Crisis of National Survival: The Sudden Birth of a Republic and the Rise of the Developmental State

Abstract

On 9 August 1965, Singapore separated from the Federation of Malaysia to become an independent and sovereign state. Whilst independence was greeted with joy by nationalist leaders in Africa and Asia, Lee Kuan Yew, the Prime Minister of Singapore, wept on national television, referring to it as his “moment of anguish”.¹ It took him a full 20 minutes to recover his composure.² Singapore was, in the words of Edwin Lee, an “unexpected nation”.³ Hitherto, neither Britain, Malaysia nor the Singapore government believed or imagined that a fully independent Singapore was possible. Singapore’s leaders had to forge a new nation overnight, something they did not plan for or even envisage. As discussed in the previous chapter, Singapore’s interlude in Malaysia was short-lived, tumultuous and traumatic. The PAP government and the Malaysian federal government clashed over differences in their vision for Malaysia, and relations between the two governments hit rock bottom with the outbreak of racial riots in Singapore in August and September of 1964.

[T]he ends of policy are immutable. They are, first, to achieve prosperity for the Republic and her citizens and second, to ensure the survival of the Republic as an independent sovereign state.

Dr Goh Keng Swee, “When the old generation disappears…”, The Straits Times, 26 September 1984