BATTLE FOR MERGER

The year was 1961. Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew gave a series of 12 radio talks in English, Malay and Mandarin. These radio talks were intended to highlight to the Singaporean public that merger with Malaya was crucial for Singapore's survival as a fledgling state. The radio talks had also another crucial objective: to expose the threat of the Communists and their attempts to derail merger. It was a battle with the Communists for the hearts and minds of the people of Singapore. At stake: the future of Singapore's happiness, prosperity and progress.