Unpacking The Albatross File: Inside Separation – LinkedIn

ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW The Straits Times The Straits Times Get the latest news and insights from Singapore and the world with The Straits Times. Published Dec 12, 2025 Over the past week, the talk of the town has been the release of a new book which chronicles the series of events that led to Singapore’s independence from Malaysia. The Albatross File: Inside Separation draws on notes kept by Singapore’s then Finance Minister Goh Keng Swee, along with oral history interviews with some of Singapore’s founding leaders. Dr Goh was Singapore’s chief negotiator with Malaysia, and the book details important moments in the days and months leading up to Singapore’s independence on Aug 9, 1965. This includes how an off-the-cuff remark by Dr Goh on July 15, 1965, sparked a turning point in Singapore’s history. Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched the book on Dec 7, when as he delivered his speech he turned emotional, recounting memories of when his father, founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, received an important call from Dr Goh while the Lee family was on holiday. He also recalled his father’s conflicted feelings about leaving the federation. My colleague Lin Suling provides her take in
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