The History of Singapore Podcast
1) Episode 50: Question & Answers III
In this episode - the final episode of season 1 -, PJ Thum takes listener questions. Questions include comparisons of Singapore/Federation and Hong Kong/China; on British attitudes to the Barisan and ...Show More
2) Episode 49: Separation
After years of long drawn out sound and fury and violence, the final conspiracy for separation was conducted in absolute secrecy, between a tiny group of people, and in a massive rush. In this episode...Show More
3) Episode 48: The Chinese Ultra
As late as October 1964, separation was still unthinkable. But from November 1964 onwards, the situation slowly deteriorated. The road to separation was long and there were many opportunities to stop ...Show More
4) Episode 47: The 1964 Political Riots
Singapore has never had a race riot - so why do we call the riots of 1964 “race” riots? In this episode, PJ Thum explains how the elections of 1963 and 1964, the starkly divergent political circumstan...Show More
5) Episode 46: Selamat Hari Malaysia
The mutual antipathy between Federation and Singapore ministers nearly sank merger before it happened, and ensured that Malaysia would be birthed into a poisoned atmosphere. In this episode, PJ Thum d...Show More
6) Episode 45: The Man, The Myth, The Legend: Who is Lim Chin Siong?
It is just barely an exaggeration to say that Lee Kuan Yew’s primary reason to pursue merger was to defeat Lim Chin Siong; as a result of this, the lives of millions of people in four different territ...Show More
7) Episode 44: Operation Coldstore II: The Blame Game
The British, Federation, and PAP leaders agreed that Singapore’s political opposition would be arrested, despite the lack of evidence of any wrongdoing, before merger took place. But the issues of who...Show More
8) Episode 43: Operation Coldstore I: The Night of Long Knives
The British, Federation of Malaya, and PAP leaders agreed to a merger of the Federation and Singapore. But Tunku Abdul Rahman demanded that Singapore’s political opposition be arrested before merger, ...Show More
9) Episode 42: Hobson's Choice
Needing to negotiate a form and structure for merger that satisfied both the Federation government and the people of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew ended up producing a compromise that gave away Singaporean ...Show More
10) Episode 41: Lord Selkirk's Tea Party
Lord Selkirk, UK Commissioner to Singapore, hosted James Puthucheary, Lim Chin Siong, Fong Swee Suan, and S. Woodhull at his official residence for tea at 4.30pm on 18 July 1961 - an event that become...Show More