However, he said, first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman rejected the idea for two reasons – the growing communist influence in Southeast Asia which was also infiltrating Singapore through its ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) led by Lee Kuan Yew. “Tunku was concerned that if merged, the communist influence spreading in Singapore would spill over to Malaya,” Razaleigh said in his memoirs launched recently. 

Secondly, merger with Singapore was seen as potentially causing social problems given the large Chinese population in Singapore that could undermine the slim Malay majority at that time.

Lee Kuan Yew made this speech to persuade people, specifically the Singaporean locals living during that time, to support the merger because the integral role of the hinterland and the economic benefits that would be reaped from the prospect of merging and the combination of the two economies would lift the economic status of Singapore to a higher degree away from worsening. He mentions, "...the Federation is important to Singapore" - "It is the hinterland which produces rubber and tin that keeps our shop-window economy going" and "Without merger ... and an integration of our two economies, our economic position will slowly and steadily get worse". This is connected to his support of the merger as well as what could happen if the merger failed to happen in, "Your livelihood will get worse".

Lee Kuan Yew made this speech to encourage Singaporean citizens to support the merger to the. The source says "Your livelihoods will get worse", which shows that Lee Kuan Yew was speaking to everyday people. Kuan Yew wanted to tell Singaporeans that they needed to support the merger as if they don't, Singapore's economy will crumble.