Good News In History, August 9

Good News In History, August 9

Good News In History, August 9 60 years ago today, Singapore became the first country ever to gain independence unwillingly, after it was expelled from Malaysia. Affirmative action policies that granted privileges to Malays over other ethnic minorities caused significant unrest after a merger with Sabah, Sarawak, Malaysia, and Singapore. Two years later, the Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman decided to expel Singapore from the federation. The Parliament of Malaysia voted 126–0, with all Singaporean MPs boycotting the vote, in favor of the expulsion on 9 August 1965.  READ the miracle that happened next…  (1965) Singapore Merlion at Marina Bay On that day, a tearful Lee Kuan Yew announced at a televised press conference that Singapore was a sovereign, independent nation. In a widely remembered quote, he uttered that: “For me, it would be a moment of anguish. I mean for me, it is a moment of anguish because all my life … I have believed in Merger and the unity of these two territor…