This certification of registration belonged to Mr. Yap Soon Eng, a seaman who was legally registered as a Singapore citizen on 19 December 1957.In 1955, Chief Minister David Marshall proposed the introduction of a Singapore citizenship in an attempt to get local Chinese support for his coalition government. The proposal was strongly opposed by the Malay community, who feared that the Chinese might dominate local politics after becoming citizens with voting rights. A compromise proposal was eventually reached in 1956 following discussions with the British government. The Singapore Citizenship Ordinance came into force in 1957. Under the new law, citizenship was granted to qualified locals who applied for certificates of registration. Successful applicants would also automatically be recognised as British subjects and Commonwealth citizens.
