The 1962 Merger Referendum of Singapore was a referendum held in Singapore on September 1, 1962, which called for people to vote on the terms of merger with Malaysia. Some of the options ultimately had to deal with questions of national identity, and such questions would come to be cited even years after the merger, as well as after the subsequent separation. A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... National motto: Majulah Singapura (English: Onward, Singapore) Official languages English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay, Tamil Capital Singapore Largest city Singapore Government President Prime minister Westminster (de jure) Dominant-party (de facto) Sellapan Rama Nathan Lee Hsien Loong Area  - Total  - Water (%) 697. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years). ... Singapore played a relatively minor role in the history of Southeast Asia until 1819, when the Englishman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founded a British port on the island. ... Singapore played a relatively minor role in the history of Southeast Asia until 1819, when the Englishman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founded a British port on the island. ...

One could note that there was no option to vote against the merger amongst three options presented to the people:

• Option A: All Singapore citizens would automatically become citizens of Malaysia, and Singapore would retain a degree of autonomy and state power, such as over labour and education. Singapore would also get to keep its language policies, such as to retain using all four major languages, English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil.

• Option B: Singapore would become a federal state like that of the other eleven states, with no more autonomy than the other states would, thus ceding control over issues such as labour and education policies to the Central Government in Kuala Lumpur. This also meant that there would be less multilingualism - only English and Malay would be used for official purposes, and possibly education. Only those born in Singapore or descended from the Singapore-born would become citizens of Malaysia. There would also be proportionate representation in Parliament from Singapore.

• Option C: Singapore would enter on terms no less favourable than the Borneo territories, Sabah and Sarawak, both whom were also discussing merger with Malaysia. This was to ensure that Malaysia would not discriminate along racial lines, as that would mean discriminating against Sabah and Sarawak, which were predominantly Muslim as well.

Option A received the majority of the vote at 73%, more then the two thirds which was required for Consitutional reform. The pro-communist Barisan Sosialis were strongly against the idea of referendum, as the move was seen by them as one that would result in their suppression. The Barisan Socialis called for a boycott of the referendum, telling their supporters to submit blank votes in protest of the "rigged" referndum. 26% of the vote were left blank as a result. This move had been anticipated by the ruling PAP government, as seen by the insertion of a clause that stated that all blank or defaced votes would be counted as a vote for option A The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Mandarin has a number of meanings: An Imperial Chinese bureaucrat, and in the UK, by analogy, any government bureaucrat. ... The Malay language, also known locally as Bahasa Melayu, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people who are native to the Malay peninsula, southern Thailand, Singapore and parts of Sumatra. ... The consonant ழ் believed to be unique to Tamil and Malayalam Tamil of Tamilians is a Dravidian language predominantly spoken in southern India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Kuala Lumpurs landmark, the PETRONAS Twin Towers Kuala Lumpur (Jawi:كوالا لمبور) is the largest city in Malaysia and the capital of the federation. ... Map of Sabah in East Malaysia Sabah (Jawi:صباح) is one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. ... Map of Sarawak in East Malaysia Sarawak (Jawi:سراواك) is one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. ...

The voter turnout was extensive, around 624,000 had been eligible to vote, and around 561,000 voters turned up, which yielded a turnout of 90%.

The PAP was not legally obligated to call for a referendum, but did so to secure the mandate of the people. However, the Barisan Socialis, a left-wing socialist party consisting of former PAP members with communist sympathies alleged that the people did not support merger. Lee Kuan Yew declared the people did. It should be noted that the referendum did not have an option of objecting to the idea of merger because no one had legitimately raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly before then. However, the methods had been debatable. The referendum was therefore called to resolve the issue as an effort to decide objectively which option the people backed. The legitimacy of the referendum is often challenged by Singaporean left-wing supporters, due to the lack of a option to vote against the merger. Communism - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Lee Kuan Yew (born September 16, 1923) (Chinese: 李光耀, Pinyin: Lǐ Guāng Yào), also known as Lee Kan-You or Harry Lee Con-You, was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. ...

References

• www.singapore-elections.com - a site documenting the various election results in Singapore's history.
• ourstory.asia1.com.sg/merger/ref/malt.html - documents the referendum options.