David Saul Marshall (12 March 1908 12 December 1995), born David Saul Mashal, was a Singaporean politician who served as Chief Minister of Singapore from 1955 until his resignation in 1956, after his delegation to London regarding the negotiation for complete home rule and eventual independence of Singapore failed. Marshall was also instrumental in forging the idea as well as in subsequent negotiations that led to the eventual self-governance of Singapore from the United Kingdom.

Marshall was a leftist nationalist who aspired self-determination of the former British Crown colonyhaving founded the Labour Front and the Workers' Party. Marshall would renounce partisan politics and become an independent politician from 1963 onward. Singapore would eventually gain its independence in 1965.

In 1978, Marshall became a diplomat and was Singapore's Ambassador to various countries, including France, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. During this time, Marshall defended Singapore's interests abroad, despite his old political opponent and fellow barrister Lee Kuan Yew, under his People's Action Party, concurrently in government. Nevertheless, he publicly maintained constructive criticism of some domestic policies that he had disagreed with.

Marshall retired in 1993, and died two years later of lung cancer in 1995, at the age of 87.

Chin Peng (21 October 1924 – 16 September 2013), born Ong Boon Hua, was a Malayan communist politician, anti-fascist activist and long-time leader of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA).

During World War II, he fought as an anti-fascist guerrilla fighter in the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army against the Japanese occupation of Malaya. A determined anti-colonialist, he led the party's guerrilla insurgency in the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960), fighting against British and Commonwealth forces in an attempt to establish an independent socialist state. After the MCP's defeat and subsequent Malayan independence, Chin waged a second campaign (1968-1989) from exile against the newly formed government of Malaysia in an attempt to replace its government with a socialist one. This second insurgency came to an end with the Peace Agreement of Hat Yai 1989.

Chin Peng died at the age of 88, in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was cremated according to Buddhist rites.