Time in Malaysia taught us tolerance: Mr Lee

Singapore's two years in Malaysia had been an education in racial, religious and linguistic tolerance, said then Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

It would be wrong to think that the two years had been wasted, even though Singapore had lost $70 million in the process, he said at a Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce dinner in November 1965.

"In those two years, we have educated ourselves and our people in the necessities of tolerance in a multiracial society... racial tolerance, linguistic tolerance and religious tolerance," he said.

Tolerance was the touchstone of the Government's policies, said Mr Lee.

He added that with such a policy, there could be no question of Singapore's ability to survive.

Meanwhile, 800 Malaysians in Singapore had accepted the Malaysian government's offer to resettle them in Johor, Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman said in Parliament.

Not all were Malays, he said, saying that the authorities would look into low-cost temporary houses for these Malaysians.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on November 15, 2015, with the headline Time in Malaysia taught us tolerance: Mr Lee. Subscribe