IN 1965, SINGAPORE WAS OUSTED
FROM THE FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA.
WE EXAMINE THE TWO COUNTRIES’
RESPECTIVE POLITICAL TRAJECTORIES
BETWEEN THEN AND NOW
Sea Change in the Strait Text Sarah Chew
It is August 1965. Less than two years
after a merger, Singapore’s reluctant
departure from the Federation of
Malaysia throws her into alienated
independence. The separation comes
after racial tension and strained
political relations culminated in rioting
the year before.
The then-secretary-general of
Singapore’s ruling People’s Action
Party (PAP), Lee Kuan Yew, is named
Singapore’s first prime minister, and
faces the seemingly impossible task of
shaping the nascent nation. Malaysia,
now free from the internal threat ofPAP’s influence, removes the party
from its registry, forcing its Malaysian
members to rename themselves the
Democratic Alliance Party.
While both countries declare
themselves democracies, they
remain targets of media criticism for
autocratic practices, most notably for
the length of time that their ruling
parties have retained power: Singapore
has remained under the PAP since
independence, and Malaysia has
remained under the Barisan Nasional
since the coalition displaced the
Alliance Party in 1973.MEMORIES
abOvE Former Singapore
prime minister Lee Kuan Yew
meeting with labour union
representatives
IMAGE © GETTY IMAGES