road to merger Flashcards
why did the PAP want merger with Malaya?
hint:
political reasons – communism!
economic reasons – taxes!
political independence
- the British would only grant independence if PAP would merge with Malaya
- fear that Singapore would fall under communist influence –> stronger and more stable with Malaya
economic survival
- Singapore’s lack of natural resources
- Malayan government imposed tariffs
- common market established through merger –> no tax, less competition –> sustain economic growth
who was the leader of Malaya during this period of time?
Tunku Abdul Rahman
why was Tunku initially reluctant to allow merger with Singapore?
racial imbalance
- predominantly Chinese Singapore population vs predominantly Malay population in Malaya
fear that communist attitudes would spread to Malaya
- many Chinese in Singapore suspected to be communist sympathisers
what were the Hong Lim by-elections?
- Ong Eng Guan was expelled from PAP as his actions were not aligned with party’s directions
- He contested as an independent candidate and defeated PAP candidate with 73.3% of the vote
what were the Anson by-elections?
- Radical group in PAP objected merger
- Sabotaged PAP by asking voters to support opposition candidate
- PAP lost Anson by-elections
why did Tunku eventually agree to merger?
fear of communism
- Feared if independent Singapore turned communist, ideas of communism may spread to Malaya
- Communist country geographically located very close
- Communist elements could be controlled if merge with Malaya
hong lim by-elections
- fuelled Tunku’s fear, caused him to support merger
- Tunku realised that PAP was divided, easy for a radical group to gain control –> needed help
anson by-elections
- fuelled fear of communism
who was the main opposition group to merger
Barisan Sosialis
why did Barisan Sosialis oppose merger?
- Singapore would be given “second class status”
what was conducted to see whether the people wanted merger or not?
Referendum
who won the Referendum?
PAP
what was the name of the operation carried out by the PAP to arrest all the members of Barisan Sosialis
Operation Coldstore (1963)
