60 years after a fateful merger…

2023 marks the 60th year since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, comprising the Federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak – and Singapore. For Malaysians, 1963 is of profound national significance. For Singaporeans, the more memorable year might be 1965, the year of separation and subsequent independence. Yet for two fateful years, the destinies of the two countries were conjoined. The kinship, affinity, and tensions are still keenly felt today.

The Second Link brings together writers from both countries – in the tradition of volumes such as The Second Tongue (edited by Edwin Thumboo, 1976) – to engage creatively and critically with this sense of entwinement, to reflect, to rue, and to celebrate.