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21 November 1954
At the packed Victoria Memorial Hall, about 1500 people witnessed the historic birth of the People's Action Party. Lee Kuan Yew, the man who needs no introductions, along with the Chinese-educated Lim Chin Siong and Fong Swee Suan became founder members of the PAP.
1955
The 1955 elections was the PAP's maiden contest, whereby there were 25 of 32 seats in the legislature up for election. PAP managed to secure 3 seats.
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7 June 1956
Chief Minister David Marshall, disappointed with the failure of the London Constitutional Talks, in which Singapore seeks internal self-government, stepped down from his position and was subsequently replaced by fellow Labour Front member Lim Yew Hock.
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1959
The PAP had a landslide victory at the 1959 elections, winning 43 out of 51 available seats. This was the first time PAP was the ruling party of Singapore and it never lost such a status ever since.
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16 September 1963
Singapore, independent from the British, merged with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to establish one Malaysia.
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19 October 1963
Singapore's state government was sworn-in at City Hall, officiated by Head of State Yang di-Pertuan Negara Yusof bin Ishak along with Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and other members of the cabinet and parliamentary secretaries taking the oath of office.
1965
In 1960, the Singapore Government embarked on their ambitious 5-year Housing Development Board plan. By the end of the 5 years, it was a great success.
9 August 1965
Due to a worsening relationship with the ruling party of the Malay states, United Malays National Organisation, Singapore officially left Malaysia and became fully independent.
This historical event and the well-known response it elicited from Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew is captured in the following video.
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