Secret societies in colonial Singapore

The earliest known written records are by Munshi Abdullah, in his work Hikayat Abdullah, where it mentions of his visit to the Ghee Hin initiation ceremony in 1824, and how when enquiring about its membership, was given an estimate of about 8000 members.[3]

While the numbers were likely to have been exaggerated, the idea of the existence of secret societies forming and growing to such a sizeable extent only after the British presence in 1819 is unlikely, and their roots probably existed in smaller and varied forms prior.

Due to ethnic composition, with the increasingly huge ethnic Chinese immigration population vis-à-vis the rest of the local population, the dominant narrative on secret societies in colonial Singapore has been centred upon ethnic Chinese secret societies.

However, this is not to say there were no multi-ethnic secret societies or those of other ethnic groups. Notable ethnic Indian secret societies have been known to exist, and it was also not unknown for ethnic Chinese secret societies to incorporate members of other ethnicities. It may thus be more of the size and scale of the ethnic Chinese secret societies that result in the non-ethnic Chinese ones being overshadowed, as well as a need for more research to be done.

At the same time, it is important to note Chinese secret societies themselves were far from homogeneous. In fact, the collective term "Chinese" used to describe them would make little sense at this period. This is due to what is today known as the People's Republic of China (PRC) itself going through a period of transition from an ailing imperial dynasty to a long transition of defining its identity and nationhood. The Chinese migrants in varying periods of the colonial era themselves had varying definitions of how they saw themselves, of which a collective term of being "Chinese" as an overall marker held little sway.[4]

For many Chinese secret societies and its members, they were instead marked by regional and/or dialect allegiances, such as being Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese or Hakka, and hailing from provinces of Southern China, namely Kwangtung and Fukien, rather than seeing themselves as a homogeneous ethnic group.[5]

The idea of providing seamless services to members may seem like a relatively modern term, but such was what the secret societies provided to new immigrants. From having agents to recruiting labour from Southern China, settling the transportation means to Singapore and funnelling them to the various employers, such were some of the integrative services and solutions provided. This does not end here, as in the control of illicit businesses, the daily lives of members in terms of the desire to smoke opium or for prostitution was also provided by the secret societies.[6] Protection of members was also guaranteed in an era where law enforcement was nowhere comparable to the case of Singapore today.

The secret societies were thus efficient in providing seamless services to members, and its many benefits were a draw, serving as an important push factor for membership.

The continued importation of male labour for much of the colonial period, saw a massive gender imbalance resulting in a highly skewed male dominated population. It is estimated that up to the end of the 19th century, the ratio was every five males to one female.[7] This meant many would not be able to settle down and start families, and thus an alternative to kinship and family would be joining associations, and such is where the secret societies come into play.[8]

Also, the ethnic Chinese population as mentioned, were a highly diverse group. Particularly apparent would be the different dialects used, that were largely not mutually intelligible. Joining a secret society that spoke the same dialect as well as having members coming from a similar place in Southern China brought a sense of "home" to them.

The idea of linking moral authority with that of secret societies could prove puzzling to many, who do not see how the two could be related. However, if we look at the context of society in colonial Singapore, ruled by the British who were but a minute portion of the entire population and similarly relied on a proportionally small group of local peoples of various backgrounds to help in governing, the secret societies could prove themselves as a viable alternative.

Given the alienation the public had from authorities, which was exacerbated by language barriers, the secret societies with their seamless services and corresponding influence and power allowed them to be a recognised authority in society. Often the secret societies were looked upon for security and protection, rather than the state enforcers, which were small in numbers. Their moral authority was also recognised by the state, who had to often invoke the aid of leaders of secret societies in times of serious disputes within the ethnic Chinese community, where the ethnic Chinese population looked more towards the secret societies as being representative of their interests and concerns instead.[9]

Iconic members of the Singapore Chinese community such as Whampoa Hoo Ah Kay were known to be members, and many if not most leaders were indeed affiliated to the secret societies.[11] Chinese community leaders often straddled both legitimate businesses as well as the activities of secret societies, meaning that the influence of secret societies was widespread to the extent that these community leaders had government connections, moral authority in society and economic power all conflated together.

The need for labour in the growing colonial economy saw an increase in the immigration of Chinese coolies to Singapore. While some of the better off ones had the financial means to make their way, be it from family back home or sponsored help, many could not afford the necessary fees needed to provide for the expenses of the journey.[12]

Most of these coolies required passage assistance, and such was provided by the agents of secret societies or labour brokers who recruited on behalf of the secret societies in the coastal provinces of Southern China. They were given an advanced sum of money for the expenses of the trip, from which the contracted debt was transferred to their employer whom they had to work for to pay off the debt. Such took at least three years in most cases.[13]

Many coolies faced exploitation and abuse, and on top of that, the hard labour often involved with coolie work, as well as poor living conditions in cram and unhygienic squatters took a toll both on their bodies and health. Proper public healthcare was also practically non-existent for them at this period.[14] It was then no surprise that many coolies also turned to opium as a form of relief and a means of escape from the reality of their lives, even if only illusionary.

It is to note that the production as well as consumption of opium was not illegal then, and was an important source of revenue for the organisations that control the opium trade, as well as for the colonial government who collected tax revenues from its sales. Its consumption was also both domestic as well as an export good to other parts of Asia.

Secret societies were involved with the Chinese Kongsi that concurrently ran lucrative legitimate businesses. In fact, the very same opium farming syndicates are also the ones that are involved with the lucrative pepper and gambier businesses, showing the extent of economic power and authority.[15]

Apart from opium dealings, secret societies were also involved in a range of illicit activities, from prostitution to gambling and loan-sharking, amongst others. Prostitution particularly was a long-standing stronghold of the secret societies, and had continually been under their provision. Given the lucrative nature of prostitution in a society with a majority male population, competition and rivalry for control of the prostitution trade amongst secret societies was a constant happening.[16]

A partial reason of the secret societies' ability to engage and sustaining their hold in these activities was the special connection they had with the British colonial government due to the revenue generated from these activities being shared. There was also an understanding between the state and leaders of secret societies that in times of trouble they could solicit the help of these leaders, who as mentioned were often respected community leaders at the same time as being leaders of secret societies.[17]

The secret societies, with its running of both legitimate as well is illegitimate businesses, clearly had great influence in society, and this was particularly great among the Chinese coolies, amongst many other groups of people.

Many coolies being part of the "pig trade" which was controlled by the secret societies, were contracted to work in places such as the gambier and pepper plantations or opium plantations. Consequently, many were also consumers of opium, which meant they were feeding the very organisations they were working for. For coolies who became opium addicts, many of them faced the consequences of being unable to clear their debts from the contracts, and being indebted and bounded even further. Likewise, the same could be said of their engagement in vices like prostitution and gambling, which again came under the purview of the secret societies. These activities often came together with opium consumption and had the similar consequences of causing further indebtedness, as well as in the case of prostitution saw greater health issues such as the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.[18]

It thus formed a vicious cycle where the very people employed became consumers of what they helped to produce and become further indebted, supporting the businesses and activities of secret societies, and perpetuating this system of exploitation.

The first of which was the Anti-Catholic Riots which took place from February 15–20, 1851, with an estimated 500 dead. The reasons for the riots were due to the successes in which the Catholics had in having converts to Catholicism, which meant that the pool in which secret societies could draw membership from had shrunk, given the Taoist styled religious connotation that secret societies entailed.[20]

The second was the Teochew-Hokkien Riots, also known as the Great Riots of 1854 or the Five Catties of Rice Riots, which took place three years later from May 5–17, 1854, with an almost equal death toll estimated at 480 dead, alongside another 222 injured.

The riots happened due to rivalry between the two largest Chinese dialect groups, namely the Teochews and the Hokkiens. The trigger for the riot started over a rather petty issue, where on 5 May a dispute between a Hokkien shopkeeper and a Teochew buyer regarding the price of rice drew the attention of bystanders, who took sides based on their affiliations, and ended up escalating into a major riot.

A major player amongst the secret societies in this incident was said to be the Ghee Hin society, which had splintered off into various groups, including Teochew and Hokkien affiliated ones respectively.[21]

Constant rivalries between secret societies had been a cause for concern for the colonial authorities, who initially first sought to regulate them, due to still seeing their functional roles in society. They did so through first the Peace Preservation Act (also known as the banishment act) of 1867, followed by the 1869 Ordinance for the Suppression of Dangerous Societies, and finally the establishment of Chinese Protectorate in 1877.

The Peace Preservation Act of 1867 gave authorities the power to deport Chinese immigrants convicted of crime, and thus served as a deterrence to secret societies and kept them at bay for fear of losing membership.[22]

The Ordinance for the Suppression of Dangerous Societies of 1869 would take a step further, where all societies with more than ten members had to be registered, which allowed greater scrutiny upon their activities.[23] However, the extent to which the authorities had control was questionable since it was hard to both enforce as well as keep taps over their wide-ranging activities.

The 1877 establishment of the Chinese Protectorate was an arguably more successful approach, with the appointment of a Chinese Protector serving as a bridge between the Chinese immigrant community and the colonial government. The appointed Protector in 1877, William Pickering, was knowledgeable in Chinese customs and language, and had a good relationship with the Chinese community, allowing many potential issues and problems to be solved as he communicated effectively as the intermediary between the colonial government and the Chinese community. Pickering was also involved in the helping of exploited coolies and prostitutes. However, despite the good work, or rather due to the work being done, it was seen to affect the secret societies which thrived upon exploiting labour. This ended up in an attempted assassination of Pickering in 1887, by a purported secret society member who sought to fling an axe to his head. The incident was a failed attempt, but led to Pickering's forced retirement the following year.[24]

The failure to regulate the secret societies, coupled with Pickering's attempted assassination, led to the colonial government deciding to fully curb the secret societies. The decline of secret societies in Singapore took place with the Societies Ordinance coming into effect on 1 January 1890. The Ordinance would be a strict enforcement of the previous 1869 Ordinance.

This time, with the Societies Ordinance, under its provision any society with more than ten members was deemed illegal unless it was registered and received government approval. Furthermore, the Ordinance gave overarching powers to the government over the secret societies, giving them the authority to ban and dissolve any societies in which they deemed unlawful.[25]

The Societies Ordinance of 1890 dealt a major blow and led to the decline of the secret societies in colonial Singapore, but despite such, they continued to exist in smaller scales, and in varied ways and forms.

Emerging research has shown that Indian secret societies did play significant roles in colonial Singapore, disproving of the dominating narrative of other ethnic secret societies being insignificant in comparison to the Chinese secret societies.

Well in the early years around 1831, Indians had their own secret societies alongside the existing Chinese ones, namely the Red Flag and White Flag. The Red and White Flag respectively showed how there was great diversity amongst and within secret societies, as while both groups comprised mainly Indian Muslims, there were also Indian Hindus, Jawi Peranakans and Malays, which showed how secret societies transcended religion and ethnicity.[28] The trend of authorities having a hand in collaboration with secret societies is again seen with the case of the Red Flag and White Flag, where ethnic Indian police were bribed to join them.[29]

Also, when conflicts between these two groups broke out in the 1860s, they turned to collaborating with their Chinese secret society counterparts. Their mutual collaboration was not superficial, and went down to the level of helping each other in the daily operations of the secret societies.[30]

Paralleling the case of the Chinese secret societies, clashes between the Red Flag and White Flag, contributed to the colonial authority's clamming down of both secret societies in 1865.[31] Like how the Chinese secret societies were initially seen as being beneficial but later clamped down as well due to the problems they caused, the story and trend is repeated here. This showed that the Indian secret societies too wielded significant influence like the Chinese secret societies, so much so that they were deemed a serious enough threat to the colonial authorities.

The above shows that we should not look at secret societies as ethnically divided and isolated from one another, since they can intermix and collaborate with one another to fulfil their respective objectives. Their impact on society also goes further to prove why we need to include these narratives in our understanding of secret societies in colonial Singapore.

Even less mentioned in the narratives on secret societies are the Malays, of whom also played a significant role in the secret societies, in the form of Samseng, or professional thugs. While still much more research would be needed on this group, we know from records that their numbers were indeed significant and played an important role even in the major Chinese secret societies. This could be seen in the case of Ghee Hok Society, where it alone had 4,000 Samseng under its wing in 1872.[32]