SINGAPORE: The public may be familiar with how Singapore gained independence 60 years ago, but newly declassified documents and handwritten notes by Dr Goh Keng Swee provide a firsthand view of how an “unexpected outcome” was reached.
“There are no dramatic new revelations … (Singapore’s founding prime minister) Mr Lee (Kuan Yew) told most of the story in his own memoirs,” said Mr Janadas Devan, senior advisor to the Ministry of Digital Development and Information.
“But what you have here is the rich human dimension … their passion, their emotions and their disagreements,” added Singapore’s former chief of government communications.
Mr Janadas was speaking to a CNA special podcast about the Albatross File exhibition and book, launched on Sunday (Dec 7), which focus on Dr Goh Keng Swee’s once-secret file.
The file is a collection of documents, handwritten notes and Cabinet papers that the late Dr Goh kept in the 10 months leading up to Singapore’s separation from Malaysia in August 1965.
Aside from being an important record of a pivotal moment in Singapore's history, the Albatross File provides insights into top-level discussions among both countries’ leaders in the weeks leading up to the separation.
Apart from looking at the contents of the Albatross File, the book also comprises excerpts of oral histories from key figures during that period, including Mr Lee and Dr Goh, who was then Singapore's finance minister.
Dr Goh was the minister who negotiated the separation of Singapore from Malaysia.
Some interviews were only recently declassified, which meant they could only be released five years or so after the interviewees’ deaths, noted Mr Janadas, who was the government’s coordinator for the Albatross File project.
“We took time to go over these oral histories, and we decided to put them all out to the public at one go because the oral histories flesh out what are in the Albatross File,” he said.
While it is not known exactly when Dr Goh started the file, the earliest document was from July 1964 - around the time of the race riots.
It was a long memorandum written by Mr Lee, spanning about 18 to 20 pages, revealing his early assessment of the federation’s political fault lines.
“They are extraordinarily interesting to read, because they give you a real-time look into how their thinking was developing as events were unfolding … and a number of things surprised me,” said Mr Janadas on the podcast.
He described it as a “very intense analysis of the lie of the political land”.
“Many of the things he said there foresaw the events that were going to unfold … and I was very struck by (them) – even at that point, before the race riots happened, he knew what was at stake, and he knew that if they were to concede, what was the primary demand from the Malaysian leaders?” noted Mr Janadas.
When the race riots happened, barely a year after the merger of both countries, it was “cataclysmic” and “shocked everybody”, he added.
The second document in the Albatross File was notes of Dr Goh’s meetings with Malaysia’s then-Deputy Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, which took place immediately after the riots.
Tun Razak told Dr Goh that Kuala Lumpur was prepared to admit the People’s Action Party (PAP) into a coalition government on two conditions: Mr Lee steps down, and the PAP keeps out of the Malay ground.
“They would never have accepted it,” Mr Janadas said.
This also happened right after the Malaysian general election in April 1964, where Mr Janadas’s father Devan Nair was the only PAP member to win a seat.
As tensions grew, many people in Singapore regretted their support for the merger, said Mr Janadas.
According to Dr Goh’s oral history, this was when Mr Lee and the PAP decided to increase political pressure and “organise politically, up and down the Peninsula, and across Sabah and Sarawak”.
“Mr Lee, in his oral histories, says (Kuala Lumpur) could’ve arranged for an accident … there were always huge, big lorries carrying timber, and then you arrange for the timber to be released, and your car is smashed, right? That’s it,” Mr Janadas recounted.
Tun Razak first suggested “hiving off” Singapore around Dec 15, 1964.
By then, Mr Lee, in his oral history, had already concluded that “we just could not carry on”.
In March 1965, Dr Goh then wrote the most substantial paper on possible terms for a looser federation. But this constitutional rearrangement never came to fruition.
“We published the political part of that paper, but the more detailed thing, which was a big thing – we did not publish but we summarised it,” noted Mr Janadas.
“There is some doubt as to how many people looked at it, but the Malaysians knew about it.”
Following this paper, there was a gap in the Albatross File where, among other things, Dr Goh travelled to Germany for most of June for medical treatment.
Upon his return, Singapore’s leaders held a press conference on Jul 8, 1965 after catching wind of the Malaysian authorities’ intentions to arrest Mr Lee.
Just two days later, a by-election in Hong Lim constituency was held, where PAP’s Lee Khoon Choy won.
These two events convinced federal leaders that Mr Lee and the PAP could not be cowed or suppressed, especially by United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) radicals – also known as the “ultras”.
Tun Razak then asked Dr Goh to visit him in Kuala Lumpur on Jul 15, where he asked Dr Goh if he had any suggestions for what could be done.
Mr Janadas noted: “Dr Goh said in his oral history that he was surprised by this question because he wasn’t prepared for any proposal, and he just said to them, ‘Well, I think the best way is we go our separate ways.’ So Dr Goh seemed to be the first person to have used the word ‘separate’.
“(Tun) Razak said: ‘Are you sure Mr Lee would agree to it?’ and Dr Goh said: ‘If we do it fast, and we keep it a secret, I think he will.’ And Razak said: ‘Go back and ask him.’”
Dr Goh wanted separation as he felt the political cost of staying in Malaysia was too high and the economic benefits were non-existent. Things were coming to a head, said Mr Janadas.
It was only in 1994, when Mr Lee Kuan Yew obtained permission to read Dr Goh’s oral history, that he found out that contrary to his instructions, Dr Goh had gone for a clean break from the start and never tried for a looser federation.
Only a tight circle of people knew about the separation negotiations.
This culminated in the wee hours of Aug 7, 1965 when the Separation Agreement was signed by the negotiating ministers from both sides at Tun Razak’s Kuala Lumpur home.
Two days later, Singapore’s independence was proclaimed over the radio.
A cameraman films a display during a media preview of The Albatross File exhibition in the National Library, Nov 26, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)
“Dr Goh said (on) Aug 6, he began sweating because he felt like a prisoner, condemned to death (who was) suddenly released from the death sentence,” said Mr Janadas.
“The negotiation could have gone all sort of ways if Dr Goh had not helmed (it) … But I really don’t think it could have been postponed forever, because the fundamental differences that existed between the two societies were not resolvable.”
On the podcast, Mr Janadas called Singapore’s leaders “deeply courageous”, who were willing to bear considerable risks, including getting killed.
This was especially true for Mr Lee, who was torn about separation and preferred greater autonomy within the federation – until the final days before the agreement was signed.
Within a few years, all of Singapore’s founding leaders concluded that it was the best thing that had ever happened to Singapore.
“What you have (in the Albatross File) is a very rich human document. You see your leaders as individuals and I found that very deeply moving,” said Mr Janadas.
“The oral history showed that great statesmanship does not only rest on logic and reason. It derives from deep passion and intense emotions – in our case, at least.”
Continue reading...
“There are no dramatic new revelations … (Singapore’s founding prime minister) Mr Lee (Kuan Yew) told most of the story in his own memoirs,” said Mr Janadas Devan, senior advisor to the Ministry of Digital Development and Information.
“But what you have here is the rich human dimension … their passion, their emotions and their disagreements,” added Singapore’s former chief of government communications.
Mr Janadas was speaking to a CNA special podcast about the Albatross File exhibition and book, launched on Sunday (Dec 7), which focus on Dr Goh Keng Swee’s once-secret file.
The file is a collection of documents, handwritten notes and Cabinet papers that the late Dr Goh kept in the 10 months leading up to Singapore’s separation from Malaysia in August 1965.
Aside from being an important record of a pivotal moment in Singapore's history, the Albatross File provides insights into top-level discussions among both countries’ leaders in the weeks leading up to the separation.
Apart from looking at the contents of the Albatross File, the book also comprises excerpts of oral histories from key figures during that period, including Mr Lee and Dr Goh, who was then Singapore's finance minister.
Dr Goh was the minister who negotiated the separation of Singapore from Malaysia.
Some interviews were only recently declassified, which meant they could only be released five years or so after the interviewees’ deaths, noted Mr Janadas, who was the government’s coordinator for the Albatross File project.
“We took time to go over these oral histories, and we decided to put them all out to the public at one go because the oral histories flesh out what are in the Albatross File,” he said.
Related:
REAL-TIME LOOK AT LEADERS’ THINKING
While it is not known exactly when Dr Goh started the file, the earliest document was from July 1964 - around the time of the race riots.
It was a long memorandum written by Mr Lee, spanning about 18 to 20 pages, revealing his early assessment of the federation’s political fault lines.
“They are extraordinarily interesting to read, because they give you a real-time look into how their thinking was developing as events were unfolding … and a number of things surprised me,” said Mr Janadas on the podcast.
He described it as a “very intense analysis of the lie of the political land”.
“Many of the things he said there foresaw the events that were going to unfold … and I was very struck by (them) – even at that point, before the race riots happened, he knew what was at stake, and he knew that if they were to concede, what was the primary demand from the Malaysian leaders?” noted Mr Janadas.
When the race riots happened, barely a year after the merger of both countries, it was “cataclysmic” and “shocked everybody”, he added.
The second document in the Albatross File was notes of Dr Goh’s meetings with Malaysia’s then-Deputy Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, which took place immediately after the riots.
Tun Razak told Dr Goh that Kuala Lumpur was prepared to admit the People’s Action Party (PAP) into a coalition government on two conditions: Mr Lee steps down, and the PAP keeps out of the Malay ground.
“They would never have accepted it,” Mr Janadas said.
This also happened right after the Malaysian general election in April 1964, where Mr Janadas’s father Devan Nair was the only PAP member to win a seat.
POSSIBILITY OF LOOSER FEDERATION
As tensions grew, many people in Singapore regretted their support for the merger, said Mr Janadas.
According to Dr Goh’s oral history, this was when Mr Lee and the PAP decided to increase political pressure and “organise politically, up and down the Peninsula, and across Sabah and Sarawak”.
“Mr Lee, in his oral histories, says (Kuala Lumpur) could’ve arranged for an accident … there were always huge, big lorries carrying timber, and then you arrange for the timber to be released, and your car is smashed, right? That’s it,” Mr Janadas recounted.
Tun Razak first suggested “hiving off” Singapore around Dec 15, 1964.
By then, Mr Lee, in his oral history, had already concluded that “we just could not carry on”.
In March 1965, Dr Goh then wrote the most substantial paper on possible terms for a looser federation. But this constitutional rearrangement never came to fruition.
“We published the political part of that paper, but the more detailed thing, which was a big thing – we did not publish but we summarised it,” noted Mr Janadas.
“There is some doubt as to how many people looked at it, but the Malaysians knew about it.”
Related:
HOW SEPARATION HAPPENED
Following this paper, there was a gap in the Albatross File where, among other things, Dr Goh travelled to Germany for most of June for medical treatment.
Upon his return, Singapore’s leaders held a press conference on Jul 8, 1965 after catching wind of the Malaysian authorities’ intentions to arrest Mr Lee.
Just two days later, a by-election in Hong Lim constituency was held, where PAP’s Lee Khoon Choy won.
These two events convinced federal leaders that Mr Lee and the PAP could not be cowed or suppressed, especially by United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) radicals – also known as the “ultras”.
Tun Razak then asked Dr Goh to visit him in Kuala Lumpur on Jul 15, where he asked Dr Goh if he had any suggestions for what could be done.
Mr Janadas noted: “Dr Goh said in his oral history that he was surprised by this question because he wasn’t prepared for any proposal, and he just said to them, ‘Well, I think the best way is we go our separate ways.’ So Dr Goh seemed to be the first person to have used the word ‘separate’.
“(Tun) Razak said: ‘Are you sure Mr Lee would agree to it?’ and Dr Goh said: ‘If we do it fast, and we keep it a secret, I think he will.’ And Razak said: ‘Go back and ask him.’”
Dr Goh wanted separation as he felt the political cost of staying in Malaysia was too high and the economic benefits were non-existent. Things were coming to a head, said Mr Janadas.
It was only in 1994, when Mr Lee Kuan Yew obtained permission to read Dr Goh’s oral history, that he found out that contrary to his instructions, Dr Goh had gone for a clean break from the start and never tried for a looser federation.
Only a tight circle of people knew about the separation negotiations.
This culminated in the wee hours of Aug 7, 1965 when the Separation Agreement was signed by the negotiating ministers from both sides at Tun Razak’s Kuala Lumpur home.
Two days later, Singapore’s independence was proclaimed over the radio.
A cameraman films a display during a media preview of The Albatross File exhibition in the National Library, Nov 26, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)
“Dr Goh said (on) Aug 6, he began sweating because he felt like a prisoner, condemned to death (who was) suddenly released from the death sentence,” said Mr Janadas.
“The negotiation could have gone all sort of ways if Dr Goh had not helmed (it) … But I really don’t think it could have been postponed forever, because the fundamental differences that existed between the two societies were not resolvable.”
On the podcast, Mr Janadas called Singapore’s leaders “deeply courageous”, who were willing to bear considerable risks, including getting killed.
This was especially true for Mr Lee, who was torn about separation and preferred greater autonomy within the federation – until the final days before the agreement was signed.
Within a few years, all of Singapore’s founding leaders concluded that it was the best thing that had ever happened to Singapore.
“What you have (in the Albatross File) is a very rich human document. You see your leaders as individuals and I found that very deeply moving,” said Mr Janadas.
“The oral history showed that great statesmanship does not only rest on logic and reason. It derives from deep passion and intense emotions – in our case, at least.”
Continue reading...