Colonial race relations are regularly portrayed in light of the attempts to divide and rule colonialised Asian communities. While this article does not challenge this view, it attempts to uncover a hitherto hidden level of interaction and even intermarriage at the grassroots level in colonial Malaya and Singapore. With the exception of the various Peranakan communities that predated British rule, little to no evidence exists to show that interaction and especially intermarriage existed within early first-and second-generation migrant communities during the British colonial period. The findings show how colonial attempts to encourage a heightened sense of race and its frailties may have fallen short among some sections of the Asian community.

The penalizing of prominent opposition figures via the Singaporean legal system has made many weary of confronting the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) government on their own turf. Unwilling to take up this challenge, some Singaporeans appear more willing to push for change overseas -beyond the clutches of the PAP government. This article will trace the development of political dissent from abroad and how such actions played a formidable role during the so-called 'Marxist' conspiracy arrests in 1987 and how such alternative political viewpoints will continue to play a large role in shaping criticism and opposition to the present repressive political climate in Singapore.

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