Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Tunku Wants to Ditch Me

I went to meet the Tunku after returning from Moscow.. He was not comfortable with me who has independent views, ready to argue and act alone if necessary.. He and Tun Razak are planning the post-Malaysia situation, Including who will be in charge of Singapore and follow their orders.I felt that the Tunku no longer saw me as a docile caretaker.What he wanted were people like Chen Xiuxin and Lin Youfu, who were obedient and loyal. The Internal Security Committee met in Singapore on September 8, when I had left for the Commonwealth Conference in London.The committee considered a report jointly presented by the federal and Singapore police chiefs.The report, presented by Singapore's Political Department, recommended a phased approach to action against communists and pro-communists prior to the merger.Tun Razak, the Malaysian representative who replaced Ismail, called for immediate action.

Du Jin, who represented me at the meeting, objected to haste.Scherke, representing the United Kingdom, supported Du Jincai's position.He said that although there are threats, it is not necessary to use violence to suppress them.Not satisfied, Tun Razak later traveled to London to raise the issue with Sandys.Sandys replied that he would delay action until after the legislation to establish Malaysia had been debated in the Dewan Rakyat, that is, not before February of the following year.He believes that the arrest action will undoubtedly arouse criticism from many people, and the domestic reaction in the UK must be considered first.

After Tun Razak reported to the Tunku, the Malaya side requested another meeting of the Internal Security Committee in October, at which a decision on the arrest was postponed again.But the PAP is primarily concerned with consolidating its position and securing Singapore from the domination and oppression of Malay leaders in Kuala Lumpur.I stressed to Scherke that it would be ideal to delay the arrests until after the merger.I also stressed to Moore that no action can be taken until elections are held for the 15 Singaporean seats in the Federal Parliament.I want the Barisan Barisan to compete freely.Had they been captured first, and there was no longer a clear threat of communism, the coalition might have won a number of seats.Sandys's Secretary of State, Lord Lansdowne, later said I was "astonishingly frank" and told him that it was in my interest to keep a small number of pro-communist elements in the opposition.But I have my reasons.

After my return from Moscow I went to see Tunku and spent several days with him, feeling uncomfortable with me, someone who had independent opinions, was always ready to argue, and would act alone if necessary.I really didn't sabotage him, but I didn't listen to him either. According to him, I obeyed him.He and Tun Razak are planning the situation after the formation of Malaysia, including who will run Singapore and do things according to their orders.I felt that the Tunku no longer saw me as a docile caretaker.What he wanted were people like Chen Xiuxin and Lin Youfu, who were obedient and loyal.Both Tunku and Tun Razak like Goh Keng Swee.But even Wu Qingrui is not too "safe", he is too smart to be persuaded or seduced.

The situation is not good. After a trip to Kuala Lumpur in mid-November, I told Moore that my relationship with the Tunku had deteriorated further.His actions showed that he was going to get rid of me after the establishment of Malaysia.In Singapore, Tan Siew Sin is working hard to rebuild the opposition MCA, and Tun Razak is looking for young Malay leaders.In the most ominous sign, the Tunku asked me to release Cai and An.Cai He'an is the leader of the largest Chinese secret society on the island. We invoked the provisional provisions of the criminal law to detain him.He has organized violence against PAP branch workers in the past during elections.After Malaysia was established, the Tunku had the right to release gangsters like him.For this reason, I am concerned about the personal safety of the branch staff.

I have already told Sherk that the Tunku is going to make Lim You Hock come back again.After the death of Ahmad Ibrahim, Sembawang had to hold a by-election. The Tunku proposed that the PAP should stand aside and let his candidate fight against the Barisan.I don't accept that."That's the most stupid thing to do," I said to Sherk. Sherk must have agreed with me, because he reported to Sandys that the Tunku's policies were doomed to fail.The Tunku seems to think that the arrests can be used to interfere with the Barisan Barisan, throw me and the PAP as an outdated political force, and let the Singapore People's Alliance led by Lim Yew Hock-Umno-MCA-Malayan India A new coalition of the Congress Party rose to power.When Sandys replied to Sherk, he agreed with him that I was the best person to govern the island of Singapore at the moment.

The reason why I am confiding in the British is that I need their support, or at least neutrality, in order to carry out my plan and prove to the Tunku the folly of supporting Lim Yew Hock's government at his mercy.I told Moore that I was going to do everything I could to bring down Lim Yew Hock and the Awami League in the Singapore elections so that the Tunku and Tun Razak could see that they had to make a political deal with the PAP.I intend to hold elections in Singapore immediately after the Malaysia Agreement was signed in London in February and before its implementation in August 1963, to elect the 15 Singaporean representatives in the Federal Parliament.I will combine three or four of the existing 51 constituencies into one and delineate 15 constituencies.It is believed that UMNO will win one seat; for the remaining 14 seats, the People's Action Party may win 8 or even 9 seats, which is more than the Barisan Barisan.

I also told Moore that Tun Razak and Tan Siew Sin's efforts to strengthen the alliance in Singapore have gone nowhere.They are hesitant and don't know what to do next, but no doubt they want to teach the PAP a lesson.For example, the Straits Times published a comment saying that the editors knew that the Singapore government would not accept them, which could only mean that they had the Tunku's full support.This is their declaration of war on me, and I will retaliate when the time is right.Also, Kuala Lumpur wants to control Singapore's radio and television, although both parties have agreed that Singapore is responsible for the relevant administrative work and daily programs.Their purpose is to constrain the political capacity of the Singapore government, especially during election times.At the same time, Chen Xiuxin is determined to show that he has the final say on fiscal matters, demanding a tax percentage higher than that agreed by both parties on behalf of the federal government.He made things difficult for us in organizing the common market; the decision had to be postponed to the study of specialists.

When I met Lord Lansdowne on November 27th, I told him frankly of the difficulties I had encountered on the merger.In terms of taxation, Singapore fully agrees that it is the responsibility of the Federation to manage the finances, but it cannot agree that Kuala Lumpur should collect taxes and then give us our due share.Singapore has to collect the tax and pay the federation its fair share, or we'll be left out in the cold.As for the control of news and broadcasting.Communication with the people is the most important thing for any government.In the hands of the Federation, the method of dealing with the Chinese issue will be less sensitive, serious mistakes will be made, and major political mistakes will be made.I traced an example of how the Tunku got himself into trouble when he was in India. In the Sino-Indian border war in 1962, it was difficult to judge who was right and who was wrong, but he condemned China as an aggressor.It was pointed out that this affected the Malayan Chinese badly, and only after that did he change the wording and describe the dispute as one between the Chinese communists and the Indian democratic parties.

After raising other points of contention, I told Lansdowne that while I had a good personal relationship with the Tunku, politically he wanted someone more to his liking to control Singapore.I then explained my intention to elect our 15 representatives in the Federal Congress.He worried that the Tunku might react in doing so.I said the Tunku would not be happy.But even if he is deeply dissatisfied and disappointed, he will know that the people he has raised in Singapore are politically finished, and no matter how much he cares for and publicly supports them, it is impossible to revive them.Lansdowne urged me to speak frankly and frankly with the Tunku in order to improve our relationship.I said I would love to, but the Tunku just couldn't cut to the chase.When talking to him, he often hesitates, ends in jokes, and leaves nothing to be desired.

The influence I exerted over the British at that time was reflected in a report written by Moore to Wallace in the Colonial Office on December 5: "His plan to merge Singapore with the federation was based on the assumption that a working arrangement could be made with the Tunku in which the coalition government would take over responsibility for policing Singapore and the PAP would run the state government in Singapore. The plan The premise is that the Tunku is willing to make political deals with him." "He is eager to hold elections before the Malaysian plan is implemented, because then he still has full control over government institutions, especially the police and broadcasting...Lee Kuan Yew has said that he would prefer to hold elections with the consent of the Tunku. He does not want to be on the issue Declared war on the Tunku, but felt it was absolutely necessary to consolidate his political position and prove that the coalition could not hope to win power in Singapore. If the Tunku did not agree to hold elections in Malaysia before 31 August 1963, Lee Kuan Yew claimed, he could law to hold elections. Legal or not, it would have had the necessary political impact. He asked us to keep his idea of ​​holding elections by August 31, 1963, in strict secrecy, especially from anyone in the Commonwealth. … … "Lee Kuan Yew said that Lord Lansdowne, Lord Sherk and others persuaded Tunku to make political deals with the People's Action Party based on his own interests. Tough, especially given the Tunku's distrust of Lee Kuan Yew, which is understandable. But Singapore's best hope of maintaining political stability within Malaysia still lies in whether the two can make an effective working arrangement, otherwise Singapore is not a Barisan The government, that is, a PAP government that is hostile to the Federation emerged when the Barisan Barisan was destroyed due to the arrest and exile of partisans. Lee Kuan Yew opposed the Malays in Kuala Lumpur and openly enlisted the support of Chinese chauvinists. The federal government I doubt whether the dangers of the latter situation are fully understood. They may think that Lee Kuan Yew is extremely difficult as a colleague. Most people feel that way. But the federal government will find that Lee Kuan Yew is dangerous as an opponent. Much bigger." Fortunately the British understand my point of view and sympathize with me.They saw that the way Kuala Lumpur governed the Chinese in the Federation would not work in Singapore.Singaporean Chinese cannot be intimidated.Accustomed to the British colonial routine, they had never been ruled by the Malays, and coercive tactics would surely provoke violent resistance.I need the support of the British to promulgate the Singapore state constitution by "Privy Council" in London so that I can hold elections for 15 seats in Singapore. Just three days after Moore presented his report, a new dimension emerged. On December 8, mutiny broke out in Brunei.The self-proclaimed "North Borneo National Army" claimed that armed rebels with a strength of up to 30,000 people captured the oil city of Seria.Britain reacted quickly.Two companies of Guka soldiers and 300 British troops were airlifted to Brunei, followed by two battalions of other troops.The British army quickly recovered Siria, killed some rebels and captured 500 people.At the same time, the clever British police chief surrounded the first batch of rebels in Brunei city in his tennis court, preventing them from moving to avoid further trouble. Within 48 hours the rebellion ended in defeat.After the Gujia soldiers and the British army recovered Siriya, the mopping up operation followed. Sositia makes stupid statement But as soon as news of the rebellion spread, the Barisan Barisan made a foolish statement hailing this as a popular uprising against colonialism and worthy of support from all true anti-colonialists.The statement declared that if the governments of Singapore and the Commonwealth did not oppose the United Kingdom, they would be condemned.As a precursor to future developments, the Malayan Political Department arrested 50 people, most of them Chinese, including the organizational secretary of the Malayan People's Party; members.To show solidarity, we have to act together with Malaya. But the Brunei rebellion is much broader.Speaking in the Federal Parliament on Dec. 11, the Tunku mentioned the financial support Azahari had received for his insurgency.The Tunku said that Azahari had connections with people from neighboring countries of Malaya.He was referring to Indonesia.Indonesian Defense Minister General Nasuton has announced that after the Brunei uprising, his government will pay more attention to the area close to British Borneo.The Indonesian president's party, the Indonesian National Party, has expressed support for the Brunei People's Party, apparently from Sukarno. The British are well aware of the danger, and dealing with Azahari is obviously much easier than dealing with the people behind him.Sir Dennis White, the British High Commissioner to Brunei, was convinced that the rebels were sure to get Indonesia's assistance, otherwise they would not attack Limbang (geographically Limbang is located in the middle of Brunei), because Limbang is part of the British colony of Sarawak, Britain will surely fight back.He believed the Indonesians were agitating the rebels as a means to undermine Malaysia.He pointed out that the rebellion was by no means the ridiculous unprofessional action that the newspapers made out.It was successful in its first few stages, although it was not well prepared for various reasons.The rebels occupied several police stations, seized many weapons, captured the power station, cut off the power supply, detained the secretary of the British commissioner, and captured the British resident couple and other Europeans in Limbang.Fortunately, the British army and Gujia soldiers arrived quickly and turned the situation around. Days after the Tunku publicly expressed his doubts, Sukarno confirmed it."What's happening there (Brunei) is inseparable from the struggle of emerging powers, and we are on the side of the people who are fighting," Sukarno said. A few days later, Sukarno made a live broadcast in Jakarta calling on Indonesians to support the rebellion .Those who do not support it are outright traitors, he said.The Indonesian people were born in the fire and suffered for their independence. It is only natural to sympathize with those who fought for freedom, unlike other countries (referring to Malaya) that have been granted independence by imperialism.The Tunku responded by pointing out that although the Brunei rebellion is now over, the Indonesian government and political leaders are still making fiery speeches, apparently with the intention of inciting the people of the three Borneo states against the local government, which will lead to catastrophe. Then the two sides launched a war of words.Indonesians are once again reacting to the rhetoric of their charismatic leader, stoking public sentiment through speeches and the media to spark demonstrations.This was an integral part of Sukarno's strategy.Jakarta recently demanded the return of West Irian (the western part of the island of New Guinea) from the Netherlands, proving that this strategy is working.Now he needs another question to grab the attention of the masses and divert their attention from economic hardship. On December 23, thousands of people gathered in Independence Square, Jakarta, and burned two imitation statues: one is a Westerner; the other is a Malay, wearing songkok and a pair of horn glasses, that is Tunku .Indonesians are preparing to launch a campaign against Malaysia, ostensibly in support of the independence of Brunei, Sarawak and North Borneo.