that he only suspect that Mr Lim was a communists ,this means that mr Lee did not have enough evidence to say Mr .Lim was one.This shows that Mr.Lim is not a communist as people only suspects that he is.
Glenn cheng (Santi)
To determine if Lim Chin Siong was indeed a communist we first need to understand what communism is. Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. It is about the wealth and asset of a country controlled by its people. Having “socialis” as part of the party’s name carries the connotation that the party could be slanted to communism. In the above sources A, C and E supports that Lim Chin Siong is not a communist. While sources B, D and F states that Lim Chin Siong is a communist. What I can infer from the sources is that the points proven are all verbal and not stated with facts and evidence. From the above we can observe that all sources are quotations or interview from a point of view. None of them hold a neither neutral nor independent view point which would prove the source worthy. To me I do not find Lim Chin Siong a communist unless there is cold hard facts and evidence.
Source A states that Lim Chin Siong was not a communist this is evident in “Let me make it clear once and for all that I am not a Communist”. He himself has declared that he is not a communist putting his reputation on the line has he replies to the straits times. As the saying goes, we heard from the horse’s mouth to believe or not are up to the readers.
Source B clearly shows that Lim Chin Siong is a communist, Lee Kuan Yew said “He knew I was not a communist and I knew he was one.” We all know that our founding father is a man of his words. He brought the entire nation to where she is with his foresight. So when he stated that he knew Lim Chin Siong was a communist no one would say otherwise. Even without cold hard evidence many people believed that Lim Chin Siong was a communist.
So at the end of the day, even if Lim Chin Siong was not a communist he was already labeled one. Whether he was really one, we would never know as the sources above are not credible enough to prove that he was one. Though his words and his party brought connotation that he would be one, there was never real facts and prove that he was. So I believe a man is innocent till proven guilty.
Marcus Teo (33) 2E
To start with,Lim Chin Siong was not a communist.Source A stated that he was not a communist as the repeated tv news and reports had been focusing on him.And,in source B,Lim's rival,Lee Kuan Yew,did not take him as a friend,but knew each other for what they were.In addition,while people accepted that he was a communist,there is not enough evidence to proof that,which is stated in source D.It also says that the people's impression of Lim was that he was working alone and for his primary objective,which was not to create a communist country,but to get control of the government of Singapore.My overall impression of Lim Chin Siong was that he was not a communist,which i had agreed to most sources which stae that he was not a communist.
Wilson -_- =_=---->2E
i think that lim chin siong is not a communist. he wanted to control singapore , thats why he used a different kind of method instead. according to the sources, many people who wrote on the sources which claimed that he never wanted to be a communist and he had no contact with the communist parties.he also did not have contact with the party in southern Thailand.
shiqi-
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