WaybackWire

SINGAPORE, Monday.—Mr. Lee Kuan Yew broke down in tears today as he told a press conference at Broadcasting House how Singapore came to leave Malaysia.

He met the Tunku alone at 12.30 on Saturday, still believing a looser federation was possible, and came away convinced: “after what he told me when we were alone, I realised there was no other way than what he thought was the solution, that we had to leave Malaysia.”

Several colleagues felt strongly against separation, so he saw the Tunku again on Sunday morning. Dr. Toh Chin Chye needed the Tunku to convince him there was no other way.

“For me, it is a moment of anguish because all my life.... you see, the whole of my adult life.... I have believed in Merger and the unity of these two territories,” Mr. Lee said. His voice faltered, tears rolled down his cheeks and he buried his face in his hands. “Would you mind if we stop for a while.” The conference resumed after a 20-minute break.

Then came his appeal: “There is nothing to be worried about it. Many things will go on just as usual. But be firm, be calm.”

“We are going to have a multi-racial nation in Singapore. We will set the example. This is not a Malay nation; this is not a Chinese nation; this is not an Indian nation.”

He wants close co-operation with the Federation. “We need them to survive. Our water supply comes from Johore.”

KUALA LUMPUR, Monday.—The Tunku today asked Parliament to let Singapore go, and both Houses agreed without a vote against.

“In all the 10 years of leadership in this House, I have never had a duty so unpleasant as this to perform,” he told the Dewan Ra’ayat, in a sad and mournful voice, when it met at ten o’clock.

Lying ill in London, the Tunku saw two courses. “It is odious for us to take repressive measures against the Singapore leaders as we consider it repulsive to our concept of a parliamentary democracy to do so.” That left separation. “My dream, I felt, has been shattered and so we now come to the parting of ways.”

Mr. Ong Kee Hui (Sarawak) said members had seen the Bill only that morning, “to put it very bluntly, making a nonsense of democracy.” The Finance Minister, Mr. Tan Siew Sin, said Sino-Malay relations had never been so low: “insofar as Singapore itself is concerned, it is the end of a dream.”

Mr. C. V. Devan Nair (Bungsar), the only P.A.P. member present, said: “Sir, it is tragic that two years after the birth of Malaysia we should be listening to funeral orations on Malaysia.” And: “I do not believe for one moment that the ejection of Singapore will bring peace and harmony.”

The House voted 126 to nil, with one abstention. The Senate, after a two-hour sitting, passed the Bill unanimously, all 44 senators present.

KUALA LUMPUR, Monday.—Indonesia said today it would recognise an independent Singapore, but tonight the Tunku warned that Malaysia would act if Singapore opened ties with Djakarta or Peking.

“If they proclaim themselves an independent State, we will recognise them and have diplomatic relations with them,” said the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Dr. Subandrio. Recognition depends on Singapore being free of foreign military bases, and confrontation goes on until Malaysia is dissolved: “Without Singapore, there is no reason for Malaysia to exist.”

Mr. Lee said: “We want to be friends with Indonesia. We have always wanted to be friends with Indonesia. We would like to settle any difficulties and differences with Indonesia. But we must survive. We have a right to survive.” Dr. Goh Keng Swee, he said, will allow no subversion.

The Tunku pointed to the agreement’s pledge against harmful treaties. “If they do that, the obvious intention is to harm our interests,” he said. “We can’t allow that to happen. . . . We would take action.”

SINGAPORE, Monday.—Singapore stayed calm today. The news came so suddenly that some at first did not believe it; once it was confirmed, people talked of nothing else.

Fire-crackers went off in bursts in Chinatown soon after the 10 a.m. radio announcement, and Singapore flags were up by noon. One announcer slipped: “This is a Radio Malaysia Singapura, sorry, Radio Singapura.”

Police, alerted two days earlier, stepped up patrols. In Geylang and Joo Chiat armed police carried tear gas, and some firms closed at noon and sent staff home.

The Singapore Umno leader, Syed Esa Almenoar, said: “We all fought to be in Malaysia. We wanted to be together, and now we are out of Malaysia again.”

At the Causeway the Green Bus and Singapore-Johore Express ran as usual, and Johore set no restrictions. “People can still come and go as before,” said Inche Shukor bin Ayob, Johore’s information officer.

The Deputy Premier, Dr. Toh Chin Chye, said: “We do not intend to impose any restrictions unless and until the Malaysian Government initiates them.”