Across the Causeway: A Multi-dimensional Study of Malaysia-Singapore Relations

5. Political Relations

80 Carlyle A. Thayer 80 5 Political Relation� � carlyle a. thayer r Current relations between Singapore and Malaysia were significantly shaped by the legacy of merger and separation. A review of this period indicates not only the importance of political leadership, but also, more fundamentally, the importance of communalism. These twin factors infused tensions into political and economic issues. The creation of the Federation of Malaysia was precipitated by Singapore’s shift from colonial status to internal self-government (June 1959) and eventual independence. The People’s Action Party (PAP) won the general elections in May 1959 and its leader, Lee Kuan Yew, became prime minister. In May 1961, Tunku Abdul Rahman mooted the idea of an eventual merger between Malaya, Singapore, and the British Borneo territories. Lee Kuan Yew favoured independence through merger with Malaya and rejected the idea of an independent Singapore because it would become “South-East Asia’s Israel with every hand turned against it.”1 The PAP successfully won a referendum on the future of Singapore conducted in September 1962. Seventy-one per cent of the voters supported merger. But domestic opposition by communists, with support in the Chinese community, kept Lee under constant pressure to demonstrate in merger negotiations that he was standing up for the island republic’s interests. Lee sought and gained special terms including greater autonomy and diminished financial obligations for Singapore. Singapore became independent on 1 September 1963, and then joined the Federation of Malaysia a fortnight later. Political Relations 81 The political leaders in Singapore and Malaysia shared the objective of defeating the challenge posed by ethnic Chinese communism.2 And they both favoured creating a Federation of Malaysia. But they also had differing political motivations. Malaya’s leaders sought to incorporate Singapore into a larger federation in which Malay dominance would be maintained. Lee Kuan Yew and the People’s Action Party (PAP) sought independence through merger with Malaya, but on terms of equality for all communal (read ethnic Chinese) groups. Lee strongly argued in favour of meritocracy and this was perceived by the Malay leadership as a veiled attack on the political entitlements of indigenous Malays. Once Singapore joined the Federation, a major fault line quickly developed between the incumbent federal Alliance government led by Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, and the PAP under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew.3 At issue were personal ambitions, economic questions, communalism, political ideology, and the question of federal power and state autonomy. In the federal elections held in April 1964, for example, the PAP nominated nine candidates to run in predominately Chinese constituencies in clashes involving the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) and Socialist Front.4 The PAP argued it would be a better coalition partner in the Alliance than the MCA. United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) leaders called on Malays to reject the PAP and preserve the UMNO-MCA alliance to avoid the dangers of communalism. The Alliance won an overwhelming victory (123 seats out of 159); the PAP won only a single seat. In 1964, the Alliance returned the favour and began to aggressively compete with the PAP in Singapore. UMNO Secretary General Syed Jaafar Albar encouraged the formation of an Action Committee to agitate for Malay special rights in Singapore. He portrayed the PAP as a Chinese party hostile to Malay interests. As a result of rising political tensions, serious race riots broke out in July and September in which more than thirty persons were killed, several hundred injured, and over one thousand arrested.5 Both the federal and state governments came into conflict over how to respond to this tragedy. The federal government sponsored peace committees in direct competition with the Singapore government’s goodwill committees. In 1965 relations between UMNO and the PAP deteriorated to an all time low. In May, UMNO officials warned Lee Kuan Yew of the consequences if he continued to challenge Malay rule. While some UMNO leaders demanded that Lee be detained, others burned him in effigy. PAP leaders perceived UMNO actions as a deliberate attempt to bring Singapore to heel.6 They responded with an aggressive campaign of their own, targeting what they termed UMNO Ultras. Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP advanced the slogan “Malaysian Malaysia” 82 Carlyle A. Thayer as opposed to the Ultra’s “Malay Malaysia”. The PAP sought to realign the political landscape by enlisting the support of opposition groups throughout the country into...