The desire of the overwhelming majority of Singapore’s people was the reunification of both parts of Malaya, known as “merger”. Why was merger so important to Singapore’s people? Why did they identify as Malayan? Why was it so intimately bound up with the hopes and aspirations of Singaporeans? In this episode, PJ Thum discusses the reasons driving (and complicating) the merger, and describes how a desperate Lee Kuan Yew convinced the leadership of UMNO to agree to merger.

Please send questions, comments, and feedback to thehistoryofsingapore@gmail.com or visit thehistoryofsingapore.com. Support the show at patreon.com/pjthum. For all the previous episodes in this series, search for "History of Singapore" on bfm.my.