Essay on Singapore's Separation from Malaysia

On the 9th of February 1942, three divisions of Japanese soldiers landed in Singapore, which was at the time a major British military base and presence in the Pacific. Six days later, over 90 000 British, Australian and Indian troops were forced to surrender. It had been believed that Singapore guaranteed the security of Australia during the war, consequently, the fall of Singapore opened Australia to invasion. The fall of Singapore was significant in causing relations between Australia and the United States to increase as in lieu of Britain’s inability to provide economic and military assistance when it was required most, the United States’ capability to provide what Britain could not was instrumental in strengthening bonds.

One of the most interesting indigenous groups in the world is the Batek of Malaysia, this is a group of people that live in the oldest rain forest of peninsular Malaysia. Orang ASli means “Original people” in the native Malay Language, and they truly are the original people of the land. Being a nomadic group of hunters and gatherers, means that they are at the mercy of the land and the elements for survival. Batek beliefs note that, the rainforest was created by “superhuman” beings for the Batek to use and will destroy the world and everything on it if the Batek were ever to leave the rainforest ( K.M. Endcott 1979a; Lye 2004). The Batek believe that the “superhuman” beings created the forest for the Batek to harvest, build houses in,

Before 1975 there were innumerable instances of vilification, almost applauded. Singh is convinced that freedom of speech must be regulated, publicizing that “people have a right to have freedom from racial vilification” and that anything which dissimilar to this fundamental entitlement is an “unacceptable and wrong” substitute (Blacktown Sun, 2015). Ironically, the fact that Brandis and his supporters believes the law diminishes freedom of expression and speech, where people cannot “say what they like”, is dismissed by the provisions enlisted under Section18D of the Racial Discrimination Act. As newly appointed Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane argues, “often it is forgotten that the fundamental value of free speech is explicitly protected by

Furthermore, when two or more parties that are culturally different have a dispute and a third party intervenes, the

A voice is beautiful, as well as deadly. In this free nation, the ability to articulate one's thoughts and opinions is not limited, nor is it prohibited. When people rally together and express their synonymous thoughts, change happens. With a voice, we can defend ourselves against prejudice as well as false accusations. It is such an influential weapon, however, the Asian and Pacific Islander community thus far has not had a chance to actively exercise this right.

as a group, deriving from their identity and culture, but do not always have the necessary legal or

Therefore, we can perceive the causes of division are planted in man’s character in various activities according to the different events of the general public. Contrasting opinions such as about religion, ideology, the government, etc. have separated the people into parties and created discord. The tendency of the people to fall into hostilities is so strong that the most trivial differences have been more than enough to cause the most fierce of arguments. However, the usual origin of factions have been the unfair property distribution. Men who hold property and men who do not have created the distinctions in society. A landed interest, a manufacturing interest, a mercantile interest, a moneyed interest are all what help the factions to grow.

between persons of different colour, race, national or ethnic origin so that one group enjoys a right to a lesser extent than a person from another then, by force of the commonwealth law they shall enjoy the right to same extent. The operation of the provision of the Act was summarised in passage from the joint judgement in Mabo (No1).

Therefore, the asked question is under which conditions ethnic parties tended to merge and to endure?

Singapore and Malaysia were both similarly colonized by the British. However, their development after independence differed in many ways. In this paper, I will examine, with help from resources provided in the course and minimal research, how their colonial experiences affected their political and social development after independence. After which, investigating the depth of influence their colonizers had, and why, differing racial ideologies had the greatest impact on their development.

Mr. Lee had a vision for Singapore and no one was going to change that. As Kenny Roy’s article, “Lee Kuan Yew: The Real Tiger” mentions, “Mr. Lee’s first order of business after establishing his position in office was to introduce a five-year plan that concentrated on urban renewal and construction of new public housing. Education reforms and industrialization were also key areas in which he placed his importance – and eventually contributed to the success of Singapore and him being a forward thinking leader.”

In this essay, I will be arguing for the rights and privileges of minority groups. I believe that ‘special’ privileges do not give minorities excessive benefits, and that these privileges also do not infringe upon the rights or lifestyles of the majority. I will prove this through the examination of several aspects of society and nation, including equality, nation-building, and identity. These three characteristics of multiculturalism and society will help evidence the justification of minority rights in the face of opposing liberal majority interests. To establish the need for minority rights, the concept of multiculturalism must first be understood. Kymlicka describes multiculturalism as “an umbrella term for the claims of these ethnocultural

In a speech addressed to the Parliament in December 1965, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew declared that “any policy which endangers our long-term interests as separate and distinct community in this region mush be eschewed.” Applying this to Pedra Branca, if Singapore was to meekly accept the sudden annexation of the island by Malaysia, it would signal to other countries in the region that “rule of might” can easily replace the “rule of law” and encourage willful statements such as these made by an UMNO Johor politician, who in relation to the Pedra Branca dispute once commented “if we want to be calculating, even Singapore belongs to us.” In this case “physical preservation of the borders has become synonymous with the state of the union” and that to maintain sovereignty over existing borders is to confirm the legitimacy of the state.

However, the development of Singapore’s society cannot be predicated on pure economics alone. Even though globalization has enabled Singapore to fare well in economic development, however, termed the perils of success, globalization has brought about undesirable

Malaysia is a unique country. It is made up of multi-ethnic group who are living in harmony. Conflict among ethnic group is rare and even if conflict occurs, is not to the extent of destroying the country. In fact, it is the diversity that drives the development of the country and makes this country colourful. Malaysia has been recognized by the world as a model for other plural societies. The concept of ‘unity in diversity’ is always insisted by the leaders. The concept is now supported with the ‘1 Malaysia’ concept which is introduced by the current Prime Minister. The Malaysian government is always put efforts to ensure the