Life in Colonial Singapore Before WWII: Chinese, Malays, Indians, and Europeans

Ethnic Composition (c. 1930s)

• Chinese (~75%): Mostly male migrants from Guangdong/Fujian; coolies, traders, merchants. Women often domestic servants or in vice. Lived in overcrowded shophouses/slums; faced British and inter-ethnic discrimination.
• Malays (~15%): Indigenous Muslim majority; traditional fishermen, farmers, traders. Marginalized by colonial economy; limited education/opportunity; many in poverty.
• Indians (~5%): Tamil, Malayalee, Sikh migrants; laborers, clerks, merchants, moneylenders. Faced similar discrimination and poverty.
• Europeans (~1%): British officials, planters, merchants, professionals. Held political/economic power; lived in spacious bungalows; exclusive clubs, top schools.

Society was sharply stratified by race and class, with the British at the apex and non-Europeans systematically disadvantaged.