Republic of Singapore 1965 Provisional Passport

This document is a Republic of Singapore 1965 Provisional Passport, the first passport type after gaining independence in August 1965. Nowadays, these 1st types are rare, but I was lucky to find one at a flea market in Singapore.

On August 9, 1965, Singapore was separated from the federation to become an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations. On December 22 of that year, the Constitution was amended to make the country a republic and change the title to President with retroactive effect from the date of independence.

You will notice the “greeting message” on the inner cover page of the Yang di-Pertuan Negara.

In 1959, following revisions to the Constitution which granted Singapore internal self-government, the ceremonial post of Yang di-Pertuan Negara replaced the British colonial Governor of Singapore as the representative of the British monarch in Singapore. Although the title had the literal meaning of the head of state, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara was constitutionally only a de facto head of state, acting as a vice-regal representative instead of the typical Governor-General.

Yang di-Pertuan Negara, translated from Malay as “(he) who is Lord.”

This travel document was issued on October 21, 1965, about ten weeks after independence. The bearer was a Seaman. At these times, the validity of the passport was only two years. Passport number 5173 is still low. We can assume that since August 9, only 5173 passports of the newly founded Republic of Singapore were issued. There was the no wording Republic of Singapore yet! We can again assume that the new wording and design were not finalized, hence the “provisional” text.

This passport was the last type issued by Yang di-Pertuan Negara. The next type clearly states, “The President of the Republic of Singapore…”

This Provisional Passport was issued for only a short time, about one year only!

The President of the Republic of Singapore was then Yusof Ishak (August 9, 1965 – November 23, 1970). S.R. Nathan was Singapore’s longest-serving President today; he served for 12 years.

Republic of Singapore 1965 Provisional Passport

Tom Topol | Passport History Expert & Author.
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