David Marshall
דייוויד מרשל‎
1st Chief Minister of Singapore
In office
6 April 1955 – 7 June 1956
MonarchElizabeth II
GovernorJohn Fearns Nicoll
Robert Black
William Goode
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byLim Yew Hock
Chairman of the Workers' Party
In office
1957–1963
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byChiang Seok Keong (acting)
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Anson
In office
15 July 1961 – 3 September 1963
Preceded byMohammed Baharuddin Ariff
Succeeded byGovindaswamy Perumal
Member of Legislative Assembly
for Cairnhill
In office
2 April 1955 – 29 April 1957
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded bySoh Ghee Soon
Personal details
Born
David Saul Mashal

12 March 1908
Singapore, Straits Settlements
Died12 December 1995(1995-12-12) (aged 87)
Singapore
Cause of deathLung cancer
Political partyIndependent
(1963–1995)
Other political
affiliations		Labour Front
(1954–1957)
Worker's Party
(1957–1963)
Spouse
Jean Mary Gray
​
(m. 1961)​
Children4[1]
Parent(s)Saul Nassim Marshall (father)
Flora Ezekiel Marshall (mother)
Alma materUniversity of London

David Saul Marshall (Hebrew: דייוויד סול מרשל; 12 March 1908 – 12 December 1995), born David Saul Mashal (Hebrew: דוד שאול משעל), was a Singaporean barrister and statesman who served as the inaugural Chief Minister of Singapore from 1955 to 1956. He resigned after just over a year at the helm after his delegation to London regarding negotiations for complete home rule and eventual independence of Singapore was initially rejected by the British. However, Marshall was nevertheless instrumental in forging the idea of sovereignty as well as in subsequent negotiations that led to its eventual self-governance from the United Kingdom in 1959.

While Marshall had a privileged upbringing, he was a leftist nationalist who aspired self-determination of the former British Crown colony—having founded the Labour Front and the Workers' Party. From 1963 onward, Marshall would renounce partisan politics and become an independent politician for the rest of his life. Singapore would eventually gain its complete independence in 1965 as a sovereign country – his foremost political goal coming into fruition.

In 1978, Marshall became a diplomat and was Singapore's inaugural ambassador to various countries, including of France, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. During this time, Marshall defended Singapore's interests abroad, despite his old political opponent and fellow barrister Lee Kuan Yew, under his People's Action Party, concurrently in government with Lee as prime minister. Nevertheless, he publicly maintained constructive criticism of some domestic policies that he had disagreed with. Marshall retired in 1993, and died two years later of lung cancer in 1995, at the age of 87.

Early life

Marshall was born in Singapore on 12 March 1908, to Baghdadi Jewish parents Saul Nassim Mashal and Flora Ezekiel Kahn, who had immigrated to Singapore from Baghdad, which was then a part of the Ottoman Empire, where they ran a business. His family name was originally Mashal, which was later anglicised as Marshall in 1920. He had at least six siblings.[2] Marshall received a strict Orthodox Jewish upbringing.[3]

Education

Marshall attended Saint Joseph's Institution, Saint Andrew's School and Raffles Institution. Marshall suffered from various illnesses as a teenager, such as malaria and tuberculosis. His initial goal of being a Queen's Scholar for a medical degree never came when he fell ill and collapsed before the final examinations. He then went to Belgium to study textile manufacturing. Upon his return, he joined the textile industry and later worked as a French language teacher and translator. He then decided to pursue a law career in London, graduating from the University of London.[4]

Upon graduation, Marshall was called to the Bar from the Middle Temple in 1937 before returning to Singapore to commence a legal career.

In 1938, following the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Marshall volunteered for military service with a British reserve unit, the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force. He was assigned to "B" Company, 1st Battalion (1SSVF)—a company composed mostly of continental Europe expatriates. He was detained briefly by military police after objecting to the fact that he and other volunteers classified as "Asian" were paid at half the rate received by "European" members of the SSVF.

In February 1942, he saw action against the Imperial Japanese Army, in the Holland Road area, during the last few days of the Battle of Singapore. Marshall became a prisoner-of-war (POW) following the British surrender.[5] He was initially interned in Changi Prison before being sent to a forced labour camp in Japan.[3]

Reflecting later on his experience as a POW, Marshall commented:

[The Japanese occupation] taught me humility ... Three and a half years as a prisoner taught me humility ... I realised [as a Japanese prisoner-of-war] that mankind is capable of cold-hearted cruelty. I can be angry, and I have no doubt I can be cruel for five, ten minutes. But the Japanese cruelty was cold-blooded, permanent, and eternal. Man's inhumanity to man in fact, in real life, made its presence really known to me when I became a prisoner and saw it in action. Of course, I have known cruelty before. But wide-spread, long-term, cold-blooded, permanent cruelty, I've never experienced before, not even from the British Imperialists no matter how arrogant they were. That was a major shock, the feeling that there were human beings who were not on the same wavelength as me at all, who were not even human from my point of view.

Most of Marshall's immediate family had emigrated to Australia before the war began. After the war ended Marshall spent time with his family in Australia, before returning to Singapore in 1946.

He became a successful and prominent criminal lawyer. Known for his sharp eloquence and imposing stance, Marshall claimed that he had secured 99 acquittals out of 100 cases he defended for murder during Singapore's period of having trial by jury. When Lee Kuan Yew later abolished Singapore's jury system (1969), he cited Marshall's record as an illustration of its "inadequacy".

Political career

Peter Lambda's bust of Marshall, created in 1956, at the School of Law, Singapore Management University

Chief Minister and MP

In April 1955, Marshall led the left-wing Labour Front to a narrow victory in Singapore's first Legislative Assembly elections. He formed a minority government and became Chief Minister. He resigned in April 1956 after a failed delegation to London to negotiate for complete self-rule.[6]

After resigning, Marshall visited China for two months at the invitation of Zhou Enlai, the Chinese Premier. Contacted by a representative of a group of over 400 Russian Jews who were being refused exit from Shanghai by the Chinese authorities, Marshall spoke with Zhou and managed to have them released.[7]

After returning from China, Marshall stayed on the backbenches before quitting the Labour Front and as a member of the Legislative Assembly in 1957. On 7 November 1957, he founded the Workers' Party of Singapore (WP), which has remained one of the major political parties in Singapore, just after the PAP.

Marshall lost his seat in Cairnhill Single Member Constituency to Lim Yew Hock, the Chief Minister, in the 1959 general election as a WP candidate, but won in Anson Single Member Constituency in the 1961 by-election.[4] He resigned from the Workers' Party in January 1963 after a spat with some members of the party.

After losing his seat again in the 1963 general election as an independent candidate, he decided to return to practice law but would remain active in politics, offering his opinions and viewpoints.

Diplomat

From 1978 to 1993, at the invitation of Foreign Minister S. Rajaratnam, Marshall served as Singapore's first ambassador to France, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. As ambassador, Marshall always defended Singapore's interests, despite his differences with Lee Kuan Yew's government. He retired from the diplomatic corps in 1993 after 15 years of service.[8]

Views on Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP

While Marshall consistently praised Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP government for developing Singapore along with its economic prosperity, he also condemned the government for limiting freedom of speech and public freedoms. "We should keep in mind the horrors of [China's] Cultural Revolution, brought about by the cult of subservience to authority and primacy of society over the individual before we point the accusing finger at those who believe that respect for the individual is the basis of human civilisation", he said.[9]

Personal life

Marshall married Jean Mary Gray in 1961, an Englishwoman. Jean was born on 13 April 1926 in Kent, South East England, and came to Singapore in 1953 to take up a post with the Singapore Red Cross Society as a medical social worker. They had four children and six grandchildren. Marshall died in 1995 of lung cancer. He was 87.

Jean Marshall died in Singapore on 29 March 2021, two weeks before her 95th birthday.[10][11][12][13][14]

Legacy

Marshall has been considered by some Singaporeans as being one of the founding fathers of Singapore.[9][15][16] A life-size cutout of him is present at the National Museum of Singapore's Singapore History Gallery, along with some of his favourite iconic smoking pipes that were donated to the museum by his wife which accompanied him wherever he went, as well as other items such as his campaign cards.[15][17][18]

He is also well-regarded by lawyers in Singapore. In recognition of his impeccable service, he was appointed as an Honorary Member and Fellow of the Academy of Law in 1992 by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL), and the David Marshall Professorship in Law was set up in 1995 by the National University of Singapore (NUS).[19] In 2007, the Singapore Management University's School of Law (SMU Law) introduced the David Marshall Prize for the top student in criminal law.[20] In 2017, the Yale-NUS College introduced the David Marshall Scholarship for double degree law students.[21] There is also the David Marshall Scholarship by the School of the Arts, Singapore (SOTA), which are awarded to SOTA students who demonstrate artistic talents and excellent academic standing, as well as maintain excellent conduct and participate actively in school events.[22]

In 2011, the Marshall estate donated a bust of Marshall created by Hungarian sculptor Peter Lambda to the SMU Law's moot court, which is named after Marshall.[23] His widow Jean expressed the hope that the tribute would inspire all law students at SMU to pursue the qualities of passion, diligence, courage and integrity that had distinguished her late husband's remarkable achievements.[24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "David Saul Marshall". Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board. 2008. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Chan, Heng Chee (2001). A sensation of independence: David Marshall, a political biography. Times Books International. p. 23-26. ISBN 9780195826074. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  3. 1 2 "David Saul Marshall | Infopedia". Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  4. 1 2 "David Saul Marshall". Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board. 2008. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015.
  5. ↑ Kevin Khoo (2008). "David Marshall: Singapore's First Chief Minister". Archives Online, National Archives of Singapore. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015.
  6. ↑ "Our story: 167,000 wants independence". AsiaOne. Singapore Press Holdings. 1998. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  7. ↑ Vadim Bytensky & P. A. (2007). Journey from St. Petersburg. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4259-9935-3.
  8. ↑ "David Marshall: Singapore's First Chief Minister". Headlines, Lifelines, AsiaOne. 1998. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015.
  9. 1 2 Shenon, Philip (15 December 1995). "David Marshall, 87, Opponent Of Singapore Authoritarianism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  10. ↑ Facebook post by Singapore’s PM Lee Hsien Loong
  11. ↑ hermes (10 April 2016). "Jean Marshall: At home in Singapore". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  12. ↑ "Jean Marshall Memorial Page". jean.marshall.com.sg. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  13. ↑ Cheng, Ian (29 March 2021). "Jean Marshall, social work pioneer and wife of former chief minister David Marshall, dies aged 94". CNA. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  14. ↑ Yang, Calvin (29 March 2021). "Social work pioneer Jean Marshall, wife of ex-chief minister, dies aged 94". The Straits Times. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  15. 1 2 "David Marshall". www.roots.gov.sg. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  16. ↑ "David Marshall: Singapore's First Chief Minister". corporate.nas.gov.sg. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  17. ↑ "Singapore History Gallery". www.nhb.gov.sg. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  18. ↑ "Campaign card used by David Marshall in the 1961 by-election". www.roots.gov.sg. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  19. ↑ "Honorary Fellows Members". www.sal.org.sg. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  20. ↑ "David Marshall Prize for Top Student in Criminal Law". admissions.smu.edu.sg. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  21. ↑ "Yale-NUS honours David Marshall's legacy through five-year scholarship for double degree law students". www.yale-nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  22. ↑ "David Marshall Scholarships and Study Award". Temasek Foundation. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  23. ↑ hermesauto (15 March 2017). "New SMU law school building officially opens; houses moot court, pearl-shaped law library". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  24. ↑ Lim, Leonard (11 November 2011). "Bust of David Marshall to grace SMU court named after him" (PDF). The Straits Times. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2020.
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