The Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965 was a major agreement between the governments of

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

on 7 August 1965 that formally seceded Singapore from Malaysia as a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and to be an independent sovereign country. The agreement included a Proclamation on Singapore to be made by Malaysian Prime Minister

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman (8 February 19036 December 1990), commonly referred to as Tunku, was a Malaysian statesman who served as prime minister of Malaysia from 1957 to 1970. He previously served as the only chief minister of Federation of Malaya ...

; a different Proclamation of Singapore was made by Singaporean Prime Minister

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...

. As a result of the agreement, Singapore permanently became distinct and separate from Malaysia with effect from 9 August 1965, and rendered the Malaysia Agreement invalid in regards to Singapore. It also became a member of the United Nations a few weeks later on 20 September with a unanimous decision. The Singapore Act 1966 followed the treaty a year after, which admitted Singapore into the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

with retroactive effect from the agreement.

Background

Singapore first achieved sovereignty on 3 June 1959 from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. From 1959 to 1963, Singapore was a country with full internal self-governance, but the British colonial administration still controlled external relations, similar to the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

. On 16 September 1963, the Proclamation of Malaysia was declared, which declared the merger of four countries: Malaya, North Borneo (Sabah),

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

and

– the latter three already self-governing colonies by this point – into the new entity of Malaysia. With this, Singapore subsequently joined Malaysia as an autonomous state, along with Sarawak and Sabah.

Legacy

The short-lived union would prove tenuous due to various factors, including deep political and economic differences, and would end up lasting for just 1 year, 10 months and 24 days before this agreement became effective on 9 August 1965. Meanwhile,

and

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

have remained part of Malaysia.

References

Formation of Malaysia 1965 in Malaysia 1965 in Singapore Malaysia–United Kingdom relations Singapore–United Kingdom relations Legal documents Monarchies of Malaysia Treaties concluded in 1965 Treaties entered into force in 1965 Treaties of Malaysia Treaties of Singapore Treaties involving territorial changes Malaysia and the Commonwealth of Nations Singapore and the Commonwealth of Nations United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations {{portalbar, History, Politics, Malaysia, Singapore

Background

Legacy

See also

References