page_title: Operation Coldstore
section_title: Declassification of official documents
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Coldstore / Debates and controversies / Declassification of official documents
caption_attribution_description: English: Dr. Thum Ping Tjin delivering a lecture, "Merger, Acquisition, or Takeover? The Enduring Consequences of Operation Coldstore in Singapore" at the Asia Research Institute at the Bukit Timah Campus of the National University of Singapore.
context_page_description: Operation Coldstore, sometimes spelled Operation Cold Store, was the code name for a covert security operation carried out in Singapore on 2 February 1963 which led to the arrest of 113 people, who were detained without trial under the Preservation of Public Service Security Ordinance. In official accounts, the operation was a security operation "aimed at crippling the Communist open front organisation," which threatened Singapore's internal security. The operation was authorised by the Internal Security Council which was composed of representatives from the British, Singapore and Malayan Federal governments.
context_section_description: The maturation of the 30-year rule has led to the release of declassified British archival documents pertaining to Operation Coldstore. However, the documents in the Internal Security Department archives of Singapore remain classified. Privilege access to these classified documents has been granted to scholars such as Kumar Ramakrishna. This situation has prompted historians such as Tan Tai Yong to urge the government to "widen access to the archives" as "such access should not hinge on who is asking for them" so that historians can "offer different perspectives."
caption: Dr. Thum Ping Tjin delivering a lecture, "Merger, Acquisition, or Takeover? The Enduring Consequences of Operation Coldstore in Singapore" at the Asia Research Institute at the Bukit Timah Campus of the National University of Singapore.
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