Mahathir Said Singapore Shouldn’t Exist.

[ First Drafted 19 May 2026]

In 2022, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad suggested Malaysia “should demand not just that Pedra Branca, or Pulau Batu Puteh, be given back to us, we should also demand Singapore as well as the Riau Islands, as they are Tanah Melayu (Malay land)”.

While he walked it back, most Singaporeans do not need a lecture to understand why that is profoundly offensive. Singapore’s own existence, of course, is a product of colonial boundary-drawing, a territorial carve-out from a British empire that no longer exists.

The insult suggested that Singapore’s existence as a sovereign nation is somehow conditional. It implies that the country we belong to is not really ours, and that others may dismiss our nationhood as a historical mistake to be undone.

Imagine someone saying: “I have nothing against Singaporeans. I respect them as a people. I just don’t believe Singapore should exist as a sovereign state. It really belongs to Malaysia.“

How... Trumpian.

Few Singaporeans would regard that as a neutral distinction. Instead, we would immediately understand that denying a nation’s right to exist is a denial of our legitimacy as a people.

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Comment: That Mahathir harbours such revanchist ideas is neither surprising nor even shocking. His opinion is outdated and way past currency and veering into impotence. So even if his opinion is valid, how does he think his demand would play out in the real world?

That Singapore quietly acquiesce and submit to Malaysia?

In what reality would that come to pass?

The possibility of a force reunification was highest in 1969, but Singapore took steps to undermine that possibility. Since then, Singapore has buttressed our Right to exist with the Might to back up our Right. Singapore has a very pragmatic approach to our right to exist. If we cannot back up our Right, then our right is subject to the compassion of our neighbours.