Pedra Branca, Singapore ceded by the Government of the State of Johore or in any other way disposed of". The Acting State Secretary of Johor replied on 21 September that "the Johore Government does not claim ownership of Pedra Branca". This correspondence indicated that as of 1953 Johor understood it did not have sovereignty over Pedra Branca, which had therefore vested in the United Kingdom. The Colony of Singapore became a self-governing state in 1959, and left the British Empire to join the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. Two years later, in 1965, Singapore became a fully independent republic. In 1959, in an
Imperial Federation League of the British Conservative Party, it was also popular among proponents of Liberal or New Imperialism such as W. E. Forster. The movement was also a vehicle for British ethnic nationalism and ideas of a greater Britain encompassing the largely white self-governing colonies and dominions. Its modern descendants are those who favor closer ties between the Old Commonwealth. In 1884 the Imperial Federation League combined politicians, journalists, and intellectuals, like Sir John Robert Seeley, James Bryce, and Froude. The league promoted the closer union of the British Empire and advocated the establishment of an Imperial parliament composed of Britain and