Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly was the legislature of the government from 1955 to 1965 and the predecessor of the Parliament.[1] The Rendel Constitution, proposed in 1953, sought to give the local population more self-governance as the Merdeka independence movement grew. This Constitution took effect upon the conclusion of the general election of 1955, creating a new Legislative Assembly to replace the Legislative Council. In contrast to the Legislative Council, the majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly in 1955 were allotted by election rather than appointment by the colonial administration. 25 seats were elected and 7 were appointed. The colonial administration still reserved significant power, such as that of veto and control of certain aspects of government.
Ensuing activism for self-governance by David Marshall and Lim Yew Hock led to a further amendment of the Constitution in 1958, which proposed a fully elected body of 51 seats. This proposal took effect upon the conclusion of the 1959 general election. Upon the independence in 1965, the Legislative Assembly was renamed to Parliament.
List of sessions[edit]
Legislative Assembly | Speaker | Chief Minister / Prime Minister |
Commenced | Session | Session dates | Dissolved | By-elections |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st (1955) |
Sir George Oehlers | David Saul Marshall (22 April 1955 – 7 June 1956) Lim Yew Hock (8 June 1956 – 31 March 1959) |
22 April 1955 | 1st | 22 April 1955 – 7 June 1956 | 31 March 1959 | 1957 |
2nd | 29 August 1956 – 8 January 1958 | ||||||
3rd | 9 April 1958 – 19 March 1959 | ||||||
2nd (1959) |
Sir George Oehlers | Lee Kuan Yew | 1 July 1959 | 1st | 1 July 1959 – 1 June 1960 | 3 September 1963 | 1961 (April, July) |
2nd | 20 July 1960 – 20 July 1961 | ||||||
3rd | 31 October 1961 – 13 July 1962 | ||||||
4th | 27 March 1963 – 1 August 1963 | ||||||
3rd (1963) |
E.W. Barker (22 October 1963 – 1 November 1964) A.P. Rajah (1 November 1964 – 9 August 1965) |
Lee Kuan Yew | 22 October 1963 | 1st | 22 October 1963 – 16 June 1965 | 9 August 1965 | 1965 |
References[edit]
- ↑ "The Legislative Council". National Library (17 April 2019).