The Albatross File is unveiled, telling the story behind Singapore's break-up with Malaysia

Singapore’s independence was not inevitable

Key leaders on both sides pushed for Separation: Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the launch of the Albatross File book and exhibition on 7 Dec 2025

By Ng Wei Kai, The Straits Times, 8 Dec 2025

• Lee Kuan Yew was quite torn about Singapore's separation from Malaysia in 1965, preferring greater autonomy within the federation.

• Racial tensions and political pressure led to the separation, and the Albatross File kept by Dr Goh Keng Swee revealed his push for a clean break.

• SM Lee launched a new book and exhibition to share this history, emphasising that trust in leadership has to be won and the importance of racial harmony for Singapore.

Till the final days before Separation, founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew was ambivalent about Singapore leaving Malaysia.

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong recounted how the Lee family were on holiday in Cameron Highlands on Aug 3, 1965, when his father received a call from Dr Goh Keng Swee, the principal negotiator on the Singapore side.

“I was in the room at Cluny Lodge when my father took a call that afternoon and I heard him tell Dr Goh in Mandarin: ‘This is a huge decision; let me think about it.’,” SM Lee said on Dec 7 at the launch of the Albatross File book and exhibition at the National Library in Victoria Street.

“I didn’t know then what it was about, but it became plain soon enough,” said SM Lee, who became emotional and held back tears as he related this memory.

While Mr Lee had brought enormous political pressure to bear on the federal government in the preceding months, which forced the hand of then Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman on what to do with Singapore, Separation was not the outcome he preferred, said SM Lee.

“His aim was to strengthen Singapore’s position politically, so as to compel the federal government to grant Singapore greater autonomy... Separation was to be an option only if Singapore could not get such a rearrangement.”

Yet, within a few years, all of Singapore’s founding leaders – including Mr Lee and those who had signed the agreement to separate reluctantly – concluded that Separation was the best thing that ever happened to Singapore, said SM Lee.

“In this SG60 year, we are very glad that Dr Goh did what he did. Singapore has thrived and progressed far beyond anything the founding fathers imagined,” he said, choking up with emotion again.

The Albatross File is a collection of previously classified documents that Dr Goh had kept from 1964, such as his handwritten notes about discussions with Malaysian leaders in the months before Separation.

A new book – The Albatross File: Inside Separation – draws on Albatross, alongside oral history interviews with Singapore’s founding leaders. It was launched by SM Lee on Dec 7, and is the basis of a new permanent exhibition at the National Library Building that opens to the public on Dec 8.

Dr Goh, who was finance minister at the time, had named the file Albatross after the large seabird as he felt Malaysia had become an albatross around Singapore’s neck.

After the PAP won all three Malay-majority seats in the general election held days after Merger in 1963, “ultras” (radicals) in UMNO succeeded in sowing deep distrust between the Malays and Chinese in Singapore. This culminated in race riots in July and September 1964.

Mr Lee decided on a political counter-offensive, which included a crucial speech he gave in fluent Malay in the Malaysian Parliament on May 27, 1965, and another speech at the Malaysian Solidarity Convention on June 6. The convention, initiated by PAP leaders, was a united front of non-communal political parties across Malaysia.

Those were tense days – Mr Lee knew his strategy put him at grave peril, and he was aware that the federal authorities were considering arresting him, said SM Lee, recounting a conversation the two had during that period.

“I was 13 years old then. One day, on the Istana golf course, he told me that if anything were to happen to him, I should look after my mother and younger siblings,” he said.

Mr Lee found out only decades later, when he was preparing his memoirs, that contrary to his instructions, Dr Goh had never tried for the looser federation he had preferred, and from the start sought a clean break from Malaysia.

He was so astonished at this discovery that he made a note of the exact time, date and place when he first learnt this in August 1994. He wrote that in the margin of the transcript of Dr Goh’s oral history, next to the passage where Dr Goh confirmed that it was he – and not Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Razak – who wanted Singapore’s “hiving off”.

“Mr Lee told some of the ministers about this, and his great surprise at what had really happened – he also spoke to me about it,” said SM Lee.

The page with Mr Lee’s handwritten note is one of the key items in the exhibition.

SM Lee said the Cabinet papers, records of conversations with Malaysian leaders and British and Australian diplomats, and Dr Goh’s handwritten notes inside Albatross gave a dramatic, blow-by-blow account of how Singapore came to separate from Malaysia.

When he was prime minister, SM Lee said he decided that the file should be declassified and published, together with relevant extracts from the oral histories of key participants in Separation, to put on record a full documented account of this seminal event in Singapore’s independence journey.

“The reader will not only understand the actions and events that led to Separation, but also feel the emotions and passions of our founding leaders,” he added. “It is a history well worth publishing.”

There are two enduring lessons for Singapore from its two years in Malaysia, said SM Lee.

The first is that trust in government – in the political leadership, in particular – is founded on the people knowing their leaders will always have their backs.

Singaporeans saw Mr Lee stand up to the ultras and knew he could not be cowed. A week before Dr Goh’s first meeting with Tun Razak, other PAP ministers such as Dr Toh Chin Chye and Dr Goh held a press conference to declare that they would not quietly acquiesce if Mr Lee was detained, noted SM Lee.

The Republic’s founding leaders therefore won the right to govern because Singaporeans were convinced that Mr Lee and his team could not be intimidated into compromising Singapore’s interest, he added.

“His successors have not forgotten this lesson – no Singapore PM has ever allowed any force or power, whether foreign or domestic, to intimidate us into compromising our national interest or sovereignty,” said SM Lee.

The other lesson is to never take Singapore’s racial and religious harmony for granted.

In his oral history, Mr Lee said one of his most vivid memories from those two years was how easy it was to arouse communal passions and undo years of work trying to bring the races together.

Even in HDB estates, where the norm is for Singaporeans of different races to live together, Mr Lee said he never allowed himself to forget how fragile interracial harmony and trust is.

“It can be snapped, broken, smashed – the dynamics of communal politics or communal politicking will override reason and logic.”

SM Lee said: “We separated from Malaysia because of racial and religious politics. We will not allow race or religion to break up Singapore.”

NDP 2025: Majulah Singapura

Singapore turns 60: Padang and Marina Bay dazzle in milestone celebration

By Ng Keng Gene, The Straits Times, 10 Aug 2025

In a grand celebration of Singapore’s diamond jubilee, tens of thousands flocked to the heart of the city-state on Aug 9 to mark the Republic’s 60th year of independence.

To allow more to soak in the pomp and pageantry of the birthday bash, parade organisers extended the celebrations beyond the Padang to Marina Bay, where about 200,000 people gathered.

At the bay, some spots were so popular that Merlion Park and the area in front of One Fullerton were closed by 4.38pm – an hour before the National Day Parade (NDP) kicked off at 5.40pm.

The earlier sweltering heat gave way to a passing drizzle shortly before the parade got under way.

Kicking off the milestone parade, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong made a surprise appearance with his electric guitar in the pre-parade video Makin’ Our Way.

Another crowd pleaser came at 5.50pm, when seven naval divers leapt from an H225M medium-lift helicopter, descending about 1,830m into the bay – flippers first.

They were followed about five minutes later by seven Red Lions parachutists, whose much-awaited arrival at the Padang delighted the crowd.

Having the naval divers plop into the waters of Marina Bay enabled more people to get up close to the action outside the Padang, where the main parade took place.

Among the 27,000 spectators at the Padang were foreign guests such as Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi, who were seated close to Singapore’s Cabinet ministers in the VIP stand to witness the special event.

Besides the customary 21-gun salute for President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, spectators at the bay were also treated to a maritime vessel display, four water floats, a live performance by singer Benjamin Kheng on a floating stage, as well as vibrant light projections on The Fullerton Hotel and UOB Plaza.

NDP 2025, which involved about 6,000 participants across the pre-parade, parade and ceremony, mobile column and show segments, offered notable firsts.

For the first time in parade history, the parade and ceremony segment featured a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) guard-of-honour contingent, following public feedback.

It will be a permanent fixture of the guard-of-honour contingents in the years to come, joining four from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and one from the Singapore Police Force.

The Singapore Armed Forces Volunteer Corps, to commemorate its 10th anniversary, also fielded a full contingent at the parade for the first time.

Eyes were turned skywards and necks craned as the Republic of Singapore Air Force put on eight aerial displays over the course of the night.

It began with the traditional State Flag fly-past. Later, fighter jet pilots pulled off a gravity-defying “bomb burst” manoeuvre, where the planes soared upwards before speeding off in various directions in a salute to the nation.

Integrating aerial fly-pasts into the mobile column had never been done until NDP 2025, where 22 aircraft flew over the Padang in four formations in a display of the RSAF’s aerial prowess.

While the mobile column demonstrated the Republic’s military might, some of the parade’s most poignant moments came in its final segment, beginning when Lieutenant-Colonel (NS) Alex Chan appeared in a Leopard 2SG main battle tank with his 10-year-old son Keith.

The crowd then broke into cheers when some SAF and Home Team veterans were introduced – in a nod to the shared commitment to defence across generations.

Among them were 95-year-old retired Second Warrant Officer Booi Seow Kiat, who sailed on RSS Panglima, the Republic of Singapore Navy’s first ship, and retired Senior Warrant Officer 1 Jimmy Tan, 66, who responded to the Hotel New World collapse in 1986 that killed 33.

It was on this note that the show segment kicked off, with singer-songwriter Charlie Lim and singer Kit Chan taking the stage to perform the parade’s theme song Here We Are.

As with most NDP shows, the artiste line-up was a mix of experienced hands and young talent.

Making its first appearance since NDP 2009 was local indie band Electrico, which performed that year’s parade theme song What Do You See.

Also returning to the show after a hiatus was Dick Lee, who last performed at NDP 2020, when an evening indoor concert was held in lieu of the usual outdoor show owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hoisted up in a basket attached to a floating balloon, he sang We Will Get There – the first National Day song he wrote, which was performed at the 2002 parade.

Representing a younger generation of artistes was singer-songwriter Linying, who performed original composition I Will Walk With You, while songstress Heema Izzati sang Lim’s Room At The Table.

Some of the night’s loudest cheers were reserved for Aldrich Jai Kishen, 31, one of five Singaporeans whose stories were told in a film screened in segments between the show’s four acts.

The film told of how Jai – a youth worker at Boys’ Town, where he was a resident – discovered a passion for drumming while in his teens that helped him to overcome a rough childhood.

Jai took to the stage for the show’s final act after the film concluded, performing an upbeat remix of Linying’s NDP 2021 theme song The Road Ahead, alongside Electrico vocalist Dave Tan.

In a Facebook post on Aug 9, President Tharman hailed Jai and others involved in the parade, saying “we have heroes all around the island”.

He cited Amelia Tan, nine, who was born with a rare condition resulting in her having speech and hearing difficulty. She did the sign language interpretation of the National Pledge towards the parade’s end.

“Such calm and composure, despite it being her first signing in public,” he said.

“As this year’s NDP song says, every voice is a story,” added the President. “We can all be heroes. Heroes in our own ways, in the story we write together.”

PM Wong said in a separate Facebook post that the parade was “a proud celebration of how far we’ve come – and a heartfelt tribute to the generations who built our nation”.

“As we mark SG60, we honour our past and look ahead to a new chapter. Our solidarity, resilience and unity will stand us in good stead for the road ahead,” he said.

“The best of our journey is yet to come.”

Rounding off the show was Kit Chan, who returned to the NDP stage for the first time since 2015 to belt out Home, the classic that she first performed at NDP 1998.

In a dazzling finale to NDP 2025, its theme – Majulah Singapura – were the last words sang as a kaleidoscope of fireworks illuminated the night sky at the close of the National Anthem.

Before long, rain fell over the Padang again, as President Tharman greeted performers prior to leaving the parade grounds.

Referring to the return of the drizzle as “showers of blessing”, show host Joakim Gomez said: “As we close this chapter to SG60, let’s move on into the next 60 years together. Relax – we will get there.”

PM Lawrence Wong unveils new Cabinet after GE2025, says it’s the ‘strongest team’ for Singapore

DPM Gan remains No. 2; three veterans to take on coordinating minister roles
9 new office-holders, including David Neo and Jeffrey Siow as acting ministers
All ministries to see at least one change in personnel; six to be led by new ministers

By Goh Yan Han, The Straits Times, 22 May 2025

A core team of four senior leaders and the appointment of two new and younger ministers are part of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s new Cabinet “to take Singapore forward in these uncertain and turbulent times”, he said.

On May 21, PM Wong announced his Cabinet for the new term of government, about two weeks after he received a strong mandate from Singaporeans at the polls.

“With your strong support, I have done my utmost to assemble the strongest team I could for Singapore,” he said at a press conference at the National Press Centre.

Three existing ministers, Mr K. Shanmugam, Mr Chan Chun Sing and Mr Ong Ye Kung, will be taking on coordinating minister roles, while Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong will remain as PM Wong’s No. 2 – making up the team of four senior leaders.

Two new MPs and former public servants, Mr David Neo and Mr Jeffrey Siow, have been appointed as acting ministers.

This is PM Wong’s first Cabinet reshuffle after a general election. He had led his PAP team to win 65.57 per cent of the nationwide vote share at the polls on May 3. PM Wong had made few changes in his first reshuffle in May 2024 after taking on the role of head of government.

The latest changes largely involve the younger and newer office-holders and the social and security portfolios, while the economic portfolios were mostly kept unchanged. All ministries saw at least one change in personnel.

Overall, four existing office-holders will be promoted: Associate Professor Faishal Ibrahim, Mr Murali Pillai, Ms Sun Xueling and Mr Baey Yam Keng.

Nine new office-holders will be appointed: Mr Neo, Mr Siow, Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, Ms Jasmin Lau, Mr Goh Pei Ming, Mr Desmond Choo, Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim, Ms Goh Hanyan and Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi.

Six office-holders retired from Cabinet and politics: Mr Heng Swee Keat, Mr Teo Chee Hean, Dr Ng Eng Hen, Dr Maliki Osman, Mr Heng Chee How and Dr Amy Khor.

PM Wong said that most of the ministers who lead Singapore’s economic agenda will be kept in their current roles during this critical period.

“We are operating in a changed world with rising trade barriers, sharper competition and greater uncertainty, and we need experienced hands at the helm,” he said. He will continue to helm the Finance Ministry.

The new Cabinet changes will be effective from May 23, when most of the new political office-holders will be sworn in.

There will be only one deputy prime minister in this Cabinet. This departs from tradition, as PM Wong’s predecessors each had two after their first elections as prime minister.

Asked about this, PM Wong said: “For now, I have a solid team behind me. Gan Kim Yong is my deputy prime minister, and I’ve appointed three coordinating ministers. So that’s four senior leaders in my Cabinet.

“They are part of the core team to assist me, to advise me, and also to provide guidance and mentorship to the new and younger ministers.”

DPM Gan will be Acting Prime Minister in his absence, PM Wong added. If both men are not around, one of the coordinating ministers will take that role.

“I think that’s a good configuration for now, and of course, along the way, I may make further adjustments where needed,” said PM Wong.

His Cabinet’s first priority will be to secure Singapore’s position in the new global environment and to advance the nation’s interests overseas.

It will also steer Singapore through economic uncertainties and changes, he said.

“It’s with this in mind that... I’ve kept most of the experienced ministers in the core areas like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the economic ministries, but where there are gaps, then obviously I will have to field and move ministers around,” he said.

Key changes to the Cabinet

The three coordinating ministers will look after three areas – national security, public services and social policies.

Mr Shanmugam will take on the national security portfolio that was previously helmed by Senior Minister Teo.

Mr Shanmugam will also remain Minister for Home Affairs but relinquish his role as Minister for Law to Mr Edwin Tong, who is currently Second Minister for Law.

Mr Chan will look after public services, a new portfolio created in this reshuffle that will look at bringing together public services in a more accessible and integrated manner. This includes coordinating a wide range of different amenities and facilities in the new housing estates.

Mr Chan will also take on the role of Minister for Defence, filling the gap left by the retired Dr Ng. He will relinquish his education portfolio.

Mr Ong will be the one to coordinate and oversee efforts in reviewing and updating social policies.

The role was last held by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was then senior minister.

Mr Ong will continue as Minister for Health, as per his request to oversee the major initiatives started in the last term such as Healthier SG and Age Well SG, said PM Wong.

Among the economic portfolios, DPM Gan will continue as Minister for Trade and Industry, supported by Ms Grace Fu, who will continue as Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations on top of her sustainability and environment portfolio.

Dr Tan See Leng, who is currently Second Minister at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, will be appointed to a new role – Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science & Technology. He will remain as Minister for Manpower.

PM Wong said science and technology is a key driver of growth while energy, especially clean energy, will be an important part of this government’s agenda.

Mrs Josephine Teo will continue as Minister for Digital Development and Information and as Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation initiative.

Newly elected Jalan Kayu MP Ng Chee Meng, who was previously a minister before he lost in the 2020 General Election, had requested not to be offered a position in government to focus on his work as secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress and in Jalan Kayu.

Restoration of East-West MRT Line services a combined effort by foreign workers, contractors and volunteers

East-West Line disruption from 25 to 30 Sep 2024

By Esther Loi, The Straits Times, 6 Oct 2024

It was a race against time for Indian national Dhandapani Vignesh and his rail welding crew to finish joining new rail segments in about three days to fix a section of damaged tracks between Jurong and Clementi stations.

Originally contracted to work on depot renewal projects under the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the 36-year-old construction manager, together with 20 other foreign workers from his team, were alerted at 7pm on Sept 26 that they were being roped in to repair the damaged tracks.

The day before, a train had caused extensive track and trackside damage along a stretch of the East-West Line (EWL), halting rail services between Jurong East and Buona Vista.

The team immediately got down to work, putting in nine- to 10-hour shifts from Sept 27 to 30 to finish welding – or connecting – the new rail segments to existing ones along the westbound track so that trains could run smoothly again. The new rails replaced the ones damaged by the faulty train.

The disruption, which lasted six days till Sept 30 and affected about 2.6 million passengers, was one of the most severe rail disruptions in the 37-year history of Singapore’s MRT system. Train services resumed on Oct 1.

Despite the pressure of the task at hand, Mr Vignesh mused that he literally “did not feel the heat much” as rail welding, which involves heating rail segments placed between ceramic moulds to join them, was done in the shade in tents.

The main challenge, he added, was having only a limited working timeframe – from around 2.30pm to midnight daily. Welding was not possible at other times of the day since the rails would expand in the daytime heat and eat into the 30mm gaps required to insert welding materials.

Mr Vignesh and his team were also heartened by the steady stream of cold drinking water almost every hour and fast-food meals provided by LTA, rail operator SMRT and even members of the public.

They were among the more than 800 workers responsible for getting the EWL train services up and running again.

Former transport minister S. Iswaran’s 12-month prison term underlines intrinsic value of public trust

The integrity of our public institutions is paramount and serves as the lynchpin for our faith in governance.

By Eugene K B Tan, Published The Straits Times, 5 Oct 2024

Integrity underpins good governance. It’s a non-negotiable. When public trust erodes, the country risks descending into dysfunction, as accountability falters, and public institutions lose legitimacy.

For many in Singapore – and around the world – the high-profile case of former minister S Iswaran was seen as an anomaly here, and yet at the same time a litmus test of the integrity of our system and governance.

Last week, Iswaran pleaded guilty to four Penal Code Section 165 charges, which make it an offence for a public servant to ask for or accept gifts as a public servant from someone with whom he has an official business relationship, and one charge for the obstruction of justice. Thirty other charges under Section 165 were taken into consideration in sentencing.

On Oct 3, Justice Vincent Hoong sentenced Iswaran to 12 months’ jail – twice the six to seven months the public prosecutor had argued for and about six times what the defence had put forward.

In his view, anything else would be a “manifestly inadequate sentence”.

The message was clear.

The paramount importance of trust and confidence in public institutions was writ large and robustly reiterated in the High Court’s 94-page ruling.

Perceptions and public institutions

At one level, the sentence underscores the court’s strong stance against any offence that undermines trust and confidence in public institutions.

Even perceptions of influence peddling by gift givers or abuse of office are highly detrimental as they have an insidious effect on public trust and confidence.

Perceptions often operate as reality. In other words, the harm caused can be significant even from perceptions. This is a reasonably compelling position to take.

The public interest in the integrity and trustworthiness of public institutions, which is necessarily hard-earned, is undermined and easily dissipated by perceptions that individuals could enjoy the patronage of public servants, or that public servants are susceptible to influence by pecuniary benefits. As such, perceptions of unethical conduct or unlawful actions must be vigorously avoided.

Is this too high an expectation and standard of public servants and public institutions?

Not at all. The public sector is such a vital part of our lives and its impact significant in all that we do. Should it fall into disrepute, governance can only become awry.

Notably, the judge recognised that distrust in the public sector can arise not just from outright corruption but also where public institutions become the target of influence peddling, the lack of impartiality in decision-making, and being prone to dispensing patronage.

Justice Hoong put it well: “The swift denunciation of such offences is necessary to deter the acquisition or cultivation of the patronage, loyalty or goodwill of public servants by valuables for the perceived benefits of persons with dealings connected to the official capacities of public servants”.

Zero tolerance

But this was also a case that demonstrated the various public institutions and the rule of law at its best even though the matter was hugely embarrassing for the Government and ruling party.

The judge found that Iswaran had abused his high office.

The mitigating factors he put forth, including his public service and contributions to Singapore, the voluntary disgorgement of benefits received, and a guilty plea at the start of the trial, did not sway the sentencing in his favour.

The judge made it clear that persons in high office with the “associated power and status” should generally be regarded as having acted with more culpability in abusing their position to obtain valuable gifts.

The investigation, prosecution and outcome of this case align with the longstanding position of zero tolerance of corruption.

Any doubt that there has been a wavering of the commitment on incorruptibility across the whole of government or that preferential treatment was accorded to Iswaran should now be banished.

NDP 2024: Together, As One United People

A show of unity, as the Padang lights up for 59th National Day Parade

By Samuel Devaraj, The Straits Times, 10 Aug 2024

Hands on their hearts, they stood and pledged themselves as one united people, while around them the lights shone in the city they had helped to build for their nation, 59 years young.

Their voices capped a night of pomp, spectacle and tradition, of hard work and creativity, as Singaporeans celebrated how far they had come together, regardless of race, language or religion.

Joining the audience of 27,000 who had gathered at the Padang were President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, attending the National Day Parade (NDP) for the first time in their new roles.

Some 7,500 others enjoyed the ceremony nearby at The Promontory @ Marina Bay, with official festivities spilling over to the open space near the Marina Bay Financial Centre for the first time.

To the theme of Together, As One United People, this year’s parade was a show of unity, with the crowd a sea of red and white against the backdrop of the city skyline at dusk.

The festivities kicked off at 5.30pm, when the hosts – radio deejay Joakim Gomez, host and media personality Sonia Chew, actor Ebi Shankara and actress Siti Khalijah – took to the stage to pump up the audience for the night to come.

The format was familiar, but as is the case every year, the excitement and anticipation of the audience were fresh.

The Red Lions parachute team of the Singapore Armed Forces raised the ante when they descended from the sky, among them two female parachutists taking part for the first time in an NDP at the Padang.

Their arrival heralded the start of the parade and ceremony segment, United We Stand, featuring 35 marching contingents and more than 2,100 participants, who had begun practising for this evening about four months ago.

After the last contingent was lined up on the field, the motorcades bearing first, PM Wong, and then President Tharman, arrived to loud cheers and applause.

Overhead, a Chinook carrying the nation’s flag was a stirring sight as it flew past the parade ground.

Five F-16 fighters then took to the sky for the salute to the nation, with the excited crowd matching the roar of the engines in arguably the most thrilling moment of the parade.

Consisting of four 25-pounder guns and personnel loaded on a raft, the presidential gun salute sailed around the Marina Basin, covering a 5.87km route, its longest ever.

Stopping near the Esplanade to fire 21 times as President Tharman inspected the contingents, the presidential gun salute is the nation’s highest honour.

The parade had other firsts. For the first time, to commemorate 40 years of Total Defence, a dynamic defence display was brought to the parade at the Padang.

Simulated attacks thwarted by man and machine from various sections of Singapore’s defence arsenal ensured the crowd’s attention never wavered from the Padang stage.

Amid a display filled with high-octane music and pyrotechnics, the contingents made their way through the spectator stands, while the excited audience took close-up photos.

Then, as night fell on the Padang, it was bathed in the glow of a concert arena as the LED wristbands given to each audience member lit up, marking the start of the show segment.

This segment featured 12 artistes and more than 3,000 performers, including singers Amni Musfirah and Shazza, multidisciplinary artist weish and cellist Olivia Chuang, who were among those performing at an NDP for the first time.

Celebrating the things that make Singapore, Singapore, the show paid tribute to the pioneer generation, ordinary workers, and the nation’s love of food.

But there were introspective moments too, in a poignant nod to individuals who go above and beyond to lift their communities.

And what is an NDP without a song? Singer-songwriter Benjamin Kheng, of local band The Sam Willows fame, drew loud cheers and applause when he took to the stage and performed the NDP 2024 theme song, Not Alone, for which he wrote the lyrics.

As the night drew to a close, after the Pledge was recited and a rousing National Anthem sung, the audience was treated to a 360-degree fireworks experience.

Surrounded by fireworks launched from Marina Bay and the Padang, as well as from the nearby Adelphi building, spectators could be seen whipping out their phones for selfies.

With the Marina Bay skyline blazing brightly as the backdrop, those images would seal the memories of the NDP for years to come.

Watching the fireworks up close left first-time NDP spectator Ong Si Ni, 42, in awe.

While the university manager had seen the fireworks from nearby during a previous rehearsal, she told The Straits Times that it could not compare with being in the middle of the action at the Padang.

Ms Ong – who was at the parade with her friend’s mother, Ms Agnes Ho, 74, who works part-time at a food and beverage outlet – said her favourite part was the show segment where she could see performers dancing and enjoying themselves.

She added: “I am very happy that I came. I feel like I’m truly a Singaporean.”

S. Rajaratnam: The Lion’s Roar, The Authorised Biography Volume Two

S. Rajaratnam: Recounting the life and work of one of Singapore’s core founding fathers

The Straits Times, 13 Jul 2024

Old Guard member S. Rajaratnam played a pivotal role in Singapore’s history, and his contributions are covered in the second volume of a biography by former journalist and ex-MP Irene Ng out in July 2024.

These edited extracts from S. Rajaratnam, The Authorised Biography, Volume Two: The Lion’s Roar, published by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, touch on the 1964 racial riots, the Separation in 1965, and the crafting of the national pledge, as well as his visit to China in 1975, the first by a Singapore leader since independence.

How S. Rajaratnam handled Singapore’s 1964 race riots in the face of ‘arsonists playing firemen’

As he listened to the frantic voice on the phone, S. Rajaratnam realised that his greatest fear had come to pass. As one of the chief architects of Singapore’s independence, he had experienced some tough situations – but this was the worst tragedy to befall his country in his five years in politics.

It was July 21, 1964, barely a year after Singapore merged with Malaya and two Borneo states, Sabah and Sarawak, to form Malaysia in September 1963.

The voice on the phone that late afternoon was that of his close colleague Othman Wok, the social affairs minister. Othman had looked up to Raja, as the culture minister was usually known, since their journalism days in the 1950s. Raja had led the Singapore Union of Journalists as its president with Othman as his deputy.

After Raja, together with Lee Kuan Yew and others, formed the People’s Action Party (PAP) in 1954, Othman had joined the new left-wing party. What bound them was a common vision: to build a non-communal society based on justice and equality.

Now, on this hot, horrible day in July 1964, Othman bore news of a racial clash that threatened to tear apart the very fabric of society. “Some Malays are causing problems,” he reported. “Beating up Chinese bystanders. Things are getting out of control.”

Othman, the only Malay minister in the Singapore Cabinet, was leading a PAP contingent as part of a 20,000-strong procession to mark Prophet Muhammad’s birthday that day.

Over the phone, he told Raja the scenes he had just witnessed: Malay youths punching a Chinese policeman struggling to control the rowdy procession as it headed towards the Malay settlement of Geylang, then breaking off from the march to attack Chinese passers-by at random. Sensing danger, he and several others had slipped into the People’s Association headquarters in Kallang. This was where he had rung Raja.

The day being a public holiday, Raja was catching up on his reading in his book-lined home, a bungalow in Chancery Lane. At 49, he was the oldest among the nine-man Cabinet, and often appeared unflappable in any crisis. “He was very cool,” Othman recalled, “one who never got excited about anything.”

Raja might project an air of equanimity, but internally his thoughts were racing. He knew only too well how quickly racial and religious passions could boil over and lead to mass riots.

In a series of phone calls, he quickly conferred with prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and others on the dangerous situation. This was the first serious racial clash they had to deal with since taking charge of self-governing Singapore in 1959.

Gripped by urgency, he jumped into his sun-baked second-hand black Hillman and drove to his office at City Hall. As soon as he arrived and sat behind his desk, he began working the phone.

As story after story came in of Malay groups attacking Chinese people, overturning their cars, scooters and hawker carts, and setting their homes and businesses on fire, his alarm ratcheted up another notch.

The topmost priority of the PAP leaders was to contain the violence. To their frustration, however, they found their hands tied. Under the merger agreement between Singapore and Malaya, internal security did not come under Singapore’s control but under the federal government in Kuala Lumpur.

As reports of casualties poured in, the Singapore leaders urged KL to impose a curfew. Malaysian prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman was away in America, leaving his deputy, Tun Abdul Razak, in charge. The curfew was finally called at 9.30pm. But still the streets seethed with savagery.

Disturbingly, reports began filtering in that the KL-controlled security forces, who were mainly Malay, were siding with Malays against Chinese. In turn, Chinese secret society gangs, having lost confidence in the police, led revenge attacks against Malays. The spiral of violence seemed unstoppable.

As the government’s communications czar, Raja knew that the public needed assurance. The government must be seen to be in control, even if it might not be. The former newspaperman had long understood the power of words. In such a tinderbox atmosphere, just one wrong word, one insensitive phrase, could set off another cycle of violence.