the Malayan premier, had never been very keen on the proposal, as he was concerned that Singapore's majority Chinese population would outnumber the number of Malays and would hence dominate the political scene. Hence, many PAP members and the public were shocked that the Tunku had announced that he was favourable to merger in May 1961, and that Lee and Goh had secretly been in discussions with him since April. The public seemed to view the Tunku's agreement to merger with suspicion: on the surface, it appeared that the circumstances had not changed, yet the Tunku had changed his mind. The Anson by-election became a test of public sentiment towards the PAP - and they failed it, losing the seat to David Marshall in July. Eden Hall Tea Party and vote of no-confidence Lim was concerned that, despite the tide increasingly swinging towards him in the political battle, the British might not be keen on a "radical" wing of the PAP taking over the government. To settle this issue, Lim and his colleagues met with the British High Commissioner for Southeast Asia, Lord Selkirk, to understand if the British would continue to work with the government, even if it was not the PAP. The meeting was held at Selkirk's residence, Eden Hall; this became known as the "Eden Hall Tea Party". Selkirk had given a non-committal response that they would abide by the constitution. Lee interpreted the meeting as one between "British lions and Communist bears", and also as an act of party disobedience. He dramatically tabled a motion of confidence in the government. 13 PAP assembly members abstained from the vote, and were expelled. Around two thirds of the party membership - including Lim Chin Siong - left with them. Barisan Sosialis (1961–1969) The Battle for Merger In August 1961, Lim and his fellow PAP members who were expelled formed a new party, called the Barisan Sosialis (), with Lim as secretary-general and Lee Siew Choh as chairman. Meanwhile, details on the terms of merger with Malaya had been planned out by the PAP without any other party or public input. Lim and the Barisan were horrified: under the terms, Singapore residents would effectively become second-class citizens in Malaysia. For the price of having autonomy in labour and education matters, Singapore would: Be under-represented in the Federal Parliament for its population, with just 25 seats; Singapore citizens would not