Singapore’s survival, success never guaranteed but hard-won: PM Wong on Albatross File exhibition

The Albatross File: Inside Separation

which shows how an off-the-cuff remark by Dr Goh on July 15, 1965, set off a chain of moves that led to the proclamation, at 10am on Aug 9, that “Singapore shall be forever a sovereign democratic and independent nation”.

On the Separation, PM Wong noted in his Facebook post that after the 1964 race riots, it had become clear to leaders on both sides that the merger was not working. He added in the post: “Remarkably, the break was achieved peacefully, even amid the profound disagreements of the time.”

In photos accompanying his post, PM Wong can be seen with Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo exploring the interactive components of the exhibition.

He invited Singaporeans to visit the exhibition, with bookings available at

Albatross, which contained Cabinet papers, memorandums and Dr Goh’s handwritten notes of his discussions with Malaysian leaders in the months before separation, had until now largely been kept classified. A subset of the documents was exhibited in 2015 to commemorate the Republic’s 50th year of independence.