THE ROAD TO MERGER

"Malaya today as a nation realises that she cannot stand alone"--Tunku Abdul Rahman

Split in PAP and creation of Barisan Socialis

Singapore attains full self-government

Barisan Socialis anti-merger campaign

PAP wins 1959 election

Referendum on Merger

Operation Cold Store

REASONS FOR MERGER

• Look at the cartoon on page 178.• What does the cartoon say about the

challenges facing an independent Singapore?

REASONS FOR MERGER

• PAP government had wanted a merger with Malaysia:– Economic reasons:

• Tariffs: Malaysian government introduced tariffs on goods traded.

– How would this affect business?

• Common Market: PAP saw merger as a means to set up a common market with goods being bought and sold freely without taxes.

– How would a Common Market benefit Singapore?

REASONS FOR MERGER

• British unwilling to grant full independence to Singapore.

• Why?– Fear of communist threat.– More willing to grant independence if

Singapore were part of a Federation of states.

REASONS FOR MERGER• Malaysia was opposed to the idea of merger:

– Why?– Felt that the presence of Singapore would upset the

racial balance in Malaya.

• However, there were security considerations:– At the same time, there was a distinct possibility of

Singapore becoming communist-influenced.

• Proposal to include Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei was made in 1961.

REACTION TO PROPOSAL • LKY and most of the PAP leaders welcomed the proposal

• However, the pro-communists members of the PAP were against the idea of merger. Why? Why?

• With merger, the anti-communist government would probably arrest them

SPLIT IN PAP• The pro-communists led by Lim Lim Chin SiongChin Siong, a prominent TU leader, attempted to capture the leadership of the PAP so that they could reject merger• Internal struggle for power within the PAP• The communists won over the support of some PAP Legislative Assemblymen• But this did not help them to overthrow the leadership of LKY

SPLIT IN PAP

• They failed and the 13 Assemblymen were expelled from the PAP• Formed a party called Barisan SosialisBarisan Sosialis (Socialist Front) in Aug 1961• Chairman : Lee Siew Choh; Sec-Gen : Lim Chin Siong

REFERENDUM

• It was decided to hold a referendum to find out the type of merger that people wanted.

REFERENDUM• Look at page 183 of your text book for a

definition of the term ‘referendum’.• The people of Singapore were given 3 options:

Option AMerger with reserve powers, notably autonomy over labour and education Automatic conversion of Singapore citizenship to Malaysian citizenship 15 seats in Central Parliament Retention of multi-lingualism

Option BMerger as a State within the Federation Application of present Federation labour and education policies Only persons born in Singapore and some citizens by descent will automatically become Malaysia citizens Parliamentary representation in proportion to number of citizens eligible under stricter Federation citizenship laws Only English and Malay to be used in State Legislature

Option C

Merger to be on terms no less favourable than those given to Sabah, Sarawak

and Brunei

RESULTS

• Referendum results:– 70% of voters favoured merger Option A

which favoured giving Singapore autonomy in labour and education.

– 26% left their ballot forms blank. Why?– Little support for either Option B and Option

C.

MERGER AGREEMENT

• Refer to page 184 of your textbook.• A number of contentious issues remained

to be worked out.• Eventually both sides came to a

consensus in June 1963.

FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA• Cobbold Commission :

– Set up by Malayan and British Government• Task:

– To find out whether the people of Sabah and Sarawak were interested in joining Malaysia

• Result:– Aug 1962 : Only 1/3 of the people in both colonies were not in

favour of joining Malaysia

• Brunei:– Tunku’s government began talks with the Sultan

about Brunei joining Malaysia– Both sides were unable to come to an agreement

on the terms of Brunei’s entry– Brunei thus did not join Malaysia and remained a

British colony till 1984.

OPPOSITION TO MERGER• When Tunku’s proposal surfaced in 1961, there was

no objection from President Sukarno.• He changed his mind in 1963 and said he opposed

the idea of Malaysia:– 20 Jan 1963 : Policy of Confrontation against the formation of

Malaysia– Until Sep 1963, it took the form of harsh words

• Caused by:– Sabah & Sarawak should come under the control of

Indonesia instead of Malaysia– He was also influenced by the Communist Party of Indonesia

(PKI) which was against the anti-communist government in Malay

– The Confrontation policy diverted the people’s attention from the problems they were facing as a result of Indonesia’s economic policies.

• The Philippines objected as it claimed that Sabah rightfully belonged to them

• But it did not have enough evidence to prove its case

• Claim still exists today.

OPPOSITION FROM PHILIPPINES

MALAYSIA AGREEMENT• With the differences between Singapore & Malaya

settled, delegates from Sabah and Sarawak arrived to sign the Malaysia Agreement

• According to the Agreement, Malaysia would be formed on 31 Aug 1963.31 Aug 1963.

• However, this caused stronger opposition from Indonesia and the Philippines

UN MISSION• Tunku agreed to a peaceful solution : A UN

mission would be sent to Sabah and Sarawak to find out whether their people were in favour of joining Malaysia

• Malaysia Day was postponed to 16 Sep 1963.

• On 14 Sep 1963, it was found that 70% of people in these territories were in favour of joining Malaysia and endorsed the Cobbold Commission.

CONFRONTATION• Both Indonesia and the Philippines were most

unhappy and broke off relations with Malaysia• Confrontation became more serious• Indonesians launched armed raids into Sabah and

Sarawak• Their agents also disrupted life in Singapore by

setting off bombs in public places.• Led to armed conflict between the

Commonwealth and Indonesia for a period of 2 years.

• 16 Sep 1963 : New nation of Malaysia came into existence

• Made up of 14 states

• 11 from Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore

MALAYA TO MALAYSIA

MALAYA TO MALAYSIA• Each state had its own state government• Central Government located in KL and was

in charge of the overall administration of the country

• Festivities were held throughout the country to celebrate Malaysia Day

• It was a special day for Singapore because Singapore was no longer a colony of Britain

• However, Singapore’s relationship with Malaysia was to run into trouble a while later