Singapore and Malaysia are countries whose destinies have long been intertwined by geography, history and culture. But yet since a falling out in 1965, each country could not have chosen a more different direction to move towards.
Singapore was one of the 14 states of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965. It became part of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, Malaysia being a new political entity formed from the merger of the Federation of Malaya with North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore. This marked the end of a 144-year period of British rule in Singapore, beginning with the founding of modern Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819.
The union, however, was unstable due to distrust and ideological differences between leaders of the State of Singapore and the Federal Government of Malaysia. Such issues resulted in frequent disagreements relating to economics, finance and politics.
The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which was the political party in power in the Federal Government, saw the participation of the Singapore-based People's Action Party (PAP) in the Malaysian general election of 1964 as a threat to its Malay-based political system. There were also major racial riots that year involving the majority Chinese community and the Malay community in Singapore.
In 1965, Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman decided upon the expulsion of Singapore from the Federation, leading to the independence of Singapore on 9 August 1965.
Wikipedia: Singapore in Malaysia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_in_Malaysia
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An open letter from a Malaysian to Singapore
Posted by Adrianna Tan on September 5, 2015 at 6:45 pm
Note: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not represent any organisation, the editorial team and/or the editor.
I was born in Malaysia in a time where the country was held ransom by the bumiputera policy that discriminated against Chinese, Indians and other non-bumi races.
Since their schooling days, my parents faced racial discrimination from quotas which gave all bumis scholarships to study in university regardless of grades (and 1 scholarship for the non-bumis to fight over). My father taught in a local school for 3 years, being passed over for a pay raise or promotion that was given to any new bumis.
My uncles and aunts ran small businesses which had to hire at least a bumi to stay on the “safe” side of the law of the local government. Protection money was considered “insurance” against weird reasons for authorities to revoke their business licence. 30% of their profits were paid to the government officials to tax businesses so that the Malaysian welfare policies could continue (or who knows, to pay for the latest high-class watch on some official’s wrist).
The merging of Singapore with Malaysia was regarded by my Malaysian relatives as a consequence of the British pulling out. Better to stick together than leave our Singaporean relatives alone.
But Lee Kuan Yew’s push for a multi-racial Malaysia and fairness for his constituents (who paid tax to Malaysian coffers but would not be defended by Malaysian defence forces) didn’t sit well with the UMNO and the sultans who came to power promising the bumis that the bumis always came first.
So Singapore was left alone to fend for itself. No one knew how things would turn out, will Malaysia eventually relax its bumi policy and give non-bumis a fair chance at opportunities? Will Singapore be acquired by Indonesia or remain a poorer cousin of Malaysia?
In Malaysia, we witnessed Singapore’s rise due to its emphasis on meritocracy, business-friendly and anti-corruption stance. Some of us dismissed Singapore as a fluke, you guys just got lucky. Some were secretly jealous, others felt Singapore was arrogant. But no one could refute the fact that Singapore gave all Singaporeans more opportunities than Malaysia would give all Malaysians.
My parents found jobs in Singapore 30 years ago in booming sectors where the Singapore education system hadn’t yet developed fully to produce local graduates, which eventually happened over the years.
Our relatives in Malaysia tell us, stay in Singapore, don’t go back home to Malaysia.
It isn’t safe to live in our hometown anymore. My aunt fell into a week-long coma after a motorcyclist snatched her handbag. My grandmother’s house was burgled. Another aunt was tied up at knifepoint in her own living room, with a plastic bag over her head. My uncle’s family was ambushed by a pack of burglars but he managed to fight them off, sustaining slash wounds in the process.
My cousin, with straight As, couldn’t get into a state university (that wasn’t even the top 5 universities of Malaysia). My Christian friends can’t use the word “Allah” in church after decades of doing so. Churches and temples are often targets of vandalism and arson. Housing is cheap, cars are cheap, but many of the younger generation are heading out of Malaysia, migrating to Singapore, Australia, Canada, UK, USA.
I feel sad when I see these things happening, that we are driven out of our own country and not welcomed back at all. Malaysian politicians want a Malay Malaysia, so they are happy to get rid of the non-bumis. My young nephews and nieces will continue to suffer from such racial policies.
The Bersih movement aims to expose the corruption of not only our Prime Minister, but the whole system. Once you allow corruption to set into Singapore, it is hard to rid yourself of the leeches who promise welfare to the poor but secretly pocket money meant for them.
So I am happy Singapore separated from Malaysia and got to do its own thing. Singaporeans can excel according to their worth, and not according to their racial background.
To my Singaporean friends, open your eyes and look around you. If you were born in another country into a low income family, how certain are you that you can climb to where you are today?
Yes Singapore has problems, and they must be solved by politicians who really do the work, and not sit around making noises like some Malaysian politicians do. You have the right to vote in a fair election, we have blackouts and fires.
Learn from our mistakes, don’t believe in those who say the sweet things and give handouts to win votes, but support those who do the actual work for the people.
– contributed by Five Stars and A Moon reader Jermaine Chua
Source: http://www.fivestarsandamoon.com/an-open-letter-from-a-malaysian-to-singapore/
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Passing of Lee Kuan Yew: On Pointe – Our love-hate relationship with Singapore
Posted on 15 April 2015 – 07:21pm – Last updated on 16 April 2015 – 12:04am
By Natalie Shobana Ambrose
NEIGHBOURING country rivalry is a shared experience around the world. The “anything they can do, I can do better” syndrome is not only reserved for sporting events when pitted against each other but manifested and solidified through perceptions, comments and stereotypes, something we Malaysians do so well, especially when it comes to Singapore and Singaporeans. From serious issues such as water deals to our ongoing food fights with Singapore over the origin claims of Hainanese Chicken Rice and Chilli Crabs.
Perhaps the impetus of our acrimony and rivalry is not just that Malaysia and Singapore have a shared history, but more so because we used to be one until Singapore was “expelled” from Malaysia. A term used by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (in his eulogy for Lee Kuan Yew) who continued to described the separation as his father’s “greatest ‘moment of anguish’, but (that) it also proved to be the turning point in Singapore’s fortunes”.
So perhaps our resentment is further fuelled by the fact that despite driving it out of Malaysia, to the point of even threatening to cut water supply, Singapore still succeeded – it overtook us, sped up and now are too far ahead for us to even catch up. Could its success be a constant reminder and the fuel of our rivalry? After all, isn’t success the best form of revenge?
Some might argue that drawing comparisons about success might not be a fair or reasonable observation. After all, in 1965, Singapore and Malaysia had different starting points. Economic data of that time seems to vary like Goldilocks’ porridge. Some historians say that Singapore was the wealthier sibling to start with, others say it was poorer, and then there are those who say both countries had the same baseline. In fact, it was Malaysia that chose to terminate the tripartite currency interchangeability system in 1973 which meant the ringgit, was no longer at par with the Singapore and Brunei dollar.
Today, the Malaysian ringgit continues to shrink in a steady decline against that of the very country we expelled.
There are other glaring differences. Singapore’s land mass is smaller and so is its population, making it easier to govern and regulate. Therefore some might argue there are closer similarities between Singapore and countries such as Hong Kong and Brunei but not so much with Malaysia.
Yet when Singapore was in mourning over the passing of its founding father, it was hard not to draw comparisons with Malaysia and for some it raised the “what if” question of how different life would have been had they grown up on the other side of the pond. Admittedly some might not have been born given Singapore’s “stop at two” family planning policy which led to decreased fertility rates only to be followed by the “Great Marriage Debate” – an effort to augment the “thinning gene pool” by encouraging graduate women to have larger families. Yet Singapore even with such controlling features, including its notable ban on chewing gum, has the power and vision to draw Malaysia’s cream of the crop to its shores, from young Asean scholars to employing the most number of Malaysians, breaking our talent bank.
We can argue that it is the money that draws talent. After all, why would you want to stay and earn three times less when you can earn much more so close to home?
On a superficial level, that makes sense, but what about being the world’s second safest city, or the opportunities of working in a globally connected economically competitive cosmopolitan city with career opportunities based on meritocracy? Why hasn’t Malaysia then been able to do this for its people?
Earlier this year, a very accomplished Malaysian reached a brick wall with employment opportunities locally but had better offers at globally recognised and reputable organisations across the causeway. While waiting for his flight to his new home he lamented sadly, “why do I have to move to Singapore?”
If only such talent could flourish in Malaysia, we’d be the ones to catch up to. What’s even sadder with this story is that our country didn’t even put up a fight to retain such good talent.
So even if you want to stay, at some point between affirmative action and the lack of suitable opportunities, the lure of not having to deal with such ridiculous challenges pushes Malaysians towards Singapore, and yes an earning capacity that makes sense helps too. How did Singapore managed to do this and not us?
Both countries trumpet multiculturalism yet in Singapore most major train station signage have English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil translations on them. It is these simple things that say to citizens you belong, you are welcomed, you matter and this is your country, this is our shared country.
This is how nationalism is built in the midst of multiculturalism. Of course it takes more than multi-lingual signage to cultivate loyalty and devotion but it is such inclusion and ownership that builds patriotism.
Both our countries share a similar stance of developing the economy first. Singapore’s benevolent dictator once said “What are our priorities? First, the welfare, the survival of the people. Then, democratic norms and processes which from time to time we have to suspend”.
Speeches are very often quoted and used as a measure of a person’s character even if it’s not a true reflection. But looking at the thousands that turned up and queued for hours to pay their last respects, there was a genuine love and appreciation by the people for their leader who not only possessed a true gratefulness for looking after the people’s welfare but also building Singapore into a country its citizens are proud of.
Democracy has been a loose and fluid term in describing the political situation for both Malaysia and Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew was known to not tolerate dissent and so has our government. Yet, even though there was disagreement with one party ruling the nation all these years, the opposition leader of Singapore was invited and given a seat at the public funeral service. Graciousness and gentlemanliness shone through even in disagreement – a rare quality in politicians more so in authoritarians.
There are many opinions about Lee Kuan Yew’s style of governing, some in praise and others berating him. Yet, for all the bad that he did, plenty of good has come out of it. Singapore is an economic powerhouse with a generous healthcare system, world-class education and a solid housing programme, not to mention proud and patriotic citizens.
Just as Singaporeans are so indebted to their first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew for building the country up, the unfortunate truth is that Malaysia stands as a reminder of “what if”?
Malaysia and Singapore will always be neighbouring rivals, but at times like these, credit should be given where it is due.
Source:
http://www.thesundaily.my/node/305010
