Lim Yew Hock succeeded David Marshall as Singapore’s Chief Minister when Marshall resigned from his post in 1956. While Marshall failed to convince the British to grant Singapore full internal self-government, Lim succeeded in doing so, partly because of his firm suppression of the communist movements that took place in 1956 and 1957. Lim led the Singapore People’s Alliance (SPA) against the People’s Action’s Party (PAP) in the 1959 Legislative Assembly Election. The SPA lost at the polls, securing only 4 seats against the 43 won by the PAP. Many felt that his strong anti-communist stance had contributed to his electoral defeat by alienating him from the Chinese-speaking masses.
