Tunku’s merger announcement
Tunku’s merger announcement
Mr Lee spent little time celebrating. His new government faced many problems, including high unemployment. The most pressing was the challenge posed by the pro-communists, including those ensconced in the PAP.
In May 1961, Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman announced that he was considering a merger with Singapore as well as the territories of North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei. He was worried about the possibility of a communist-controlled Singapore at the tip of the Malayan Peninsula.
A public referendum was to be held on 1 September 1962 to “enable the people of Singapore to express their choice on the mode and manner of the inevitable reunification” of Singapore and Malaya in a new Federation of Malaysia.