Lee Kuan Yew memoirs - My first clashes with the government

   On a hot and humid afternoon in 1952, Lee Kuan Yew was asked by a group of 3 Malays and one Indian to be their lawyer to appeal for salary revisions. Lee Kuan Yew agreed although the pay was not much. Those group of people were planning to do a strike in Singapore for that. 

  Before the strike began, Lee Kuan Yew’s friend, keng Swee had returned from England arranged a meeting between Lee Kuan yew and an associate editor, Sinnathamby Rajartnam. After discussing plans, Raja was eager to write a good issue to challenge the colonial government.

  Surprisingly, the issue wrote by Raja reached the ears of the colonial officers. The issue stated about the racial  bias of the colonial government, about how the British earn much more than the locals. 

  At the end of the week, many unions and the public decided to help the postmen carry on their strike to a successful end, which made the government rattle. 

  This situation resulted in the demoralisation of British officials. The colonial secretary decided to conduct negotiations with union representatives and as a result, the strike was suspended for three days. 

  As a result, Lee Kuan yew was now well known for leading striking workers, speaking up for them and were trusted by them. Thus, he was invited to become a legal advisor for many trade unions and clan associates. 

  Lee Kuan yew also took up the effort to learn the Chinese language, although it was difficult due to time constrain and the lack of opportunities. 

  Still, the strike was planned again after a few days due to the lack of pay. Lee Kuan yew was asked to be legal advisior for the unions. Luckily, keng Swee suggested the idea of demanding proportionate allowances for all government servants, especially the poorly paid. With this, the council of joint action was formed with a membership of 14000.

  Finally, the Comintern agreed that the unions should receive family allowances, which made the government appalled. When the government rejected the appeal, he was threatened by 6 unions to strike action, which made the government powerless. 

  As a result, the council of joint action shook off the colonial system and a salary scale that gave bigger increases to the higher paid than to the lowest paid.