 On the morning of 9 August 1965 , the Parliament of Malaysia voted 126 – 0 in favor of a constitutional amendment expelling Singapore from the federation ; hours later , the Parliament of Singapore passed the Republic of Singapore Independence Act , establishing the island as an independent and sovereign republic . A tearful Lee Kuan Yew announced in a televised press conference that Singapore had become a sovereign , independent nation . In a widely remembered quote , he stated : " For me , it is a moment of anguish . All my life , my whole adult life , I have believed in merger and unity of the two territories . " The new state became the Republic of Singapore , with Yusof bin Ishak appointed as its first President . 
