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In 1963, Singapore declared itself independent from Great Britain. Lacking significant land or natural resources, the young nation sought security and economic assistance by merging with Malaya, Sabah, and Sarawak to form the Federation of Malaysia. However, just a few years later, Singapore went its separate way.
The union was unstable from the beginning, with Singaporean leaders disagreeing with federal officials over economic policies and federal affirmative action laws that favored ethnic Malays. Meanwhile, violent clashes between Malay and Chinese Singaporeans led to race riots that resulted in numerous fatalities, injuries, infrastructure damage, food shortages, and deepened tensions between Singapore and the other states as well as the federal government.
Federal authorities grew impatient, and leaders on both sides quickly recognized that the union was unsustainable. Forty-eight years ago, on August 9, 1965, Malaysia's Parliament voted 126-0 to expel Singapore from the federation.
While many countries fought tirelessly for their independence, Singapore’s story seems more like a consequence of political fallout or even a punishment. Just hours before the vote that led to the creation of the Republic of Singapore, its first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, wept during a press conference, saying, “For me, it is a moment of anguish. All my life, my whole adult life, I have believed in the merger and unity of the two territories.” Wikipedia, in reference to the anniversary, even calls Singapore the “first and only country to date to gain independence unwillingly.”
However, Singapore’s independence didn’t unfold without any action from the state, argues Singaporean political blogger Palaniyapan:
While most nations fought to gain sovereignty, we didn’t. It’s often believed that independence was thrust upon us by Malaysia. Many think we lacked a unique identity to preserve or a common cause to pursue. Additionally, with our small size and lack of resources, full self-determination seemed unnecessary and unfeasible. This led many to see Singapore’s independence as an “accident.” But if we look closely at the events leading up to August 9, 1965, these assumptions are challenged. One would find that our peaceful and unexpected independence masks the truth: it was Singapore’s insistence on values like equality and multi-racialism, along with our demand for more self-determination, that drove our separation from Malaysia. So, was independence forced on us by Malaysia? A simple reading of history would say yes. Singapore never openly sought independence; our preferred path was to be part of Federal Malaysia. Yet, digging deeper, we see that while Malaysia raised the issue of secession, the actions of Singapore played a significant role in the process. When given the option to remain in the union and accept limited influence over governance while abandoning the idea of a Malaysian Malaysia—a country where all races are treated equally—we held firm to our principles, fully aware of the risks.
In other words, the collective vision of what Singapore’s society and government should look like was revolutionary enough to prompt Malaysia to carry out the bloodless revolution for us. That’s a powerful foundation for a national narrative, and something worth celebrating with a Singapore Sling.
