Insider account of ties that failed to bind
James Wong Wing OnPublished: Sep 6, 2005 3:42 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
On Aug 9, Singapore observed the 40th anniversary of its declaration of independence. Over the years, the Chinese-predominated ex-colony of the British Empire has developed into an economically and educationally advanced, as well as technologically sophisticated, city-state.
Despite its indisputable achievements in these fields, younger generations of Singaporeans are feeling the effects of state-enforced boredom brought on by the de-politicisation of their country. As universal youth culture cuts across national borders, young Malaysians also share the sentiment in relation to their own country.
However, history shows that, at its inception as a republic, Singapore was not boring at all. On the contrary, it was full of political excitement to the extent that some issues were harmful to human security on both sides of the Causeway.
On Aug 9, Singapore observed the 40th anniversary of its declaration of independence. Over the years, the Chinese-predominated ex-colony of the British Empire has developed into an economically and educationally advanced, as well as technologically sophisticated, city-state.
Despite its indisputable achievements in these fields, younger generations of Singaporeans are feeling the effects of state-enforced boredom brought on by the de-politicisation of their country. As universal youth culture cuts across national borders, young Malaysians also share the sentiment in relation to their own country.
However, history shows that, at its inception as a republic, Singapore was not boring at all. On the contrary, it was full of political excitement to the extent that some issues were harmful to human security on both sides of the Causeway.
This episode was condensed in a two-year period between Sept 16, 1963 and Aug 9, 1965 when Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia. Two years later, Singapore 'left' the union abruptly.
Many forces and personalities were at play in Southeast Asia during that tumultuous period of the Cold War in Southeast Asia. Also, Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, Malaysia's Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tan Siew Sin and Indonesia's Sukarno rose to prominence as leaders.
Former Malaysian journalist and government propagandist Patrick Keith, now an Australian citizen, has done Malaysians, Singaporeans and Indonesians a great service by writing and publishing Ousted! (Singapore, Media Masters, 2005). This is essentially an insider's story of the ties that failed to bind.
Private records
Ousted! tells the story of the sudden merger of Malaya and Singapore and then their abrupt separation, based on Keith's private records on Lee, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tan. It also includes their perceptions and assessment of one another's character.
Of course, the roles played at the time by the media on both sides of the Causeway as well as in Britain, Australia and the United States, in shaping events and the attitudes of the trio are factored in contextually.
For students of political science and strategic studies exploring theories of real-life decision-making, Keith's book should be placed on the essential reading list of case studies alongside those that purport to explain the cause and effect of the 1949 Berlin Blockage, 1950 Korean War, 1956 Suez Crisis, 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and 1968 Tet Offensive.
Throughout the book, Keith does not claim to be a theorist. He simply tells what he believes to be the truth in an easy-to-read manner and in old-school English. And unlike Chin Peng's 527-page memoirs whose narratives span from 1922 to 1989, Keith's book only covers a two-year period in 199 pages.
So, Ousted! is also a book for laypersons who are interested in how the history of the two nations and societies were made through a dynamic process involving both domestic and external personalities and forces.
In the book, Tunku - the first premier of Malaya and later Malaysia - generally appears in a positive light as a moderate Malay leader.
His seemingly soft and fatherly character contrasts sharply with the hard and youthful one of Singapore's Lee who was, and most likely still is, very articulate and brilliant in the combined tradition of Jeremy Bentham's Utilitarianism and Niccolo Machiavelli's Realism.
However, at certain critical moments, both revealed an unexpected side of their personality.
Tunku remained tough in deciding to separate Singapore from Malaysia in the face of passionate objection by hot-headed hardliners of Umno nationalists like then secretary-general Syed Jaafar Albar.
Lee's 'softer' or sentimental side was reflected in the tears he shed after announcing on air the separation from Malaya.
According to Keith, Lee's opponents included not only whom he saw as Umno 'extremists' but also pro-Umno MCA leaders like Tan, who tried to endear himself and his party to Umno by squeezing Singapore financially. Of course, Tan was outsmarted by Lee and his brilliant team of economic advisers.
External forces
As these moves took place, external forces were also at play because of the impact of the Cold War.
For Sukarno's Indonesia, the formation of Malaysia was a Western or, at least, an Anglo-American scheme of 'neo-colonialism' designed to serve the strategic interest of one party in the Cold War. So, he launched a campaign of coercive diplomacy and special operations to prevent the formation and then to break it up.
Britain prompted the formation of Malaysia to safeguard - somewhat desperately - its position and interests in Asia as the process of de-colonisation or struggle for national liberation gathered momentum in the post-WWII era.
So, Indonesia was the common enemy of Tunku's Umno and Lee's People's Action Party, although they would still quarrel and scheme against each other over the merger and separation.
To Keith's credit again, he has successfully told a complex story in an intelligible and accessible manner.
What is heartening is that the book is now freely read in Singapore although the author observes that Lee could "deliver a warning like a thug"(p80).
Singapore is now certainly more mature and liberal, at least in intellectual life, than Malaysia, where the internal security ministry has yet to decide whether Ousted! is safe enough for adult consumption - more than a month after it was put on sale.
JAMES WONG WING ON is chief analyst of Strategic Analysis Malaysia. He is a former DAP member of Parliament for Kampar (1990-1995) and a former columnist for the Sin Chew Jit Poh Chinese daily (now Sin Chew Daily). He read political science and economics at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
Despite its indisputable achievements in these fields, younger generations of Singaporeans are feeling the effects of state-enforced boredom brought on by the de-politicisation of their country. As universal youth culture cuts across national borders, young Malaysians also share the sentiment in relation to their own country. However, history shows that, at its inception as a republic, Singapore was not boring at all. On the contrary, it was full of political excitement to the extent that some issues were harmful to human security on both sides of the Causeway.
This episode was condensed in a two-year period between Sept 16, 1963 and Aug 9, 1965 when Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia. Two years later, Singapore 'left' the union abruptly.
Many forces and personalities were at play in Southeast Asia during that tumultuous period of the Cold War in Southeast Asia. Also, Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, Malaysia's Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tan Siew Sin and Indonesia's Sukarno rose to prominence as leaders.
Former Malaysian journalist and government propagandist Patrick Keith, now an Australian citizen, has done Malaysians, Singaporeans and Indonesians a great service by writing and publishing Ousted! (Singapore, Media Masters, 2005). This is essentially an insider's story of the ties that failed to bind.
Private records
Ousted! tells the story of the sudden merger of Malaya and Singapore and then their abrupt separation, based on Keith's private records on Lee, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tan. It also includes their perceptions and assessment of one another's character. Of course, the roles played at the time by the media on both sides of the Causeway as well as in Britain, Australia and the United States, in shaping events and the attitudes of the trio are factored in contextually.
For students of political science and strategic studies exploring theories of real-life decision-making, Keith's book should be placed on the essential reading list of case studies alongside those that purport to explain the cause and effect of the 1949 Berlin Blockage, 1950 Korean War, 1956 Suez Crisis, 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and 1968 Tet Offensive.
Throughout the book, Keith does not claim to be a theorist. He simply tells what he believes to be the truth in an easy-to-read manner and in old-school English. And unlike Chin Peng's 527-page memoirs whose narratives span from 1922 to 1989, Keith's book only covers a two-year period in 199 pages.
So, Ousted! is also a book for laypersons who are interested in how the history of the two nations and societies were made through a dynamic process involving both domestic and external personalities and forces.
In the book, Tunku - the first premier of Malaya and later Malaysia - generally appears in a positive light as a moderate Malay leader. His seemingly soft and fatherly character contrasts sharply with the hard and youthful one of Singapore's Lee who was, and most likely still is, very articulate and brilliant in the combined tradition of Jeremy Bentham's Utilitarianism and Niccolo Machiavelli's Realism.
However, at certain critical moments, both revealed an unexpected side of their personality.
Tunku remained tough in deciding to separate Singapore from Malaysia in the face of passionate objection by hot-headed hardliners of Umno nationalists like then secretary-general Syed Jaafar Albar.
Lee's 'softer' or sentimental side was reflected in the tears he shed after announcing on air the separation from Malaya. According to Keith, Lee's opponents included not only whom he saw as Umno 'extremists' but also pro-Umno MCA leaders like Tan, who tried to endear himself and his party to Umno by squeezing Singapore financially. Of course, Tan was outsmarted by Lee and his brilliant team of economic advisers.
External forces
As these moves took place, external forces were also at play because of the impact of the Cold War.
For Sukarno's Indonesia, the formation of Malaysia was a Western or, at least, an Anglo-American scheme of 'neo-colonialism' designed to serve the strategic interest of one party in the Cold War. So, he launched a campaign of coercive diplomacy and special operations to prevent the formation and then to break it up. Britain prompted the formation of Malaysia to safeguard - somewhat desperately - its position and interests in Asia as the process of de-colonisation or struggle for national liberation gathered momentum in the post-WWII era.
So, Indonesia was the common enemy of Tunku's Umno and Lee's People's Action Party, although they would still quarrel and scheme against each other over the merger and separation.
To Keith's credit again, he has successfully told a complex story in an intelligible and accessible manner.
What is heartening is that the book is now freely read in Singapore although the author observes that Lee could "deliver a warning like a thug"(p80).
Singapore is now certainly more mature and liberal, at least in intellectual life, than Malaysia, where the internal security ministry has yet to decide whether Ousted! is safe enough for adult consumption - more than a month after it was put on sale.
JAMES WONG WING ON is chief analyst of Strategic Analysis Malaysia. He is a former DAP member of Parliament for Kampar (1990-1995) and a former columnist for the Sin Chew Jit Poh Chinese daily (now Sin Chew Daily). He read political science and economics at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
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