Battle of Merger (jun 23, 1961 – sep 16, 1963)

Description:

1. Opposition of Barisan Sosialis:
-Members like Lim Chin Siong and Fong Swee Suan
- Felt that merger was unfavourable to ppl in SG
-Tried to get support from PAP members to challenge LKY's leadership
-Did not succeed, expelled from the party and established the Barisan Sosialis
-Concerned that citizenship would not automatically be granted to SG citizens.
-In exchange for control over its education and labour, SG would only have 15 seats in the federation, which was a sign of second class status due to underrepresentation of SG in the Malayan parliment.

2. PAP's Campaign
-Used exhibitions, flyers, books, booklets to convince people of the need to merge in a year-long campaign.
-Sep-Oct 1961: PM LKY gave a series of radio talks called the Battle of Merger in different languages and dialects to reach ppl of different religions and even of the neighbouring countries.

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