Mr. Ambrose Khaw was a senior sub-editor, and then deputy managing editor of The Straits Times in the tumultuous years of Merger and Separation. Mr. Khaw was working from the Straits Times office in Singapore during the merger. He moved to the head office in Kuala Lumpur immediately before and after the Separation. Mr. Khaw, now 70, and retired, gives the stories behind the headlines:
The Tunku wanted a mighty Malaysia that included Sabah and Sarawak so that the Malays would not be outnumbered, and it would therefore be acceptable to them.
The Tunku must have thought that as the British government was not partial to the original idea of having Singapore and Malaysia united, it was best to make a bigger one.
He wanted Malaysia and Singapore to be merged because he did not want the communists in Singapore to take over Singapore and become a thorn in the side of Malaysia.
Singapore had also been pressing for independence for some time. It was the whole focus of their effort -- those who returned from Britain and the founders of PAP. They built up pressure on the British by holding rallies and shouting slogans for Merdeka
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