August 1961 : Merger With The Malayan Federation

“I was all the time very pro merger. In my view Barisan Sosialis never accepted merger. They believed in an independent Singapore. My suspicion was that they were afraid they will be arrested and all put in jail once merger took place.”

“I believed that Singapore could not really exist without being part of Malaysia. The greater mass of many factions, the greater the chance of survival. And I was all for merger, come what may.”

“I was in favour of complete merger just like one of the states in the Federation and with as many seats in parliament as Singapore is entitled to. Finally Siew Choh and other came down to the view that there must be complete merger.”

“Barisan Sosialis later launched an anti-referendum campaign and I didn’t play a role.”