THE debate over a contentious episode in Singapore’s history may have hogged the headlines in recent months, but the average Singaporean does not know about the large-scale security crackdown in 1963 that saw 113 leftist politicians and others rounded up.

A recent survey by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) showed that just 16.6 per cent of the 1,500 citizens polled were aware of Operation Coldstore in 1963, and 18.5 per cent were aware of Operation Spectrum in 1987 when 16 alleged Marxists were detained for subversion.

“Operation Coldstore does not affect our routines and we are not reminded of it like we are of Raffles when we drive past Raffles Hotel,” said Mr Kwa Chong Guan, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.