This re-entry permit belonged to Mr. Yap Soon Eng, a seaman who was then working in Indonesia as a stevedore for the Dutch Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij (KPM) shipping company.Following the coming into force of the Malayan Immigration Ordinance in 1953, people travelling out of Malaya and Singapore were required to obtain such permits if they wished to be granted entry upon their return. Only the following groups were exempted from the re-entry permit requirement: British subjects born in Malaya; British subjects resident in Malaya for not less than seven of the last ten years; and Malayan citizens. The new regulations were meant to control the flow of immigrants into these territories.
