"... and so WE decided, that WE MUST part company ..." and with these words flowing out of Tunku Abdul Rahman's lips, Singapore was unceremoniously kicked out of the Malaysia. Left to fend for itself, with no natural resources whatsoever. Singapore, as experts all over the world had predicted, was doomed to fail.
A tearful Lee Kuan Yew addressed the nation via a television broadcast. His speech included this quote: "For me, it is a moment of anguish. All my life, my whole adult life, I have believed in merger and unity of the two territories." On 9 August, 1965, Lee Kuan Yew declared Singapore a sovereign, democratic, and independent state. Hence, Singapore became the only country in the
history of the modern world to gain independence against its own will.
Then just a relatively under-developed former colonial outpost of the British Empire, the first Prime Minister of Singapore knew that the odds for the island state to survive are slim, and their next few moves will be crucial in determining the fate of Singapore. So Lee Kuan Yew, eventually giving up the slim hopes of Singapore re-unifying with Malaysia, and with a handful of truly elite stalwarts around him, set the wheel rolling to shape Singapore into what it is today.
There will be more posts to come, featuring the trials and tribulations that Singapore and the Old Guard faced, and overcame. To find out more about the humble beginnings of this "Little Red Dot", you can read a study of Singapore by The United States Washington Library of Congress, and also the Wikipedia pages.
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