1830s
The Ghee Hin emerged as the
strongest secret society in Singapore,
more powerful than the other two
secret societies present at that time
– the Kwan Teck Hui and the Choo So
Kong Hui. Not only did the Ghee Hin
have the largest membership, they
also generated the highest amount of
revenue from its business activities,
especially from the sale of opium,
which was legal at that time.
The role of the Ghee Hin had
expanded beyond a self-help
organisation to become a structured
body that governed the economic
and social lives of the Chinese
community in Singapore. It was
even acknowledged by the colonial
government at that time.
1840s – 1850s
Tensions begin to rise among the
different dialect groups within the
Ghee Hin. Many of the leaders also
held senior positions on the boards
of temples and industry associations,
which were organised along dialect
lines. During this period, a large
number of Hokkiens also started
coming in, causing a shift in the
country’s demographics. Prior to this,
the Teochews made up the majority of
the Chinese population.
Splinter societies formed in light of
this – a group of Ghee Hin Hokkiens
started the Ghee Hok society.
Separately, another batch of Hokkiens
unrelated to the Ghee Hin formed the
Hok Hin while the Teochews started
the Ghee Sin.
1860s – 1870s
One of the most serious clashes
broke on 15 December 1876, but the
anger was directed at the colonial
government after they introduced
a new postal system that made
the remittance network run by the
Teochews redundant – the new system
was more expensive and made many
of the Chinese unhappy. Things came
to a head the day the Chinese SubPost Office opened as police clashed
with the crowd that had gathered
intending to sack it. It was only when
the headmen of a few secret societies
were detained that calm returned to
1877 - 1888
After the 1876 riots, the government realised
that they needed to seriously look into the affairs
of the Chinese people. The common consensus
was that the immigrants, many of whom were not
even aware of the existenc Hو HYZ[