Colonialism. On 6 July 1962, The CJA signed a memorandum condemning the referendum on the grounds that the proposed constitutional changes and to assure its continued right to bases in Singapore, and to protect its privileged economic position. The CJA also criticized the terms, and the lack of choice in the referendum. In the memorandum, The CJA concluded that the transfer of sovereignty would be contrary to the spirit and resolution of the United Nations General Assembly's Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Proposed Campaign Strongly against the referendum, the Barisan Sosialis called for a boycott of the referendum, telling supporters to submit blank votes in protest of the "rigged" referendum. Over 144,000 blank votes were cast, over a quarter of all votes. That move had been anticipated by the ruling PAP government, as seen by the insertion of a clause that stated that all blank would be counted as a vote for the option that wins the most votes if there was no outright majority or that blank votes would be counted as Option A. The mass media campaign fielded by both sides was extremely heated, many of the leaders on both sides broadcast radio shows in several languages. Results Aftermath Backed by the official mandate, the Agreement relating to Malaysia between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore was signed on 9 July 1963. Singapore entered into merger with Malaya on 16 September 1963, marking the birth of Malaysia. Singapore ceased to be a state of Malaysia on 9 August 1965 when it became an independent state. See also Proclamation of Malaysia Singapore in Malaysia Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965 References Formation of Malaysia 1962 referendums Referendums in Singapore History of Malaysia 1962 in Singapore 1962 in international relations Multiple-choice referendums