Major Topic: Merger & Separation

Week 7 marks our first foray into the major topic of the semester "Merger & Separation", namely the bittersweet history between Singapore and Malaysia.

5K's Questions on Merger & Separation

Merger:
1) Why did Singapore decide to merge with Malaysia in the first place?
2) Why did Malaysia get its independence but not Singapore?
3) Were the Singaporeans agreeable to the merge?
4) Will Singapore benefit from the merge?
5) Why did Singapore want to become independent?

Separation:
6) Why was it a sad thing that Malaysia and Singapore separated?
7) Why was Singapore kicked out of Malaysia?
8) How did Singapore react after it was kicked out by Malaysia?

Post-Separation:
9) Why did Singapore decide to become independent only after it was kicked out?
10) Did Lee Kuan Yew have any upcoming plans for the future?

Miscellaneous:
11) What is merger?
12) Why was Lee Kuan Yew moved to tears?

5L's Questions on Merger & Separation

Merger:
1. Why didn’t merger work for Singapore?
2. Why did we merge in the first place?
3. What is merger?
4. Who created the idea of merger?
5. Why was it considered a merger instead of a single territory?
6. Why did the people agree to merger?

Separation:
7. Why did we have to separate?
8. Why did we not separate earlier?
9. What is separation?

Others:
10. Why was Lee Kuan Yew moved to tears?
11. What are the effects of merger and separation?
12. Why were the people not calm?
13. How are we related economically and through family ties?
14. Why did PM Lee believe in the merging of the 2 countries at first?
15. Why did Mr Lee want to give this statement to others?
16. Why did Lee Kuan Yew want to stop talking?
17. Why did Lee Kuan Yew cry?
18. What are the pros and cons of merging and separation?

5M's Questions on Merger & Separation

Merger:
1. What does merger mean?
2. Why did Singapore want to merge to form Malaysia in the first place?
3. Why couldn’t Singapore merge to form Malaysia?
4. How did the public react towards the merger?
5. Why did Lee Kuan Yew believe in the merger all his adult life?
6. What were the effects of the merger?

Separation:
7. Why did Singapore want to separate from Malaysia?
8. What were the main causes of separation?
9. Why did Lee Kuan Yew ask the people to remain calm after separation?
10. How did the people react to the separation?
11. What were the effects of the separation on Singapore?

Others:
12. Why was Lee Kuan Yew so touched that he cried?
13. Why did Lee Kuan Yew suddenly decide on separation?
14. What did Lee Kuan Yew mean when he said Singapore and Malaysia were related by ties of kinship?

5N's Questions on Merger & Separation

Merger:
1. What is Merger?
2. Why didn’t the Merger work?
3. What events led to merger?
4. Who did Singapore want to merge with?
5. Did Lee Kuan Yew believe he could govern these two merging territories?
6. What were the conditions of the merger?
7. Was merger good or bad?
8. Why did Lee Kuan Yew think that merger was important?
9. Did all Singaporeans support merger?

Separation:
10. Why did Singapore separate from Malaysia?
11. What events occurred during separation?
12. What is separation?
13. Did Lee Kuan Yew have any doubts as to the result of the separation?

Others:
14. Why did Lee Kuan Yew cry?
15. What is kinship?
16. Why did Lee Kuan Yew decide that separation was the right option for Singapore, a still recovering state?
17. Who was Lee Kuan Yew's audience?

These questions will be answered as we learn more about Singapore's merger with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak.