RAFFLES

1. RAFFLES IS 1337 A history presentation

2. Mark (researcher-in-chief) Chin (analiser) SB (slide show) JS (sat around and ate cheese) Now, on with the show! BROUGHT TO YOU BY

3. We believe that Raffles is the true,worthy andindisputed founder of our wonderful homeland, Singapore. Although Farquhar and Crawfurd did make some contribution, they were simply right-hand men of our great leader Sir Stamford Raffles. OUR STATEMENT

4. In the 1800’s, Raffles was the British Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen. He had a great load of influential power and was a V.I.P. This influential power helped greatly in influencing his superiors to back the founding of Singapore. • Crucially, Raffles caught sight of the important island (after declining the apparently powerful Canary Islands) and saw potential in it, not Farquhar or Crawfurd. In fact, Farquhar was actually ready to accept the Canary Islands. He, and he alone, decided that Singapore would make a good trading port. If not for this stroke of genius, there would not be a Singapore as we know it today. RAFFLES: HOW COOL IS HE

5. Raffles was smart enough to pinpoint the loophole in the Dutch monopoly and was intelligent enough to devise a plan to steal Singapore from under the Dutch’s noses. Again, if he had not enlisted the help ofTengku Hussein to gain control of Singapore (another stroke of genius), Singapore would probably still be a sleazy, sleepy fishing village. • Raffles was strong-willed and even went against his superiors’ orders, which stated explicitly that he was not to incite the fury of the Dutch, in order to found Singapore. He not only did this, but worked around them so Singapore could be set up without the Dutch having any grounds for protest. This was something only a man as outrageously ingenious and cunning as Raffles could pull off. RAFFLES: T3H POWA

6. Raffles spoke Malay, which meant he could negotiate and discuss arrangements with the Temenggong (unlike Farquhar). • Raffles loved Singapore and described it as “a Child of my own” and “my new colony”. In fact, if not for his chronic illness and other commitments, he would have stayed and overseen the development of Singapore. • Even after he left, he dedicated much of his time writing letters to the shortsighted officials of the East India Company, persuading them that Singapore was a valuable possession and a viable way of breaking the Dutch monopoly. • Not only that, but he also wrote the first Singapore Code of Laws, establishing order and cohesion in society. RAFFLES: EVEN MORE POWA

7. BADASS As we have seen, Raffles was the brains and sole driving force behind the establishment of Singapore. He not only had the foresight to see that Singapore would make a successful port, but the ability to circumvent the intrusion of the Dutch. If not for Raffles, Singapore would probably never have grown into the flourishing metropolis we know so well today. RAFFLES: PH34R HIM

8. OWNED • Under Farquhar, Singapore turned into a mess. There was no order and crime was frequent. Raffles had to come and set it straight with his Town Plan, which sorted out Singapore’s growing population. This no doubt attracted a large number of traders. • Farquhar knew about rampant gambling and slavery in early Singapore, but turned a blind eye. It took Raffles to exorcise these practices for once and for all. • In fact, if not for Raffles, Farquhar would have returned home to England after his stint in Malacca. Raffles persuaded him to come to Singapore “with a view to your remaining in Local Charge of British Interests”. • Farquhar never founded Singapore. The idea originated with Raffles, and it was he who carried it out. Farquhar was merely a temporary guardian, a job for which he eventually proved inadequate. FARQUHAR: INCOMPETENT

9. FAT • All Crawfurd did was to build on the existing foundations Raffles and Farquhar had laid down before him. He made few new or notable contributions to Singapore. • His contributions include licensing gambling and urging superiors to improve on education (nothing Raffles had not already pointed out). • His one notable contribution was signing the Anglo-Dutch Treaty. Raffles even did the legwork for that for him, writing letters alongside Foreign Secretary George Canning to Britain. Crawfurd merely put pen to paper. CRAWFURD: CRAP

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