Tunku Abdul Rahman

The British

Lee Kuan Yew and S Rajaratnam (Raja)

Narrator:Once Upon a time not too long ago, in a land not far away...

a country named Singapore, then a British colony, was fighting for its independence

LKY:*addressing crowd* I am Lee Kuan Yew, head of the PAP, a political party in Singapore.

I say we should fight for independence from the British, for decolonisation!

Narrator: Meanwhile, the British had other thoughts..

Brit 1: (in accent)I'd say, Singapore will never make it alone.

What shall we do?

Brit 2:We, sir, should give them a fighting chance.

Maybe they can't survive on their own, but maybe with someone else..... what do you call it? *taps forehead*

Brit 1:A merger.

We'll merge all our Southeast Asian colonies into one gigantic, unified federation!

Singapore shall never have to be alone.*snaps fingers* Problem solved

Brit 2:

By golly! That's what we're to do!

Narrator: Back in Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, along with his friend S Rajaratnam, were having similar thoughts

LKY: I think the best option for freedom is a merger with Malaya.

They have resources vital for our growth- it will benefit our economy, it will free us from the British, it- I absolutely believe in this idea!

S Rajaratnam (Raja): I agree with you Kuan Yew, but have you asked Rahman about it? Have you come up with any plans?

Tunku: *interupting the conversation*

I, Tunku Abdul Rahman, the prime minister of Malaya, should have some say in this conversation here Raja

Raja:Of course.

We were just talking about a merger, between Malaya and Singapore.

Tunku:

That should be fine... wait, no!

LKY & Raja:

What???

Tunku: *rather angrily*

Firstly, Singapore has about one million Chinese.. this will cause racial unbalance in Malaya, too many Chinese dominating the Malays.

And Secondly, Singapore has too many pro-communists! It's not safe for Malaya!

*walks off*

Narrator:

Lee Kuan Yew and S Rajaratnamhad to find a way to get the Tunku to agree with them on the merger.

LKY:

We have to expel the communists, that's what we have to do!

Narrator:

And he did just that.

Additionally, he gave speeches to the local people to garner their support for the merger too.

LKY: *addressing crowd*I tell you, merger is important.

Malaya is important to Singapore. It is the hinterland which produces the rubber and tin that keeps our economy going. It is the base that made Singapore the capital city. Without this economic base, Singapore would not be able to survive. Without merger, without a reunification of out governments and an integratoin of out two economies, our economic position will slowly and steadily get worse. Your livelihood will get worse.

http://www.international.kent.gov.uk/userfiles/Image/Role_of_film.jpg

„Creating “Greater Malaysia” „

NLB call number SING 959.505TAN Tai YongInstitute of Southeast Asian Studies

„Malayan Prime Minister, Tunku Adbul Rahman, addressing the the Foreign Correspondents Association of South-East Asia, where he broached the “possibility of bringing the territories of Singapore, North Borneo (present Sabah), Brunei, Sarawak, and the Federation of Malaya closer together in political and economic co-operation.” ‟

http://darulehsantoday.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/tunku-abdul-rahman-malaysia.jpg?w=166

Full name: Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Hajibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul HamidHalim Shah

• Prince, son of the Sultan

• Chief Minister of Malaya from 1955

• First Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1957 (independence) to 1970

• UMNO party leader from 1951 to 1971

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunku_Abdul_Rahman

„Delegates from the Federation [of Malaya], North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore coming together for the first meeting of the Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee in Singapore (August 1961)‟

„Lee KuanYew addressing a press conference on the Singapore-Malaya merger. On his left is S. Rajaratnam.‟

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/photos-ak-snc1/v313/19/35/21930037394/n21930037394_687763_2901.jpg

• Lee Kuan Yew is a Singaporean statesman and was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades.

• By the time he chose to step down to enable a stable leadership renewal, he had become teh world's longest-serving Prime Minister,

Full name: Sinnathamby Rajaratnam(aka Raja)

• One of the founding fathers of Singapore

• Co-founder of PAP

• Has held many positions in his political career:

• Minister for Culture (1959 – 1965)• Minister for Foreign Affairs (upon independence – 1980)• Minister for Labour (1968 – 1971)• Senior Minister (1985 – 1988)• Deputy Prime Minister (1980 –1985) (with Goh Keng Swee)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._Rajaratnam

„Donald Stephens speaking at the opening ceremony of the Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee. On his left is Yusofbin Ishak (the man on our currency!), the second Yang de-Pertuan Negara of Singapore‟

Full name: Donald Aloysius Marmaduke Stephens (later converted to Islam and changed his name to Tun HajiMohammad Fuad Stephens)

• First Chief Minister of the state of Sabah•

• Led the state of Sabah into the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRAkRv5K6cfKDXEzOpYhuV8S2doen7uBHPgONTaL4pvpXxTWMkP

„Chairman of the Malaysia Commission of Enquiry, Lord Cobboldarriving in Singapore before leaving for the Borneo Terrorities(February 1962)‟

„Chief delegates from Sarawak, North Borneo, Brunei, Singapore and Malaya signing the Memorandum for Malaysia in Singapore, in February 1952.‟

„Lord Cobboldand other members of the Commission of Enquiry at the Singapore Airport after flying in from Kuching.‟

„Delegates from North Borneo and Sarawak arriving in Singapore to see Tunku Abdul Rahman off for London Talks.‟

„Tunku Abdul Rahman and Lee Kuan Yew being welcomed at the airport on their return from talks in London (August 1962)‟

„Lee Kuan Yew speaking at a rally on the merger referendum (August 1962)‟

„Lee SiewChohaddressing a BarisanSosialis rally on the Singapore-Malaya merger.‟

• Dr. Lee Siew Choh was a politician and a medical doctor.

• He was a member of the PAP until he became a leader of the breakaway BarisanSosialis in 1961.

• Lee later stood as a Worker's Party candidate in the 1988 general election and became Singapore's first NCMP (Non-Constituency Member of Parliament)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Siew_Choh

http://wiki-images.enotes.com/thumb/a/aa/Lee_Siew_Choh.jpg/160px-Lee_Siew_Choh.jpg

„Lee KuanYew explaining options to voters during the National Referendum on the Singapore-Malaya merger.‟

„Lee Siew Chohand David Marshall at a radio Singapore forum on the merger between Malaya and Singapore.‟

Full name: David Saul Marshall (12 March 1908 – 12 December 1995)

• the leader of the Singapore Labour Front and

• became the first Chief Minister of Singapore in 1955.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/4/41/20090427152210!DMarshall.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Saul_Marshall

„Lee KuanYew and [the late] Goh KengSwee in a radio debate with members of opposition parties on Singapore-Malaya merger.‟

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goh_Keng_Swee

• Goh Keng Swee (6 October 1918 – 14 May 2010)

• Second Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore from 1973 to 1984

• Member of Parliament for the KretaAyer constituency for a quarter of a century (1959 – 1984)

• He has held many titles:• Finance Minister (1967–1970), • Minister for Defence (1970–1979) and • Minister for Education (1979–1980, 1981–1984).

Lee Siew Chohand Lim Chin Siong of the Barisan Sosialisarrive at the Singapore Badminton Hall for the referendum results (September 1962)

http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/independence/ref/limqte.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lim_Chin_Siong

• He was a member of the PAP, but later left for the Barisan Sosialis

• He is infamously known for certain Anti-British and Communists acts, and for being trade union leader.

• He is known to be one of the leaders that caused the Hock Lee Bus Riots and the 1956 Chinese School riots, both associated with communist trade unions.

Lee KuanYew on a “Thank You” tour of his constituency after victory at the National referendum polls.

Lord Selkirk, Commissioner-General for South-east Asia, in Singapore (February 1963)

The Malaysian flag being raised on 16 September 1963 at the proclamation ceremony in front of City Hall in Singapore.

As we can see, the British were very much involved in this matter of merger Negotiations with London were common and

frequent, and also an important aspect.

We can also see that Singapore already had many political leaders at that time They represent the local voice and opinion on the merger

Many political leaders from Malaya were also involved.