It's 4:41AM.
The Malaysian political and military leadership were paralysed in
the first 41 minutes of the unexpected attack by Singapore. Their
intelligence had failed them. They had earlier dismissed the silent
mobilisation of Singapore Armed Forces as nothing more than the
usual mobilisation practice culminating in a military exercise
which the island regularly conducted and which been earlier
announced in the Singapore press.
In the panic and ensuing confusion, the PM decided to invoke the
Malaysian-Indonesian Alliance, where an attack on Malaysia would be
deemed to be an attack on Indonesia. However, his Defence Chief, as
cool, calm and collected as ever, assured him that it would not be
necessary. He said that the MAF would respond with a vengeance - in
spite of 90% of their Air Force having been destroyed - that would
lead to the total and complete destruction of Singapore.
The MLRS missile batteries hidden in the hardened bunkers in the
hills of Johore were activated. Within 15 minutes, 250 missiles
were launched in the first wave of attack and were sent streaking
into the air and across the Johore Straits. 152 missiles
malfunctioned and exploded in mid-air. The MAF had a notorious
record of maintaining their military hardware. However, 98 missiles
found their targets.
The Ministry of Defence's nerve centre in Bukit Gombak partially
collapsed with the onslaught of the first wave of a missile
barrage, hindering the Singapore Armed Forces' command, control and
communication structure. The military command centres in the
airforce bases in Lim Chu Kang, Sembawang and Paya Lebar were hit.
Runaways were destroyed. Roads serving as alternative runaways were
destroyed. Missiles also rained on the civil-military supply bases.
Changi airport was partially destroyed, trapping thousands of
Singaporeans and foreigners who had gathered to try to flee the
island state. 15 missiles struck the Central Business District,
partially destroying buildings.
Twelve stray missiles struck the HDB towns of Woodlands, Yishun,
Choa Chu Kang, Jurong West, Tampines, Pasir Ris and the middle
class suburb of Bukit Timah. 6,819 Singaporeans were killed within
the first 20 minutes of the missile strikes. 16,732 were injured.
The Singapore hospitals could not cope with the continuing stream
of ambulances and makeshift ambulances ferrying in the bloodied
wounded. Dead bodies were left outside the hospitals' mortuaries
when it became obvious that the mortuaries did not have the
capacity to cope with the constant flow of vehicles streaming in to
send yet another ghastly load of dead people, many of whom had
heads and limbs torn off from their mangled and bloodied
torsos.
Within 40 minutes of the missile barrage and before the Malaysians
could launch a second missile wave, the Singapore Government -
commanding the battle from the comfort and safety of a faraway land
- acted upon the advice of their trembling, nervous defence chief,
a sallowed skin, portly, bespectacled scholar who, at age 39, was
the world's youngest Chief of Defence Force.
The Malaysian Defence Chief smiled. Singapore had unconditionally
surrendered to the Malaysians. He called his Prime Minister and
reminded him of what the Malaysian Defence Chiefs had been advising
the political leadership many times in the past; that there was
never a need to match Singapore with glamorous but expensive
fighter jets and fanciful military hardware. All the MAF needed
were to invest in multiple launched rocket missiles - obtained
cheaply at a tiny fraction of the cost of Singapore's advanced
fighter jets - to bring Singapore to its knees.
The Singaporeans earned a consolation price. They achieved a
world's first and was recorded in the Guinness book of record for
fighting the shortest war of aggression, all of 1 hour 49
minutes.
Three months later, history repeated itself. Singapore was
reabsorbed into Malaysia as a Malaysian state.
What do you guys think of this scenario?
