ABSTRACT
Almost thirty years ago, when Great Britain granted its crown colony of Singapore self-government, virtually everybody, including the leaders of the political party voted into power, regarded the island’s new political status as temporary. Historically, Singapore had served as the port and administrative headquarters for British Malaya, and the political assumption in both Singapore and Malaya (which had gained independence in 1957) was that the island could not survive independently and would eventually have to merge with its traditional hinterland. In 1963, after protracted negotiations with Malaya over the terms of the merger, Singapore finally joined it and two British territories, Sabah and Sarawak, to form the Federation of Malaysia.
