What did independence mean for SG ?
Trouble
Singapore then became a republic with Yusof bin Ishak as Singapore's first president.
"I was crestfallen!It was totally unexpected!Although of course the situation was getting more tense,day by day.But the breakup was unexpected.It was a great disappointment.We have been fighting for Malaysia all along,since we started the PAP.I campaigned so hard for merger during the Referendum.It was very,very disappointing. "-adapted from an account by Mr Ong Pang Boon.
"Every time we look back to the moment we signed the separation document,it was for us a moment of anguish.All my life,my whole adult life,I have believed in merger and the unity of the 2 territories.We are connected by geography,economy and family ties.It broke everything we stood for."-adapted from Prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
Separation,to me,was the crushing of my dreams.I believed in one nation, regardless of race or religion.My dreams were shattered....To me it was also my family.They were in Malaysia.So to me it was a separation from kith and kin."-adapted from S. Rajaratnam
These men and many others from PAP worked tirelessly and yet their hopes and dreams for merger never came to pass.For a period ,the people of PAP were devastated and dejected .All that hard work,all for nothing.The events that occurred would bring any person to their knees.Yet even after this ,PAP worked hard and their actions rippled through time .Crime rates are very low,the Singapore river which was at one time ,very dirty due to pollution is now very clean compared to back then,and education in Singapore is taken very seriously.
Problems Singapore faced during early Independence
-recognition of Independence
-lack of military defences
-security
-economy