The Albatross File

The Albatross File is a recently declassified set of documents kept by Dr. Goh Keng Swee, who was Singapore's Finance Minister during its brief union with Malaysia from 1963 to 1965. The documents reveal the activities which took place in the year prior to Singapore's secession from Malaysia in August 1965, with Malaysia being the albatross referred to in the name of the file.

Growing up in Singapore, we were taught that Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia was sudden and foisted onto it by Malaysia, and that it was driven by differing views on race and multiculturalism. The Albatross File reveals a different narrative - which was that by 1964, it was clear that Singapore's continued association with Malaysia was unsustainable, and that separation from Malaysia, if not done quickly, would be violent.

I started the visit by viewing a short film that concisely summarized the events of 1964 and 1965, after which I reviewed various static exhibits on documents in the Albatross File. There were many details in the documents which surprised and disturbed me, but the fact that this information - missteps included - is laid bare for Singaporeans to review and process is something that would never happen in the Singapore I grew up in, so this level of transparency augurs well for the future.

Anyway, here are some of my key takeaways. My apologies in advance as some of them may lack context for people who are unfamiliar with Singapore's history.

- By today's standards, this is a textbook case of questionable leadership and stakeholder management. Only four cabinet ministers knew about the separation; the remainder were kept in the dark about the separation until it was a done deal. Beyond that, it looks as if Dr. Goh went rogue (his mandate was to negotiate a new confederacy, which he appeared to ignore as he immediately worked on a full separation). Overall, I didn't think this was a flattering portrayal of Lee Kuan Yew's leadership skills.

- My apologies if this comes across as heartless. Archival coverage of a tearful Lee Kuan Yew announcing Singapore's independence in 1965 is ingrained into the consciousness of every kid who grew up in Singapore. After reviewing this exhibit, and now knowing that the separation was negotiated and planned, makes me wonder how much of this was an act. While I do not doubt that PM Lee felt a lot of grief that his vision did not work out, he did have a lot of time to process this before that iconic broadcast.

- The PAP contesting elections in Peninsula Malaysia was horribly misguided, and the decision was made without Lee Kuan Yew's knowledge. Seriously, what were they thinking?

- The exhibit mentioned that the United Kingdom would have scuttled the deal if they had known about it, but it didn't explain what skin in the game they, and to a lesser extent, Australia and New Zealand, had in this other than their military bases. I suspect that an independent Singapore with its ethnic Chinese majority would have been vulnerable to Communism, but it wasn’t made clear in the exhibit.

- I know this would have expanded the scope of the exhibition unnecessarily, but I am curious how the separation impacted Sabah and Sarawak, who, per my understanding, primarily agreed to join the Federation because of Singapore. On a side note, I cannot help but wonder what the landscape would be like today if Sabah and Sarawak had seceded with Singapore, and if the British hadn't handed Christmas Island to Australia.

Regardless of the above, one part of the traditional narrative remained intact for me, which was that Singapore separated from Malaysia in large part because it had a different vision for a multiracial Malaysia - a multicultural, "Malaysian Malaysia" as opposed to the Malay centric policies espoused by key political figures. I for one am glad that Singapore went this route.Read more