1962 Singaporean integration referendum facts for kids

On 1 September 1962, people in Singapore voted in a special election called a referendum. They were asked to choose how Singapore would join the Federation of Malaya. At that time, Singapore was a self-governing country since 1959. This meant it could make its own rules, but the British Empire still handled its foreign affairs.

There were three choices, called options. Option A was chosen by almost 96% of the people who voted correctly. This option gave Singapore the most freedom to manage its own affairs. However, many people (about 26%) handed in blank or invalid votes. This was mostly because a group called the Barisan Sosialis (Socialist Front) asked people to boycott the vote since there was no option to say "no" to joining Malaya at all.

After the votes were counted, Singapore, along with Malaya and the British areas of North Borneo and Sarawak, came together to form the Federation of Malaysia. But this union did not last long. After just under two years, Singapore left Malaysia and became a fully independent country.

Why the Referendum Happened

The idea of Singapore joining the Federation of Malaya was not new. However, there were disagreements about how it should happen. The main political party in Singapore, the People's Action Party (PAP), wanted Singapore to join. They had won many seats in the 1959 elections.

But some members of the PAP disagreed with the plan. In July 1961, 13 of these members were kicked out of the party. They then formed a new party called the Barisan Sosialis. This made the PAP's power in the government much smaller.

The PAP government did not have to hold a referendum by law. But they decided to do so to show that the people supported their plan. The Barisan Sosialis, however, argued that people did not really want to join Malaya. They also complained that the referendum did not allow people to vote against joining Malaysia at all.

Council of Joint Action

A group called the Council of Joint Action (CJA) was formed by 19 members of the Assembly. They wanted to stop the merger and the referendum. They even tried to take their concerns to the United Nations.

On 6 July 1962, the CJA wrote a statement saying the referendum was wrong. They believed the changes would help Britain keep its military bases and economic power in Singapore. The CJA also said the choices in the referendum were unfair. They felt that giving up Singapore's independence went against the United Nations' goal of helping colonies become free.

What Were the Choices?

The referendum offered three different ways for Singapore to join Malaysia. Here's a simple look at each option:

Option and Symbols		What it Meant
Option A	Singapore	Singapore would keep control over its own education, healthcare, and worker laws. It would also keep its four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. Because Singapore had more freedom, it would have fewer representatives (15 seats) in the Malaysian Parliament. All Singapore citizens would automatically become citizens of Malaysia.
Option B	Penang (like) Malacca (like)	Singapore would join Malaysia on the same terms as other former British areas like Penang and Malacca. This meant Singapore would have the same amount of freedom as other states in Malaya. Only English and Malay would be the official languages. Only people born in Singapore or whose parents were born there would automatically become Malaysian citizens. Singapore would have a fair number of representatives in Parliament based on its population.
Option C	North Borneo (like) Sarawak (like)	Singapore would join Malaysia on terms similar to the areas of North Borneo and Sarawak. Like Option B, only people born in Singapore or whose parents were born there would automatically become Malaysian citizens.

The Campaign

The Barisan Sosialis strongly disagreed with the referendum. They told their supporters to turn in blank votes as a way to protest what they called a "rigged" (unfair) vote. More than 144,000 blank votes were cast, which was over a quarter of all votes.

The ruling PAP government had expected this. So, they added a rule that said if there was no clear winner, all blank votes would be counted as a vote for the option that received the most votes. This meant blank votes would count as a vote for Option A. Both sides used radio shows in different languages to try and convince voters.

Results

What Happened Next

With the referendum results showing strong support, the Malaysia Agreement was signed on 9 July 1963. This agreement was between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore.

Singapore officially joined Malaya on 16 September 1963, marking the start of Malaysia. However, this union was very short. There were many disagreements between the central government of Malaysia and the state government of Singapore. Because of these problems, Singapore left Malaysia on 9 August 1965 and became a fully independent country with the Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965.

See also

• Proclamation of Malaysia
• Singapore in Malaysia
• Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965