THE BARISAN SOSIALIS IN MALAYSIA (1963-1965)

Abstract

Singapore’s “Merger and Separation” with Malaysia from 1963-1965 has been enshrined as a defining episode in Singapore’s history. While there have been studies on the story of the People’s Action Party (PAP) in Malaysia, there is no scholarly treatment of the Barisan Sosialis (BS), the main opposition party in Singapore during this period. Hence, this thesis will study the BS during Singapore’s “Malaysia years” and document how the events within the BS, and the efforts it made publicly, ultimately led to the party’s decision to boycott parliament from December 1965. This decision by the BS to boycott parliament allowed the PAP to govern Singapore from 1965-1968 unopposed, and empowered the PAP to fully focus on governing, instead of having its focus divided by the presence of the BS in parliament. Through its achievements, the PAP continued its one-party dominance in Singapore, returning to power and winning every seat in parliament from 1968 until 1981, when it lost the Anson by-election to the Workers’ Party’s J.B. Jeyaretnam. Had things gone differently for the BS during Singapore’s twenty-three months in Malaysia, Singapore’s history over the last fifty-five years could have been very different.