1962 Singaporean integration referendum

A referendum on the terms of integration into the Federation of Malaya was held in Singapore on 1 September 1962. There were three options. At the time of the referendum, Singapore was a self-governing country since 1959, although the British Empire still controlled external relations.

1962 Singaporean integration referendum
1 September 1962
OPTION A
I support merger giving Singapore autonomy in labour, education and other agreed matters as set out in Command Paper No. 33 of 1961, with Singapore citizens automatically becoming citizens of Malaysia.

OPTION B
I support complete and unconditional merger for Singapore as a state on an equal basis with the other eleven states in accordance with the Constitutional documents of the Federation of Malaya.

OPTION C
I support Singapore entering Malaysia on terms no less favourable than those given to the Borneo territories.
Results
Choice
 Votes  %
Option A 397,626 95.82%
Option B 9,422 2.27%
Option C 7,911 1.91%
Valid votes 414,959 73.89%
Invalid or blank votes 146,600 26.11%
Total votes 561,559 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 619,867 90.59%
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Option A, which provided for the highest level of autonomy with special status, was the option selected on nearly 96% of valid ballots.[1] 26% of voters cast blank or invalid ballots – mostly the former – meaning that Option A was selected by 71% of those who participated in the referendum, or by 64% of registered voters.[2][3] The high amount of blank votes are due to an attempted boycott by the Barisan Sosialis (Socialist Front) as there was no option that rejected integration entirely.

With the results of the referendum, the states of Malaya, Singapore as well as the crown colonies of North Borneo and Sarawak merged to form the Federation of Malaysia. The union would prove tenuous due to various factors, and would end up lasting for just 1 year, 10 months and 24 days before Singapore ultimately became a fully sovereign country.

Background

The first internal challenge to merger with the Federation of Malaya came from and grew out of a political struggle between the People's Action Party (PAP) and their opponents included the Barisan Sosialis (Socialist Front), the Liberal-Socialist Party, the Workers' Party, the United People's Party and the Partai Rakyat (People's Party).

In Singapore, the PAP sought formation of Malaysia on the basis of the strong mandate it obtained during the general elections of 1959 when PAP won 43 of the 51 seats. However, this mandate became questionable when dissension within the party led to a split. In July 1961, following a debate on a vote of confidence in the government, 13 PAP Assemblymen[4] were expelled from the PAP for abstaining from voting. Subsequently, they formed a new political party, the Barisan Sosialis or the Barisan, reducing the PAP's majority in the Legislative Assembly to 26 of the 51 seats.

The ruling PAP was not legally obliged to call for a referendum, but did so to secure the mandate of the people. However, the Barisan Sosialis, a left-wing socialist party consisting of former PAP members with communist sympathies pedigree to the opposition to the colonialism, and imperialism movements were alleged that the people did not support merger,[5] but Lee Kuan Yew declared that people did.[6]

The referendum did not have an option of objecting to the idea of merger because no one had legitimately raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly before then. However, the methods had been debatable. The referendum was therefore called to resolve the issue as an effort to decide objectively which option the people backed. The legitimacy of the referendum was often challenged by Singaporean left-wingers, due to the lack of an option to vote against the merger.

Council of Joint Action

The Council of Joint Action (CJA) founded by 19 members of the Assembly[7] to block the merger and scuttle the referendum by taking the issue before the UN Committee on Colonialism. On 6 July 1962, The CJA signed a memorandum condemning the referendum on the grounds that the proposed constitutional changes and to assure its continued right to bases in Singapore, and to protect its privileged economic position. The CJA also criticized the terms, and the lack of choice in the referendum. In the memorandum, The CJA concluded that the transfer of sovereignty would be contrary to the spirit and resolution of the United Nations General Assembly's Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

Proposed
Option and Symbols[8] Description of Status
Option A Singapore Singapore
  1. Singapore would retain autonomy in educational, healthcare and labour issues.[1]
  2. Singapore would also get to keep its own language policies with English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil as official languages.[1]
  3. With high amounts of autonomy, Singapore would consequently have a reduced representation in the Parliament of Malaysia, being allocated fifteen seats in the Dewan Rakyat in the first post-merger Parliament.[1]
  4. All Singapore citizens would automatically become citizens of Malaysia.[1]
Option B Penang Penang (equivalent)
Malacca (equivalent)
  1. Singapore would enter on terms no less favourable than the other former Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. This would put Singapore on an equal footing as the other Malayan states as set out in the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1948,[9] with no more autonomy than the other Malayan states.
  2. English and Malay would be the official languages.[1]
  3. Only those born in Singapore or descended from the Singapore-born would automatically become citizens of Malaysia.[1]
  4. There would also be proportional representation in Parliament from Singapore.[1]
Option C North Borneo (equivalent)
Sarawak (equivalent)
  1. Singapore would enter on terms no less favourable than the Borneo territories, North Borneo and Sarawak.[1]
  2. Only those born in Singapore or descended from the Singapore-born would automatically become citizens of Malaysia.[1]

Campaign

Strongly against the referendum, the Barisan Sosialis called for a boycott of the referendum, telling supporters to submit blank votes in protest of the "rigged" referendum. Over 144,000 blank votes were cast, over a quarter of all votes.[1] That move had been anticipated by the ruling PAP government, as seen by the insertion of a clause that stated that all blank would be counted as a vote for the option that wins the most votes if there was no outright majority[1] or that blank votes would be counted as Option A.[10]

The mass media campaign fielded by both sides was extremely heated, many of the leaders on both sides broadcast radio shows in several languages.

Results
Choice Votes %
Option A397,62695.82
Option B9,4222.27
Option C7,9111.91
Total valid votes414,959100
Valid votes414,95973.89
Blank votes143,07725.48
Invalid/unclear votes2,5230.45
Total votes cast561,559100
Registered voters/turnout619,86790.59
Source: Direct Democracy

Aftermath

Backed by the official mandate, the Agreement relating to Malaysia between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore was signed on 9 July 1963.

Singapore entered into merger with Malaya on 16 September 1963, marking the birth of Malaysia. However, this union would be short-lived due to constant disagreements between the central government of Malaysia and the state government of Singapore. With the Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965, Singapore ceased to be a state of Malaysia on 9 August 1965 when it became an fully sovereign independent country.[11]

See also

References
  1. Singapore, 1 September 1962: Integration with Malaya Direct Democracy (in German)
  2. "Yes – What a win for Premier Lee". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. 2 September 1962. p. 1. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  3. "Merger "Yes"". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. 3 September 1962. p. 1. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  4. The 13 members of the PAP Assemblymen were – Lee Siew Choh, Low Por Tuck, Wong Soon Fong, ST Bani, Sheng Nam Chin, Chan Sun Wing, Ong Chang Sam, Leong Keng Seng, Fng Yin Ching, Lin You Eng, Tee Kim Leng, Teo Hock Guan, and Tan Cheng Teng
  5. See: Singapore Legislative Assembly Debates, 24 November 1961, at pages 689–692
  6. See: Lee Kuan Yew, The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings, 1998) at page 393.
  7. 19 members of the Assemblymen were ——
    from 'Barisan Sosialis Lee Siew Choh, Low Por Tuck, Wong Soon Fong, ST Bani, Sheng Nam Chin, Chan Sun Wing, Ong Chang Sam, Leong Keng Seng, Fng Yin Ching, Lin You Eng, Tee Kim Leng, Teo Hock Guan, and Tan Cheng Teng,
    from United People’s Party Ong Eng Guan, SV Lingam, and Ng Teng Kian
    from Workers' Party David Marshall and
    Independents Hoe Puay Choo and CH Koh
  8. Image of ballot paper, Database and Search Engine for Direct Democracy
  9. See: The UK Statute Law Database: Formation of the Malay States and of the Settlements of Penang and Malacca into a new independent Federation of States under Federation of Malaya Constitution.
  10. See: Singapore National Referendum Ordinance 1961.
  11. See: the Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965 Archived 28 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine and the Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Singapore Act 1966.
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