The Albatross File is a series of documents, notes, and memoranda gathered by Singapore's deputy prime minister Goh Keng Swee which covers the period leading up to Singapore's separation from Malaysia in 1965. It includes papers by the Cabinet of Singapore, confidential memoranda and Goh's handwritten records of his discussions with Malaysian leaders. The Government of Singapore announced in 2023 that the papers would be declassified and released to the public, with a permanent exhibition launched at the National Library in December 2025.
Although it has long been regarded as historical orthodoxy that Singapore was abruptly and unilaterally severed from Malaysia by the federal government, an open secret had persisted regarding the existence of the Albatross File. Goh first mentioned it in a 1996 interview when describing merger with Malaysia as an "albatross around [their] necks". These documents reveal that as early as 1964 and especially after the racial riots that July, confidential negotiations had commenced between the People's Action Party and the Alliance Party. [1]
In a handwritten note, Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew formally authorised Goh to engage in discussions with Malaysian leaders Abdul Razak Hussein and Ismail Abdul Rahman in early 1965, laying the groundwork for an eventual and orderly separation. Over the course of the year, both sides coordinated discreetly to ensure that when Malaysian prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman publicly announced Singapore's separation, the process would be presented as a fait accompli that could not be obstructed by popular resistance or pro-merger sentiment, which had remained significant at the time. [1] [2] [3]
"Albatross" was Goh's metaphor for Malaysia, recalling his description of the merger as an "albatross around [their] necks". [1]
On 28 February 2023, Minister of State for Communications and Information Janil Puthucheary announced the government's decision to declassify and release the documents of the Albatross File. Portions of the material had already appeared in various historical works over the years, including Lee Kuan Yew's autobiography The Singapore Story and past exhibitions at the National Museum of Singapore. [4] In December 2025, a permanent exhibition – The Albatross File: Singapore’s Independence Declassified – was launched at the National Library, together with its companion volume The Albatross File: Inside Separation. The exhibition presents original Cabinet papers, handwritten notes, and oral-history interviews with Singapore's founding leaders. [5]
