tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272856.post112209986099131564..comments2023-10-30T22:31:03.398+08:00Comments on Singapore Rebel : The day when Singapore became part of MalaysiaMInghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812324746322990767noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272856.post-1122298418907952692005-07-25T21:33:00.000+08:002005-07-25T21:33:00.000+08:00http://www.singapore-window.org/sw05/050722mk.htm'...http://www.singapore-window.org/sw05/050722mk.htm<BR/><BR/>'Very controversial' book heading this way<BR/> <BR/>Malaysiakini<BR/>July 22, 2005<BR/>http://www.malaysiakini.com<BR/>James Wong Wing<BR/><BR/>A HISTORY book that attempts to account for the bitter and turbulent separation between Malaysia and Singapore in 1965 is trying to gain entry into the Malaysian market from across the Causeway. <BR/><BR/>Malaysiakini has learnt that the book, titled Ousted!, is authored by "an extremely well-informed ex-insider" Patrick Keith, a Kuala Lumpur-born former journalist in both Malaya and Malaysia who has since migrated and settled in Australia.<BR/><BR/>Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak joined the Federation of Malaya in 1963 to form the Federation of Malaysia. But in 1965, Singapore was separated from Malaysia and became an independent and sovereign republic.<BR/><BR/>Since then many conflicting versions of political speculation and academic hypotheses have been advanced to explore the real and exact reasons for the dramatic merger and separation in the 1963-1965 period.<BR/><BR/>Sources in Singapore who have read the manuscript told malaysiakini that besides the subject-matter, the author himself could still be considered 'sensitive' or 'controversial' in Malaysia because Keith personally knew all the major decision-makers of the event on both sides of the Causeway, including former Malayan/Malaysian prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and former MCA president Tan Siew Sin.<BR/><BR/>High-ranking post<BR/><BR/>It is understood that Keith once held the high-ranking post of deputy director of external information in the Information Department of independent Malaya/Malaysia until 1968, three years after the acrimonious merger and separation.<BR/><BR/>Besides, the sources said, the book was published by none other than Singapore's Media Masters whose husband-and-wife team also co-authored and published Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, malaysiakini has learnt that Keith's book has been sent to the Internal Affairs Ministry in Kuala Lumpur for preview before it is released for sale and that the ministry has received 'complimentary copies' of the book since yesterday.<BR/><BR/>The Singapore-based Media Master, owned and operated by veteran Australian journalists Ian Ward and Norma Miraflor, published both the English and Chinese editions of Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History.<BR/><BR/>When the original English edition of Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History was first imported into Malaysia from Singapore, it instantly created public controversies after some 900 copies were reportedly seized at the Malaysian custom in Johor Baru and another 17 copies from a major bookshop in Kuala Lumpur.<BR/><BR/>However, the Home Ministry later issued a public statement clarifying that the book is not banned.<BR/><BR/>Another public controversy arose later when Ian Ward, Norma Miraflor (left) and Media Masters sued the Chinese-language Nanyang Siang Pau for breaching two commercial contracts undertaken to have excerpts of the memoirs translated and published in series by Nanyang Siang Pau.<BR/><BR/>However, the legal suit was later settled out of court with the newspaper serialising the Chinese excerpts of the memoirs for about two weeks.<BR/><BR/>Later, Media Masters and Chin Peng himself had the English memoirs translated into Chinese in full by a team of 12 Malaysian translators.<BR/><BR/>The Chinese edition of the memoirs has been on public sale in Malaysia without any controversy since Nov 2004.MInghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00812324746322990767noreply@blogger.com