EPTIn 1962, the People's Action Party, or PAP, had a majority in the legislative assembly in Singapore. Singapore was trying to achieve independence, and the PAP thought the best way was through MERGER with Malaysia.
The opposition Barisan Socialis was against merger, and said that the people did not support the idea. The PAP said that they did, and they would prove it. So they held Singapore's only referendum in history to decide whether or not Singapore should merge with Malaysia. Here were the three choices:
Option A: Singapore would merge with Malaysia, but Singapore would retain a degree of autonomy and state power.
Option B: Singapore would merge with Malaysia, but with no more autonomy than the other states would.
Option C: Singapore would merge with Malaysia on terms no less favourable than the Borneo territories, Sabah and Sarawak.
The Barisan Socialis was like, wtf, where's Option D, NO MERGER? The PAP was like, stfu and vote instead of trying to ruin our democracy. The PAP encouraged their supporters to vote for Option A. The Barisan Socialis encouraged their supporters to cast blank votes. The PAP inserted a clause which stated that blank votes would be counted as votes for Option A.
73% of the vote was for Option A. Surprise surprise.
But 3 years later, the whole merger thing didn't work out and Singapore left Malaysia to become an independent country, which has worked out a lot better than merger.
What can we learn from this story?
THIS IS THE SINGAPORE TL MEETUP, NOT THE SWISS TL MEETUP. WE HAVE FUCKED UP 100% OF THE REFERENDUMS IN OUR COUNTRY. JUST TELL EVERYONE WHERE AND WHEN AND WHAT TO DO, AND ANYONE WHO CAN'T MAKE IT CAN KISS THEIR LIFT UPGRADING GOODBYE.
P.S. I might not be able to make it this Saturday, as Channel 5 is calling for concepts.
