Similar to the state of cartooning in Malaysia after independence, the early years of Singapore nationhood was one of social consensus building. Cartoons in newspapers were expected to play the role of supporting government policies and campaigns.
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Independence does not necessarily equate to freedom. In 1957, Malaya gained its independence while Singapore would remain under British rule until 1959 when it was given self-government status (British authorities still retained control of defense and foreign affairs).
Comics/cartoons in the modern sense arrived with colonialism. Early manuscripts such as Sejarah Melayu (The Malay Annals) have existed in the Malay States before British control of the area. But newspapers came with the British merchants who needed shipping and entertainment news…
To write about the global history of comics, especially for former colonies like Malaysia and Singapore, is a challenging task. There are three difficulties: chronology, geography and representation…