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MERGER AND SEPARATION
23
TWO
November. The opposition Barisan Sosialis in Singapore rejected the merger, so a referendum
was held in Singapore in September 1962, resulting in overwhelming support by Singaporeans
for the merger. But, to further ensure that the communist threat posed by the radical left wing
would not derail merger, the Internal Security Council conducted several sweeps which arrested
and locked up all the active Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) sympathisers in Malaya and
Singapore ahead of the merger between December 1962 and March 1963.
III. A MALAYSIAN MALAYSIA VERSUS THE BUMIPUTERA POLICY
When Malaysia was formed on 16
th
September, 1963, the ‘bumiputera’ rights that had been
guaranteed to Malays under the Federation of Malaya constitution were carried forward to
the new confederation to secure the overall domination of the Malays as the rightful owners
of the land. This was one of the most contentious of several causes underlying Singapore’s
expulsion. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew had forged ahead with merger, fully cognisant of the sensitivity
of the ‘bumitputera’ issue, but after merger, he mounted a relentless campaign for a more
equal status for all citizens. Singaporean Malays did not qualify directly for ‘bumiputera’ rights,
nor did Singaporeans generally raise too much objection to the discrimination mainly on the
basis that it was a trade-off for proprietary access to a larger hinterland. But, in the snap
Singapore general elections which the People’s Action Party called on 21
st
September, 1963,
just five days after Malaysia was inaugurated, the PAP won 37 seats in Parliament, the left-wing
Barisan Sosialis 13 and the Singapore Alliance, one. The Singapore United Malays National
Organisation, SUMNO, the Singapore affiliate of the ruling UMNO party in Malaysia, was
rejected completely. But, the sting was especially galling because Malay votes had gone to the
PAP despite the open, if ill advised, backing of the Tunku himself for SUMNO.
Rioting in Geylang, 1964.