hist - ch8

• merger is a combination of 2 or more separate states to form a single, united country [in 1963, Singapore, Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah merged to form the Federation of Malaya]
• Merger

  The combination of two or more separate states to form a single united country
• Federation

  Power is shared amongst the central federal government and individual state governments
• Independence could only be attained when Singapore proved to the British that it could overcome the Communist threat


  Merger would provide Singapore with the support to deal with communist threats
• Economic reasons for merger

  • Access to resources
  • Create jobs
  • Economic growth via common market
• As Singapore was experiencing rapid population growth but had a small market size, merger could increase available jobs and industries for her people
• Establishing a common market would mean that goods produced in one country could enter another without taxes imposed, boosting trade and economic growth
• Shared history and culture

  Singapore and Malaya had a common history as British colonies, many cultural connections, both had Malay as a common language
• Opposition to merger

  • Barisan Socialis
  • Malaya's reservations
• The Barisan Socialis feared that after merger, Singapore would be under-represented in the Malaysian parliament and hence become second-class citizens in Malaysia
• Tunku Abdul Rahman was concerned that merger would bring about racial imbalance, fearing that the predominantly Chinese population in Singapore would be reluctant to accept a Malay Sultan as their Head of State and the Chinese would eventually outnumber the Malays in Malaysia
• Tunku was concerned that many Chinese in Singapore had sympathies for the communists and feared that these attitudes would spread to the rest of Malaysia


  Tunku realized that merger was needed for Malaya to preserve its influence in Singapore's Internal Security Council, which would allow it to also contain the communist threat in Singapore
• The fear of growing communist influence in the Singapore government became more real after the Hong Lim by-election in April 1961 and the Anson by-election


  Tunku feared that this meant the rise of a radical PAP that wanted to achieve independence through radical means
• How merger occurred

  1. 1962 Cobbold Commission indicated that two-thirds of the people in Sabah and Sarawak favoured merger

  2. 1962 Referendum conducted in Singapore on 1 September 1962 and over 70% agreed with the PAP's option for merger (Option A)
• Key points in merger

  • Singapore would have its own Head of State
  • Singapore would have control over its education, labour matters, and civil service
  • Singapore could hold its own elections to choose its own government, Singapore citizens could only vote in elections held in Singapore
  • Singapore would collect its own taxes and pay Kuala Lumpur an agreed-upon sum for federal services
  • The federal government based in Kuala Lumpur would oversee Singapore's defence, internal security, and foreign relations