The PAP won the 1959 general election, but then their leaders had to govern Singapore, and they would find this to be much harder than anticipated. They churned out legislation with the twin goals of creating an ideal socialist state in Singapore, and consolidating control. In this episode, PJ Thum describes how they went about achieving these two aims (starting even before they entered government), the mistakes they made, and how their decisions continue to impact Singapore today. 

Please send questions, comments, and feedback to thehistoryofsingapore@gmail.com or visit thehistoryofsingapore.com. Support the show at patreon.com/pjthum. For all the previous episodes in this series, search for "History of Singapore" on bfm.my.