Singapore's split from M'sia made news on Swiss press

SINGAPORE'S separation from Malaysia on August 9, 1965, made considerable impact on the Swiss press at the time. On the day itself, the event made front-page news in the Zurich-based daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ).

Quoting the official radio, the paper reported that since midnight, Singapore no longer belonged to the Malaysian Federation. At the time of publication, it was already past midnight in Singapore.

The paper then published an AFP report in which both Singapore and Malaysia emphasised that they wanted to maintain friendly relations after the separation. It explained that the separation followed several months of tensions between the then leader of the PAP, Lee Kuan Yew, and the government of Malaya, led by Tunku Abdul Rahman. According to AFP, the decision to split came as a surprise to Singaporeans and Malaysians alike.