REFERENDUM

6.32 p.m.

Mr David Marshall (Anson): Mr Speaker, I rise to move,

That this Assembly solemnly assures the citizens of Singapore that before arrangements are finalised for a closer relationship with the Federation of Malaya and/or the Borneo territories, and before any request is made by the Government of Singapore to the British Government for transfer of territorial sovereignty over Singapore to the Federation of Malaya or Malaysia, the wishes of the voters of Singapore will be ascertained by referendum and the Government will act in accordance with the views of our citizens so expressed.

Mr Speaker, in the last seven years our efforts to bring about an understanding of the value of the democratic process has had far more effect than is generally recognised. Although at times our efforts seem to be like water that disappears from the earth leaving no trace, nevertheless, Sir, that water has irrigated the subsoil and there is to those of us who seek to keep in touch with the common man of Singapore. of the different communities, the realisation of a very real feeling by the people that there is strength in the democratic process and in the power to appoint a government and to reject a Party. It is true that recently our citizens have been increasingly puzzled by the capacity of the democratic process to produce a dictatorship government between general elections. It is true that there is at the moment, Sir, an incipient sense of frustration and fear that the people's own representatives whom the people trusted and whom they elected will seek to destroy it. It is principally to allay this fear, a genuine fear in many circles, that this motion is brought in.

It has been said, Mr Speaker, that there is no need for this motion, that the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, in their addresses to this Assembly on the Referendum Bill, have given assurances that the people will be consulted before the proposals for a closer relationship with the Federation, which they call a merger, are put into effect. I would draw your attention, Mr Speaker, to the unhappy nature of the statement of the Prime Minister which itself gave impetus to the misgivings of our people. I do not know, Mr Speaker, whether your memory can go that far to the 16th of March - it is only last month - when the Prime Minister in his address on the Referendum Bill said. "The question of winning or losing a referendum does not arise. If there was the slightest risk of merger being frustrated and the country plunged into disaster by the activities of the Communists, let me say that it would be criminal folly on the part of Government to hold a referendum and to allow the future of Malaya and Malaysia to be imperilled. If that were the position, if a risk existed; then it is the duty of the Government to go through with it to ensure that the peace, security and happiness of the people not just of Singapore but of Malaya and Malaysia are not jeopardised."

Shorn of its frills, this statement of the Prime Minister means two things. One; all those who are against the White Paper proposals are, by official definition, Communists. Two, if there is any risk that those against the White Paper proposals could negative a referendum, no referendum will be held. That is the democracy of the Prime Minister: "I believe in democracy as long as it is advantageous to me. But when democracy does not support me, then democracy is a criminal activity, a criminal folly which must be suppressed. My will is the will of the people, but if the will of the people differs from my will, the people are criminals and I shall do what I think is good for them, not what they think is good for them."

Mr Speaker, there is a couplet by Matthew Arnold:

`Thoughts in hours of insight willed,

Can he in hours of gloom fulfilled,'

Those of us who seek to pursue, not only for ourselves, the road of democracy, but to help others not only to understand it and appreciate it but to make it a reality for this country and other countries which today suffer the rule of Communist dictatorship, we say that there is a need to go back to first principles and to give a solemn assurance to the people from the Assembly. Mr Speaker, whatever the ultimate result, the ultimate action on the White Paper proposals, an important segment of Singapore would be deeply embittered and it is important that the division created should be healed as quickly as possible. If a referendum is held, giving an honest opportunity to the people to express their views, however strongly the minority may feel, they must accept the will of the majority. It is on the basis of this democratic principle of acceptance of the will of .the majority that we can call upon the minority to accept with good grace and without lasting bitterness the decision o, the majority. It is in this way that I hope and I believe we can avoid a permanent and very dangerous cleavage within our own citizens, whichever way the decision goes.

Mr Speaker, apart from the normal obvious reasons for a referendum in a matter of such gravity, I ask this House to note that the people of the Federation would themselves wish to be quite certain that despite the opposition indicated in Singapore, if there is to be .a closer relationship in pursuance of the White Paper agreement, such closer relationship is in fact voluntarily entered into by Singapore with the express approval of the majority of its adult citizens.

I am disturbed, as very many others have been, by recent unfriendly pronouncements of the Federation Prime Minister and these, to my mind ill-timed threats, are causing a feeling of anxiety and suspicion that the Federation has decided to annex Singapore whether with or without our permission. This is imperialism whatever the excuse. The pages of English colonial history are full of annexations on the excuse of expediency. Whatever may be the truth about the attitude of the Federation Government, Sir, I am convinced that the people of the Federation as a whole would feel far happier if there is a referendum whereby the people of Singapore could have an honest opportunity to express their views so that no question could possibly arise of domination imposed in imperialist fashion against the will of the people of Singapore. It is these considerations which impel me to urge this House-I plead by a unanimous vote-to allay the fears oth of the people of Singapore and the people of Federation in giving this assurance in solemn form: that on a matter of gravity, the transfer of sovereignty of Singapore, the will of the people will be ascertained by process of direct democracy and will be complied with.

We have all of us, I trust, in different ways sought to bring about an appreciation of the value of the democratic process. I ask that through this motion we reaffirm not only our faith in what we preach but our intention to abide by what we preach. I would ask. Mr Speaker, that the bitterness of the different reactions and views in respect of the merits and demerits of the White Paper be not introduced into the debate on this motion. I would urge that the principle it seeks to enunciate should be the one that should engage the exclusive attention of the House during the debate. If there is any amendment which can better bring out the spirit that I seek to enunciate, I would only be too happy to consider it and to accept it.

Question proposed.

6.45 p.m.

The Deputy Prime Minister (Dr Toh Chin Chye): Mr Speaker, Members of this House will recollect that during the debate on merger between Singapore and the Federation of Malaya which lasted from the 20th of November to the 6th of December, 1961, everybody in this House accepted the desirability of merger and nobody denied that merger was inevitable. At the end of that debate on the 6th of December, this House resolved,

`That as an immediate practical step towards the ideal goal of complete merger this House accepts the heads of agreement set out in the White Paper Cmd. 33 of 1961 agreed to between the Governments of the State of Singapore and the Federation of Malaya as a working basis for a reunification of the two territories.'.

Now, although the Government had the mandate in the 1959 general elections to settle the question of merger between Singapore and the Federation, nevertheless, we felt it desirable that the electorate should be given the opportunity to express their views on the mode and manner of the reunification of Singapore and the Federation. Accordingly, on the 27th of November last year, the Minister for Home Affairs introduced the Singapore National Referendum Bill. This Bill is now in Select Committee and at some future date after the Bill has passed through its Third Reading, the referendum will be held. The responsibility for executing this referendum will be the responsibility of the Government. The administration of the referendum will be in accordance with the clauses of the Singapore National Referendum Bill. In the Bill itself, provision is made for political Parties to be given the opportunity to inform the electorate of the terms of the referendum.

Mr Speaker: Order. I do not like to interrupt the Hon, the Deputy Prime Minister, but he has mentioned that the Bill is now before a Select Committee. Therefore, he must not assume that the clauses in the Bill will be accepted. As far as possible, we should avoid referring to the details of the Bill.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: I am just touching upon the Bill in passing, Mr Speaker. I have no intention to specify any particular clause of the Bill itself. Although this Bill is still in Select Committee and has not yet been reported to the House, the Barisan Sosialis have already jumped the gun, and, as far as they are concerned, the campaign for referendum has already started. The Barisan Sosialis, in fact, began their campaign against merger and Malaysia on 1st of April. The Barisan Sosialis have sought to represent that the proposals as contained in Cmd. Paper 33 are proposals which have been put forward only by the P.A.P. As a matter of fact, Members of this House are aware that Cmd. Paper 33 also contains letters exchanged between the Prime Ministers of the Federation and the Singapore Governments. These state quite clearly that these proposals have been arrived at after discussion between the two Governments, in other words, these proposals are not merely P.A.P. proposals, but also proposals of the Federation Government. It is therefore utterly absurd of the Barisan Sosialis to propagate the view that the proposals for Singapore/Federation merger, which include autonomy in education and labour for Singapore, are simply P.A.P. proposals. In fact, this House on the 6th of December accepted Cmd. Paper 33, which had been agreed to between the Singapore and Federation Governments, as a working basis for the reunification of the two territories. This exposes the deceit of the Barisan Sosialis.

As I have said, the Barisan Sosialis have already started their referendum campaign. For this purpose, they have issued a pamphlet against merger and Malaysia. About Malaysia, it has this to say -

Mr Speaker: Order. The Deputy Prime Minister will be perfectly in order if he mentions this campaign in passing. But if he goes into details, I am of the opinion that those details might take him far away from the motion itself, unless, of course, he can satisfy me that they will not do so. We are now debating a motion which ask for an assurance that this matter of merger - I am paraphrasing, of course - be referred to the people of Singapore by way of a referendum.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: Mr Speaker, since I have already stated that the Barisan Sosialis have already started a referendum campaign, it is necessary that this House should also be acquainted with the propaganda that they have put out in the campaign. On previous occasions, the Prime Minister and I had given assurances that this referendum would be held.

The provisions for the holding of this referendum are contained in the National Referendum Bill, which itself is in Select Committee. Therefore, while the Bill is in Select Committee, for the Barisan Sosialis to go out and start a referendum campaign is just jumping the gun. Hence I would like to be given the opportunity to explain to the House what the Barisan Sosialis have stated in their campaign on the referendum.

Mr Speaker: Order. I think the Deputy Prime Minister must satisfy himself, satisfy me and satisfy the House that what the Barisan Sosialis are now doing has some reference to the motion we are now discussing.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: Mr Speaker, if you will refer to the motion put forward by the Member for Anson, you will see a sentence there which is pertinent to what I would like to bring out:

`That this Assembly solemnly assures the citizens of Singapore that before arrangements are finalised for a closer relationship with the Federation of Malaya and/or the Borneo territories, and before any request is made by the Government of Singapore to the British Government for transfer of territorial sovereignty over Singapore to the Federation of Malaya or Malaysia, the wishes of the voters of Singapore will be ascertained by referendum...'.

Now, it is assumed in this motion that there will be a closer relationship between the Federation of Malaya, Singapore and the Borneo territories. This motion implicitly states so. In the campaign which the Barisan Sosialis have conducted, a contrary attitude has been assumed. In fact, the stand they take in their campaign is against a closer relationship between Singapore, the Federation of Malaya and the `Borneo territories, and it is precisely this point which I would like to deal with.

Sir, in this pamphlet which they have issued entitled "Everyone must know the whole truth about merger and Malaysia", there are two versions of the propaganda. One version is printed in Chinese and the other version is printed in' English. Referring to Malaysia, this is what the pamphlet has to say in Chinese. May I read it out?

(In Mandarin): `At the same time imperialism will be able to suppress more people in more territories in the Far East, and to suppress nationalist movements and progressive forces. This is the conspiracy of imperialism.'

This means Malaysia is a conspiracy for imperialism to suppress more people, more territories in the Far East and to suppress nationalist movements and progressive forces.

Mr Speaker: Order. I must rule that that is completely away from the motion. The Hon, the Deputy Prime Minister may have another opportunity of bringing these facts forward. We are now debating a motion and the Deputy Prime Minister must indicate whether he is in favour of or against the motion. What the Barisan Sosialis have done has got nothing to do with the motion at the moment. I think the Deputy Prime Minister should find another opportunity to bring forward these facts, but not in this debate.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: Mr Speaker, I was just trying to prove to you that the motion put forward by the Member for Anson states implicitly or implies that there would be a closer relationship between the five territories. It is necessary for me, therefore, to inform the Assembly of the stand of the Barisan Sosialis. It is quite relevant to the motion which the Member for Anson has put forward.

Mr Speaker: Order. I think the Deputy Prime Minister is arrogating unto himself the job of the Barisan Sosialis. If what the Deputy Prime Minister has said is correct, the Barisan Sosialis probably would attack this motion on those lines. I do not think the Deputy Prime Minister is entitled to do that. He is entitled to say whether or not he agrees with this motion: and if he does not, to say why he does not. He cannot persuade the Chair that because the Barisan Sosialis will not agree with the motion, the motion should be lost or won.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: I will accept your ruling. Mr Speaker.

The Member for Anson in his speech just now, in one of his more lucid and more sober moments, appealed to the House not to refer to the merits or demerits of the proposals in Cmd. Paper No. 33. I think it would indeed elevate the standing of the Member for Anson if he had also appealed to the House that no Member in this House should use the opportunity of this debate or the opportunity of the referendum campaign to incite feelings of race against race. The Member for Anson - better known now as the Pied Piper of Anson - himself is fully aware that as a result of the propaganda put forward by the Barisan Sosialis, there is indeed a rising tension between the different communities in Singapore. The Barisan Sosialis started their referendum campaign on 1st April, which is also known as April Fool's Day. There may be fools in the Barisan Sosialis, but we do not think the Barisan Sosialis are going to fool the people of Singapore with their childish and stupid propaganda nor are they going to fool the Tunku, the Prime Minister of the Federation, with their mystery letter delivered at Federation House. I do not know whether there was a tea party at Federation House, or whether there was a secret tea party which the Barisan bosses had with the British imperialists at Eden Hall: but nonetheless the Prime Minister of the Federation gave the Barisan Sosialis a very courteous reply indeed. That was admitted by the Secretary-General of the Barisan Sosialis, Mr Lim Ching Siong himself, in a Press interview. In return for that courtesy, the Barisan Sosialis have referred to the Tunku, the Prime Minister of the Federation, in the following terms:

'Why is Malaysia a British plot? Why do the British choose the Tunku?'.

The answer given in this pamphlet is:

`This will allow the Tunku to look after the British interests both economically -'.

Mr Speaker: Order. I am sorry to interrupt the Deputy Prime Minister, but I am sure he must realise that what he is saying is completely irrelevant to the motion. If he can satisfy me that what he is saying about the Barisan Sosialis has anything to do with the motion, then I will allow him to carry on, but I cannot see it at the moment.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: Very well, Sir,I will proceed. I referred just now. Sir, to the dangers which would arise if any Member in this Chamber were to use the referendum campaign or the opportunity of debate in this House to play up communal feelings. The Barisan Sosialis in their propaganda have said that there would be different classes of Singapore citizenship according to whether a person was born in Singapore, in the Federation, in China, in India and whether a person is a Malay. It is a tragedy indeed that the Barisan Sosialis in their desperation should seek to divide the people of Singapore and thereby hope that enough suspicion and distrust be whipped up among the different communities in Singapore so that merger would not be brought about. Such a stunt is not only contemptible and infantile but it is also dangerous.

Mr Speaker: Order. I propose to read the motion and if the Deputy Prime Minister can indicate what part of this motion relates to what he has said, then I will allow him to carry on. The motion is:

`That this Assembly solemnly assures the citizens of Singapore that before arrangements are finalised for a closer relationship with the Federation of Malaya and/or the Borneo territories, and before any request is made by the Government of Singapore to the British Government for transfer of territorial sovereignty over Singapore to the Federation of Malaya or Malaysia, the wishes of the voters of Singapore will be ascertained by referendum and the Government will act in accordance with the views of our citizens so expressed.'.

If the Deputy Prime Minister by his speech is indicating that because of the Barisan Sosialis propaganda it is not wise to go to referendum, then perhaps he is in order but I cannot imagine that that is so.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: Sir, as I have already explained, the Minister for Home Affairs last year, during the debate on merger, introduced the Singapore National Referendum Bill with one prospect, and that was to enable the people of Singapore in their own interest to go to a referendum to state specifically how the reunification of Singapore and the Federation should be brought about. It was with a sincere desire to conduct the referendum that the Minister for Home Affairs introduced this Bill. At the same time, he has even agreed with Members of the Opposition that this Bill should be discussed in Select Committee so that the views on how the referendum would be conducted could also be considered. Therefore, as I have previously said, since the responsibility for the administration of this referendum is the responsibility of the Government, I would like to introduce an amendment to the motion put forward by the Member for Anson:

To leave out, after the word "That", the words "this Assembly solemnly assures the citizens of Singapore that before arrangements are finalised for a closer relationship with the Federation of Malaya and/or the Borneo territories,", and insert "in view of the Govern ment's clearly stated stand on the question `of merger, this House welcomes the Government's introduction of the Singapore National Referendum Bill in order to hold a referendum to ascertain the wishes of the people on the mode and manner of the inevitable reunification of Singapore and the Federation of Malaya before arrangements are finalised".

To leave out after the words "Federation of Malaya or Malaysia",",the wishes of the voters of Singapore will be ascertained by referendum and the Government will act in accordance with the views of our citizens so expressed".

the amended motion will read as follows:

`That in view of the Government's clearly stated stand on the question of merger, this House welcomes the Government's introduction of the Singapore National Referendum Bill in order to hold a referendum to ascertain the wishes of the people on the mode and manner of the inevitable reunification of Singapore and the Federation of Malaya before arrangements are finalised and before any request is made by the Government of Singapore to the British Government for transfer of territorial sovereignty over Singapore to the Federation of Malaya or Malaysia.'

Mr Speaker: May I have a copy?

Dr Toh Chin Chye: Yes.

Copy of amendment handed in.

Mr Speaker: The amendment in substance is in order, but the format should be:

To leave out from "That" in line 1 to the end, and insert "in view of the Government's clearly stated stand on the question of merger, this House welcomes the Government's introduction of the Singapore National Referendum Bill in order to hold a referendum to ascertain the wishes of the people on the mode and manner of the inevitable reunification of Singapore and the Federation of Malaya before arrangements are finalised and before any request is made by the Government of Singapore to the British Government for transfer of territorial sovereignty over Singapore to the Federation of Malaya or Malaysia".

That covers the amendment?

Dr Toh Chin Chye indicated assent.

Mr David Marshall: Mr Speaker, Sir, on a point of order.

Mr Speaker: Yes.

Mr David Marshall: May I draw your attention to the fact that the motion seeks an assurance? The amendment merely welcomes a Bill, but gives no assurance, and therefore it negates my motion.

Mr Speaker: I have satisfied myself that the substance of the amendment is in order. On the point raised by the Member for Anson - he will get a copy of this amendment - he will note that the relevant words insofar as the assurance is concerned are these -

`in view of the Government's clearly stated stand on the question of merger, this House welcomes the Government's introduction of the Singapore National Referendum Bill'.

These are the operative words - 'in order to hold a referendum'.

Mr David Marshall: Forgive me. Mr Speaker, I just want to draw this to your attention. They say the Bill is welcomed because it is a Bill brought in order to hold a referendum. But they give no assurance that that Bill will be implemented for the purposes of holding a referendum. That is the purpose of my motion, to seek an assurance that they will.

Mr Speaker: That, of course, is an argument against the amendment. The Member for Anson is entitled to amend the amendment.

Has the Deputy Prime Minister completed his speech?

Dr Toh Chin Chye: Not yet.

Mr Speaker: While copies of the amendment are being distributed, the Deputy Prime Minister may move a business motion.