The secession of Singapore from Malaysia was planned by leaders on both sides of the causeway and not forced upon the island state, said a former Singapore left-wing leader.

Dr Lim Hock Siew, a former central executive committee member of the now defunct Barisan Sosialis, said in Dr Melanie Chew's Leaders of Singapore , it was stated that Singaporean minister Dr Goh Keng Swee persuaded Tun Abdul Razak, then Malaysian deputy prime minister, to allow Singapore to secede from Malaysia.

Hock Siew, who is now a medical doctor residing in Singapore, said Dr Goh admitted that the separation was well planned and was not foisted upon Singapore.

"In recent years, ill feelings have been generated among our people to meet the political agenda of those politicians who have never believed in national unity," Hock Siew said in Kuala Lumpur last Sunday at the launching of the book on former Singapore political leader Lim Chin Siong, entitled Comet in Our Sky - Lim Chin Siong in History .

The book consists of a collection of articles about Chin Siong - once described by Singapore's strongman Lee Kuan Yew as "the next prime minister".

Singapore separated from Malaysia on Aug 9, 1965. The official story was the island republic to the south of the peninsular was expelled by the first Malaysian prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Island exile

Lim Chin Siong was a prominent left-wing leader in Singapore for a decade until he was removed from the political scene by the Singapore government's Operation Cold Store on Feb 2, 1963.

During Operation Cold store, security police mounted mass detentions of 111 leaders and activists of political parties, trade unions and organisations. The two main pillars of the left wing movement in Singapore, Barisan Sosialis and Satu - the Singapore Association of Trade Unions - were effectively crippled.

Born in 1933, Chin Siong was a fierce student leader and trade unionist during his time. While in detention, Chin Siong suffered from depression and was released and exiled to London, on the condition that he would not be active in politics.

He was only allowed to return to Singapore in 1979. He died of a heart attack in Singapore on Feb 5, 1996.

Hock Siew, who was himself was an active student leader in Universiti Malaya, was with Chin Siong in prison. He was released in 1979 and sent into exile at Pulau Tekong before being allowed back into Singapore in 1982.

Anti-national

Hock Siew said Chin Siong in 1963 opposed the 'discriminatory' terms of the merger for Singapore and was branded 'anti-national' by those same persons who are now trying to inculcate a separate identity for the people of Singapore.

The terms agreed between the two countries were that citizens of the component states within the projected Malayan Federation would not enjoy equal rights.

Singapore citizens could not move freely for employment or residence in other states. In addition, the island state was entitled to send only 25 members to the Federal Parliament, proportionately less than the size of her population; but as compensation, Singapore would be given autonomy in education and labour matters.

"Chin Siong had consistently stood for a genuine reunification of Singapore with peninsular Malaya to establish a truly united, democratic, peaceful and prosperous country," said Hock Siew.

Prime mover

Prof Jomo K S in his preface to the book said Chin Siong was "undoubtedly the prime mover of the island's predominantly Chinese working class population.

"As all accounts confirm, Lim was moved by a noble and sincere, if somewhat innocent vision of a united, democratic and multi-ethnic Malaya rid of British imperial domination".

Jomo added, "His popular appeal, youthful charm, honest sincerity and modest demeanour not only endeared him to the masses, but also commanded the respect of his peers and others striving for independence".

Former Singapore prime minister and now Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, when introducing Chin Siong to first prime minister David Marshall in 1955 said, "Lim Chin Siong is without doubt, the best Chinese-speaking orator in Singapore. He will be our next prime minister".

Historian Cheah Boon Kheng, who also spoke during the launch, noted that Chin Siong was a figure to be reckoned with in Singapore politics and in the People's Action Party (which now rules Singapore).

In 1965, Chin Siong had been declared Singapore's youngest parliamentarian. However, a year after widespread racial riots involving industrial workers and Chinese students, he was arrested and imprisoned on charges of being one of the leaders of Communist United Front alleged to be behind the riots.

Cheah said Chin Siong's own reputation was a further casualty after the mayhem, bloodshed and death in the riots, after which he was detained without trial.

Chin Siong denied he was a communist and the charges against him are unsubstantiated until today, Cheah added.

National question

Meanwhile, the world's longest detained journalist, Said Zahari, also launched the English version of his political memoirs entitled Dark Clouds at Dawn at the same event. Said, also a Singaporean, was detained for 17 years on orders of the Joint-Security Council of Singapore and Malaysia.

Jomo, who introduced Said, said that it was very important for the younger generation to learn from history.

"If we do not learn from history, history will repeat itself and when history repeats itself, it is often very tragic," said the Universiti Malaya lecturer, adding that the high values, morality and different styles of leadership of the past leaders were not present in the current generation of leaders.

In reviewing the two books of Said and Chin Siong, Jomo said two issues were of particular interest and can be used to analyse today's political situation - what constitutes a united front or a basis for a democratic, viable front and the national question in the context of a multi-ethnic society.

PRM president Syed Husin Ali who also spoke at the launch said he knew Said Zahari well as he was his personal friend. "He is a great son of Malaysia, well-tested and a journalist who has done his job gloriously," he added.

"He (Said) was detained by Lee Kuan Yew, probably because the minister was afraid of a Malay leader who could work closely with the Chinese and mobilise mass support," Syed Husin said, noting that Said was close to Chin Siong and believed in the same political struggles.

Syed Husin also touched on the current Nanyang debacle and said that the government in the past and present wanted to control the people's mind through the media.

"Government-controlled media is a great weapon for the government to control the opposition and also to distort the truth about dissidents," he said.

Late last month, second largest political party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition MCA took over two Chinese dailies published by the Nanyang group, a plan which has drawn widespread criticism.

Meanwhile, Prof Rahman Embong of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia revealed a secret about Said, saying the writer in the first draft of his memoirs did not include a story about his wife.

Rahman said he was the one who had reminded Said to write about his wife, which Said eventually did.

"This is not because he does not think of his family. He does not think about himself first. He thinks about his struggles and more important things about how to make this world better," he said.

Rahman said that Said's memoirs were significant as our history books are mainly dominated by winners of the day or popular leaders of the ruling party.

"In history, there are always winners and losers. And history has always been harsh and unfair to those who did not quite make it. Memoirs such as these will bridge the historical gap" he added.