Secret documents reveal extent of negotiations for Separation

Edmund Lim

22 Dec 2015

A nondescript exhibit at the National Museum has the potential to reshape Singapore's national history narrative. Singapore leaders were actively involved in negotiations leading to the exit from Malaysia, newly released documents highlight.

Museums play an important role in a nation's history. They serve as repositories of national history, preserving and showcasing artefacts and documents central to our shared understanding of the past, so that we can better understand our present.

[This is nothing new. The information in the "newly released" documents has been publicised before, and if there is anything new, it is simply the "documentary proof" provided by these original documents.]

Curators and public educators in charge of museums and their exhibitions also play a key role in shaping our sense of the past, and hence our sense of self, and our shared national identity.

William Farquhar

My history teacher in Secondary school declared that the proper pronunciation of "Farquhar" was "Far-kwa".

I was even then a sceptical person, and I was immediately suspicious of this out of the blue declaration.

What other pronunciation is there for "Farquhar"? That would be scandalous for teenage boys to utter?

A suggestion came to mind immediately.