Singapore Standard was founded by millionaire
Aw Boon Haw in 1950. Despite being born in Burma, he was ethnic
Hakka Chinese. According to Joe Conceicao, a former
member of parliament of Singapore, the newspaper reflected the Chinese entrepreneurial interests. The newspaper was founded shortly before the January 1951 closure of
Malaya Tribune, an English-language newspaper. Shortly after its foundation, Aw Boon Haw's son Aw Hoe (), who helped to found
The Standard newspapers as well as
Sing Tao Daily, died during a plane crash in January 1951. Other sons and relatives of Aw Boon Haw then filled the positions (such as managing director, ) to manage
Singapore Standard. Aw Boon Haw died in 1954, after which
Hong Kong Tiger Standard fell under the control of his daughter
Sally Aw and his grandson Aw Toke Tone (, son of Aw Hoe). Sally Aw had a bitter relationship with her Singapore-based family members regarding the heritage of Aw Boon Haw in Hong Kong. The last managing director of
Singapore Standard was Aw Cheng Taik (), nephew of Aw Boon Haw and son of the late
Aw Boon Par. Regardless of these issues,
Singapore Standard became one of the most widely circulated English newspapers in the
colony of Singapore, for which
Singapore Standard was credited as "№2", by its competitor
The Straits Times in April 1959. The PAP again attacked
The Straits Times in April and mentioned
Singapore Standard. Despite the
State of Singapore Act being passed by the
Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1958, the
de facto self-governance of Singapore was achieved after the May 1959 election, when the PAP became the ruling party, a position it holds to this day. On 31 July 1959, shortly after the PAP gained power, the Aw family decided to close down the newspaper, without announcing a reason for doing so. The Singapore Union of Journalists expressed ‘deep concern’ on the closure, saying nearly all the staff did not know of the closure until the day of the
Singapore Standard press release on 31 July. The staff of the newspaper submitted claims for an increased
severance package, but the management board claimed that due to financial difficulties they were unable to increase their offer. The Singapore Trades Union Congress (now
NTUC) did not believe the company faced financial difficulties, and requested liquidation to pay staff. ==Masthead and name==