An event in conjunction with the launch of “Nationalism and Decolonisation in Singapore” by Dr PJ Thum

What does the name “Malaya” suggest? 

Rather than just thinking about it as a historic polity that later merged with Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo (Sabah) to form Malaysia in 1963, we can unpack the layers of meaning within this term even further.  It can suggest the socialist aspirations of the 1940s–60s, with its ideas of progress and justice. 

But the eventual formation of Malaysia was also intertwined with developments in the colony of Singapore, namely four fundamental schisms that continue to resonate across both countries together: race, class, language/culture, and the meaning of self-determination. 

In this comparative analysis, Dr PJ Thum argues how these schisms shaped decolonisation in Singapore, before playing out further in Malaysia. Drawing on numerous declassified official documents, among others, this study seeks to understand where we stand today, 60 years post-merger

Details

Date: Saturday 27 January 2024, 
Time: 3:00pm-5:00pm
Venue: KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall,
1, Jalan Maharajalela,
50150 Kuala Lumpur

Location on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/qt7jAMK98MUmJK1a9

Purchase a signed softcover copy of Nationalism and Decolonisation in Singapore by Dr PJ Thum exclusively at this event for RM125!

About the Author

Thum Ping Tjin (“PJ”) is Founder and Managing Director of New Naratif, a movement to democratise democracy in Southeast Asia. A Rhodes Scholar, Commonwealth Scholar, Olympic athlete, and the only Singaporean to swim the English Channel, his work centres on the history of Malayan nationalism and decolonisation, and Southeast Asian governance and politics. He obtained his DPhil from the University of Oxford in History in 2011, and from 2019-22 he was a Visiting Fellow at Hertford College, University of Oxford.