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Ask any Malaysian, what is May 13? …….the picture that came instantly to the minds of many is the atrocious killings of Chinese descendants by the Malays, the waving of machetes, the riots that saw the burning of cars, shop houses and curfews in Malaysia some 40 years ago.
What caused the riot? The ‘official’ version of the story pointed its finger to the Chinese majority opposition parties that had gained a majority in the Parliament during the 1969 general election, were accused in fuelling the emotion of the defeated Malay majority ruling party members by jeering openly while parading to provoke retaliation and saw the birth of the darkest day in the history of Malaysia, but this ‘version’ has always been one-sided and was never reviewed. It’s easier and logical to lay the blame on others, isn’t it?
Many has suspected that there was a hidden agenda or conspiracy behind all the commotion. No matter what, many are still haunted to these days, I think every Malaysians owe it to themselves to at least know what actually took place that day, putting the agenda aside, just try to understand……
NO RACE IS ABOVE ANOTHER, NO RACE DESERVES MORE RIGHTS OR PRIVILEGES THAN ANOTHER…..
The Malays, Chinese, Indians and other minorities, we all live in the same country and we hold the same Malaysian passport, the same blue coloured Malaysian identification card, the only difference that sets us apart is the religion stated on them. It may be merely a word that consists of a few alphabets but this forms the fundamental basis of separation, segregation and discrimination amongst the Malaysians. No one can deny that non-Malays, have as much contributed in building and regenerating the country, if not more in the early post colonial years.
NEP (New Economic Policy) was proposed and passed unilaterally by the National Operational Councils when the Parliament was suspended during the time of crisis, the NEP is now outdated, it was meant be reviewed but never did, the purpose of NEP is to bring the Malays inline with other races especially the Chinese in term of prosperity and wealth distribution by means of hand outs (the Malaysian Government seems to forget the fact that the Chinese gains prosperity because they work hard and not because they were born with silver spoons). In NEP, just to name a few, you get discount when you purchase a new house or car ONLY if you are a Malay, it is compulsory to hire directors of Malay ethnic on the board of directors of any publicly listed company. Later the quota system was soon created to give the Malays the preferential placements at all the Universities, be granted scholarships, be employed etc etc…… (there is no policy elsewhere in this world where it openly grants financial benefit based on the skin colour and I stand to be corrected). This stupid NEP insists that one is awarded with jobs and contracts based on one’s name and one’s religion and not by credibility and qualifications. When you have assigned special ‘privileges’ for one particular group, this can only lead to one thing… ABUSE! 40 years have gone passed and the government still claims that the Malays are poor!! Not surprisingly since the well connected few were able to fully exploit this loop holes and enriched themselves while starving millions of other Malays. This is the exact reason why Singapore decided to severe its tie from the Federation of Malaya in 1965 to become an independent country by its own right. (read more from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysian_New_Economic_Policy)
Race discrimination is wrong.
Yeah, to those foreigners who thought Malaysia is such a model country where its citizens of many racial and cultural backgrounds live harmoniously and peacefully…. and no racial discrimination exists in this sunny wonderful land, think again! There is even a legislation that forbid any Malaysia to question this NEP aka special rights to the Malays, it’s called the ISA (internal Security Act), Under this infamous shroud, ISA that says ‘Shut the fxck up or u get 2 years in jail without court hearing or being sentenced..!“(does it not remind you of the Guantanamo Bay?). The government argues that ISA is essential to maintain racial harmony and to stop the different races killing each other. What a load of cow duns!!!! Instead, I think they should ban all race based political parties each claiming to fight for their own racial rights in Malaysia, these are people that who create racial tension and instability. These UMNO, MCA, MIC should only be fighting for 1 thing, the right of all Malaysians.
The only difference now is that the general public regardless of social and ethnic background has become wiser, more matured and better informed. So, I doubt disastrous scenes like those witnessed 4 decades ago will ever be allowed to happen again.
There were many ‘unofficial’ May 13 stories that had been told and discussed behind doors but they stayed behind these doors. This has led to many inaccurate accounts, hearsay and myths to emerge especially amongst the younger generation like myself. Sadly, these uncertainties inevitably allow some bastxrd politicians to attempt to use it as scare tactic and urge voters not to vote for the opposition parties (the opposition party has recently celebrated a huge victory in the 2008 general election despite some irregularities that went against their candidates.
2 years ago, I bought a book titled ‘May 13′ by Dr Kua Kia Soong, a sociologist at the New Era College who took 3 months sabbatical leaves to the Public Records office in London to review the declassified documents in relation to the event. the publication of the book caused a stir nation wide, there were threats to ban the book but none materialised. I was lucky enough to ask my cousin and she managed to send a copy to me. I have included an excerpt from the book below. But first, here is a report from a journalist from Malaysiakini. Then, draw your own conclusions.
Unveiling the ‘May 13’ riots
Beh Lih Yi
May 11, 07 12:52pm
“While people were still assembling for this parade, trouble broke out in the nearby Malay section of Kampung Baru, where two Chinese lorries were burnt…
By 7.15pm, I could see the mobs swarming like bees at the junction of Jalan Raja Muda and Batu Road. More vehicles were smashed and Chinese shophouses set on fire.
The Chinese and Indian shopkeepers of Batu Road formed themselves into a ‘district defence force’ armed with whatever they find – parangs, poles, iron bars and bottles…
When the Malay invading force withdrew as quickly as it had arrived, the residents took their revenge. Shop-fronts and cars suspected of being Malay-owned were smashed or burnt…
The police arrived at about 9pm but did not remain in the area. Later, truck-loads of Federal Reserve Units (riot squads) and the Royal Malay Regiment drove past…”
(Excerpts taken from a dispatch by Far Eastern Economic Review correspondent Bob Reece narrating his eyewitness account on May 13, 1969 after a group of young Malays gathered outside the Selangor Menteri Besar Harun Idris’ residence in late afternoon)
It has been almost four decades since the May 13 racial riots broke out.
What had prompted the worst riots in Malaysia’s 50-year history that cost the lives of 196 persons (according to official records) however remained shrouded under a veil of secrecy, although there are several versions on the matter so far.
The ‘official version’ of it has always been the violence was triggered off by the Chinese-dominated opposition supporters’ provocation in celebrating their electoral victory which saw the ruling Alliance Party suffered a major setback.
‘Full of nonsense’
This version, however was consistently rebutted by the opposition group who claimed otherwise. Other theories also suggested that the riots was rather a planned attack to oust then premier Tunku Abdul Rahman.
The lack of accessible information in the public domain has been a stumbling block for those who intend to uncover the episode but a set of newly-declassified documents in London gave sociologist Dr Kua Kia Soong a thorough glimpse of the event.
Late last year, the principal of New Era College took a three-month sabbatical leave to the Public Records Office in London to study records and declassified documents on the May 13 incident after a 30-year secrecy rule over these documents lapse.
His findings based on the declassified documents – which have been compiled into a new book to be launched on Sunday – found the entire May 13 riots were by no means a spontaneous outburst of racial violence, as it has been portrayed to the Malaysian public.
“The (official) history of May 13 is full of nonsense, it doesn’t reveal anything. It pins the blame on the opposition party which was not true, they were not the responsible party,” Kua told malaysiakini in a recent interview.
“My book shows the responsible party were those ascendent state capitalist class (in Umno), elements within that gave rise and implemented this plan. There was a plan based on the people who assembled at the (Selangor) menteri besar’s house.
“There are correspondences and intelligence reports which showed that. Official history has to reveal that truth and not to pin the blame on everybody around who are not to be blamed,” the educationist and social activist stressed.
Kua maintained the May 13 incident was a coup d’etat against the Tunku by the then emergent Malay state capitalists – backed by the police and army – to seize control of the reign of power from the old aristocrats to implement the new Malay agenda.
A plot to oust Tunku
He opined the riots were works of “Malay thugs” orchestrated by politicians behind the coup.
For instance, he said the “group of hoodlums suddenly appeared from all over the place” on the day of May 13 to gather at Harun’s residence and the questionable conduct of the police and army to just stood by and watch.
He added that documents showed less than a week after the riots, then deputy premier Tun Abdul Razak who headed the National Operations Council was already in full control of the country – an indication that there had been a plot.
On top of that, discussions for future plans had already been carried out.
“For example the National Cultural Policy (announced in 1971) burst in the 80s, it was already been thought of one week after (the May 13 incident),” Kua noted, referring to the controversial policy which placed emphasis on the ‘indigenous culture’ and Islam.
A secret document from the British cabinet office featured in the book showed that barely a week after the riots broke out, the Central Intelligence Agency had figured out what Tun Razak was planning – “to formalise Malay dominance, sideline the Chinese and shelve the Tunku”.
The role of the security forces in the May 13 bloodshed was also questioned in Kua’s findings.
“Even at that time, people in the diplomatic core (were wondering) how come the day the riot broke out, Razak met with the chiefs of the police and army but they did not do anything,” he said.
Interestingly, Kua pointed out the Malaysian security forces had been tested and tried during the war against the communist insurgency between 1948 and 1960 and earned their reputation.
“They are one of the most effective in putting down the communist insurrection that is a far, far more difficult operation than putting down riot, but they could not put down (such riot) in 1969 for days, for weeks,” he questioned.
It thus brought to Kua’s conclusion: “The May 13 was a pretext for staging that coup… I am not the first person who said it was a coup d’etat but I am providing the documents to show how it was a coup d’etat.”
Exact fatality number unknown
The declassified documents have included reports fielded by foreign correspondents who were in Kuala Lumpur at the time, dispatches by the British High Commission personnel who closely followed the event and various other confidential reports from the diplomat circle.
It is considerably the first time a complete recount of the tragedy is made available to the Malaysian public, as many foreign correspondent reports were previously banned while local documents are inaccessible.
However, what could not be established in the book is another secrecy, the real number of deaths.
Official figures said the May 13 riots claimed 196 lives, 180 were wounded by firearms and 259 by other weapons, 9,143 persons were arrested out of whom 5,561 were charged in court, 6,000 persons rendered homeless, at least 211 vehicles and 753 buildings were destroyed or damaged.
The declassified documents and international correspondents at the time nevertheless have calculated a much higher number of fatalities but an exact number could not be ascertained, although it was common knowledge the victims are majority ethnic Chinese.
Kua said it is his hope to smash two myths with the publication of the book.
“One is racial riot will occur when the Malays are not happy, that’s why you need the New Economic Policy, affirmative action policy et cetera, otherwise the Malays will be unhappy and there will be riot.
“This is the first myth we should dismantle as documents showed some people were involved in making it (the May 13) happened with the connivance of the police and army,” he stressed.
The second myth, Kua said, is academicians and pluralist theorists who uphold the views that riots and conflicts will occur naturally in multi-racial country.
“I am questioning this. The role of the state is very important at a particular historical conjuncture. Malays, Chinese and Indians don’t suddenly decide to fight in conflict, it doesn’t happen like that,” he said.
Asked on whether there is any fear that the authorities might move to ban the publication of the book, as in the case of a recent ban slapped on a book about the Kampung Medan clashes, Kua responded:
“In the age of the internet, what does banning a book mean? We can put it on the Web, you can’t do anything.”
———————————————————-Excerpt from May 13 book——————————————————————
from Malaysiakini: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/67098
What actually happened during the 1969 tragedy
May 11, 07 1:11pm
The series of events surrounding the ‘May 13′ riot has been documented by Dr Kua Kia Soong in his latest book May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969 which will be launched on Sunday in conjunction with the 38th anniversary of the tragedy.
This compilation, based on various sets of foreign dispatches and confidential reports at the time – which were declassified recently and made available at the Public Records Office in London – has been dubbed as the first credible account on the incident.
“The real circumstances surrounding the worst racial riot in the history of Malaysia have so far not been made available to the Malaysian public. The official version is fraught with contradictions and inadequacies to which few pay credence,” Kua wrote in the book.
Below are excerpts and summary of the chronology of events based on the declassified documents taken from Kua’s book:
May 10:
The ruling Alliance Party suffered a major setback in the general election although it had managed to retain a simple parliamentary majority. They had lost Penang to the Gerakan Party; Kelantan to the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party while Perak and Selangor were at the brink of falling into the opposition’s hands.
May 11 and May 12:
On both nights, the opposition celebrated their victory. A large Gerakan procession was held to welcome the left-wing Gerakan leader V David back from winning the federal seat in Penang.
May 13:
The MCA which had suffered badly at the polls, announced that it would withdraw from the cabinet while remaining within the Alliance.
A dispatch from a foreign correspondent showed it is evident that there was a plan for youths mobilised by Umno elements to assemble at then Selangor menteri besar Harun Idris’ residence in the late afternoon. A retaliatory march had been planned although police permission was withheld.
When people were still assembling for the parade, trouble broke out in the nearby Malay section of Kampung Baru, where two Chinese lorries were burnt. The ensuing carnage at Kampung Baru and Batu Road quickly spread elsewhere in Kuala Lumpur.
The foreign correspondent noted the curfew that was imposed was not fairly applied to all.
“In the side streets off Jalan Hale, I could see bands of Malay youths armed with parangs and sharpened bamboo spears assembled in full view of troops posted at road junctions. Meanwhile, at Batu Road, a number of foreign correspondents saw members of the Royal Malay Regiment firing into Chinese shophouses for no apparent reason.”
Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman immediately attributed the violence as triggered off by the behaviour of opposition supporters after the election result announcement while his deputy Tun Abdul Razak pinned the blame on the communists.
May 14:
The riots continued but on a smaller scale. The curfew was only lifted in staggered hours in various districts to allow people to buy food. The police called out all possible reserves and handed over the northern part of the city to the army.
Police put casualties for the previous night incident at 44 killed and about 150 injured. Another dispatch showed the casualties were mainly Chinese as it stated that out of 77 corpses in the morgue of the General Hospital on May 14, at least 60 were Chinese.
The government’s attempts to blame the communists for the riots were however not taken seriously by the officials at the British High Commission (BHC) who could see that the Tunku was not prepared to blame his own people for the riots, nor was he going to blame it on the Chinese “as a whole”.
May 15:
The King proclaimed a state of emergency. The National Operations Council headed by Tun Razak was formed. Tun Razak was still responsible to the Tunku, but all the powers under Emergency Regulations were vested in him.
The curfew had been lifted temporarily in Kuala Lumpur that morning but the situation had rapidly worsened and more sporadic fighting had broken out. Curfews were re-imposed but food was very short.
The local press was suspended until censorship regulations could be drawn up but no attempt was made to supervise reports sent out by foreign correspondents.
May 16:
The situation was still tense in Selangor with cars and houses being burned and fatalities rising. Death tolls had risen to 89 with over 300 injured. 24 hour curfew remained in force in Selangor and had also been imposed in Malacca. In Penang and Perak, the situation had improved although the curfew remained in force.
Tunku made a broadcast in which he announced the setting up of a National Defence Force to be manned by volunteers. The new information minister Hamzah Abu Samah and Tun Razak gave a press conference pinning the blame for the riots on communist infiltration of the opposition parties.
There were reports of looting by the largely Malay military and their bias against the Chinese Malaysians. Number of refugees were increasing.
May 17:
From a BHC telegram, it showed there were skepticism among British officers toward the official figures for fatalities and the preponderance of Chinese casualties among the dead. The police estimated the deaths at about 100 now while British officers estimated the proportion of Chinese to Malay casualties is about 85:15.
The press censorship invited criticism not only from the local press but also in diplomatic circles especially when official statements lacked clarity and credibility.
In a confidential BHC memorandum to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the coup d’etat has been acknowledged and it has effected the transfer of power not only to “Malay hands” but also to the security forces. The latter’s professionalism is questioned.
The BHC also noted the Federal Reserve Unit, which at the time was multiracial in composition, was the more impartial of the security forces while the Malay troops were discriminatory in enforcing the curfew.
“Discriminatory takes the form, for example, of not, repeat not, enforcing the curfew in one of the most violently disposed of the Malay areas in Kuala Lumpur (Kampung Baru) where Malays armed with parangs, etc continue to circulate freely; with the inevitable result that gangs slip through the cordon round the area and attack Chinese outside it. In Chinese areas, the curfew is strictly enforced.”
May 18:
The Tunku qualified his earlier assertion that the disturbances were caused by communists, putting the blame instead on assorted “bad elements”. He also announced the deferment of the Sarawak elections and the continuance of the restrictions on the movement of foreign journalists.
The situation was still unsettled in some parts of the capital city.
May 19:
Less than a week after the riots, the reins of power had effectively passed to Tun Razak, indicating that there had been a plot to bring about the coup d’etat.
“The exact relationship between Tun Razak and the Tunku is not clear. In public Tun Razak says he is directly responsible to the Tunku but he has made it clear privately that he is completely in charge of the country. This could mean the beginning of a process of withdrawal by the Tunku as an effective PM”.
There are some 10,000 reported refugees. The local press was allowed to publish under censorship while foreign journalists had their curfew passes withdrawn. Some opposition politicians were arrested.
May 20:
In a meeting, an Australian High Commissioner had suggested the opposition leaders should be given a role as peace maker but Tun Razak and Ghazali Shafie were firmly against this. “They considered opposition leaders would simply use such an opportunity to promote their own political views.”
The Malaysian Red Cross Society is continuing its daily feeding programme for refugees in various places and over 5,000 had received food supplies.
May 21:
The official statistics of casualties at this juncture were 137 killed (18 Malays), 342 injured, 109 vehicles burned, 118 buildings destroyed and 2,912 persons arrested who were mostly curfew breakers.
May 23:
The declassified documents reveal that Malay troops were not only fraternising with the Malay thugs but were discharging their firearms indiscriminately at Chinese shophouses as they went through the city.
“When confronted by foreign correspondents with reports of racial discrimination, Tun Razak flatly denied them. Following this, curfew passes issued to foreign journalists were withdrawn and reporters were ordered to remain indoors ‘for their own safety’.”
A foreign correspondent’s report showed the Malay hooligans were detested by the law-abiding Malays of Kampung Baru.
Internal security and home minister Tun Dr Ismail indicated that the Internal Security Act would be in future amended to “counter changing communist tactics”. It was disclosed that of the 3,699 arrested during the crisis, 952 were members of secret societies.
May 24:
Law and order has been re-established in Kuala Lumpur and the atmosphere in the town had improved. People were going back to work (in non-curfew hours) and the government offices were limbering into action. The curfew remained in force (from 3pm to 6.30am of the following day). The government was not ready to admit that it was armed Malay youth who had caused the disturbances.
May 27:
The Tunku was under pressure to resign as he was clearly incensed by foreign journalists’ speculations about his weakening position and got his private secretary to write a protest note to the BHC.
May 28:
A confidential report by the BHC to the FCO on this day observed the government’s attempts to blame the communists for the disturbances were an attempt to justify their new authoritarian powers.
June:
The riots had been under control but they were still sporadic outbreaks of civil disturbances. A BHC report noted violence erupted again in one part of Kuala Lumpur on the night of June 28 and 29, a number of houses were burnt and the casualties were officially given as five killed and 25 injured. Some disturbances toward the end of June also involved ethnic Indians.
July:
Renewed trouble in which one policeman was killed was quickly stopped from spreading in Kuala Lumpur by positive police action.
Tun Ismail’s firm stand in ordering the security forces to act firmly ‘without favour or discrimination’ to any communal group and the Tunku’s announcement of a National Goodwill Committee made up of politicians of all parties went some way toward allaying the fears of the people.
Tun Ismail also revealed the total arrests since May now stood at 8,114, comprising people “from all the major racial groups”. Of these, 4,192 had been charged in court, 675 released on bail, 1,552 unconditionally released and 1,695 preventively detained.
Situation in the Peninsula had improved substantially but tension remains high in sensitive areas of Malacca, Perak and Selangor.
Tension had begun to ease until Malay agitation connected with Tunku’s return to a position of influence and the removal of Dr Mahathir Mohamad from Umno’s general committee on July 12 had heightened it again. Malay university students petitioned for Tunku’s resignation and demonstrated on the campus.
After its undignified use as a bombing practice ground during the WW2 by the British Royal Air Force, it hardly can be described as unspoiled. It was said that Lord Brabazon, a member of the war cabinet likened the pounding it received to ‘throwing darts at a Rembrandt’. Some may said that it was actually a blessing in disguise as during the restoration, not only 17 out of the 18 greens were saved but it had gained extra 9 holes. Although it may not quite satisfy the sentimentalists with long memories, its 27 holes have won the hearts of many more from recent generations.
Just before you enter the private link road (Prince’s Drive) to the golf club, there is a toll on this road for non-resident motorists unless you inform the guard that you are here for golf. There are many nice looking bungalows and houses along this road, reminiscent of driving through the Wentworth estate before one reaches that famous GC. Nothing could have prepared for what I was about to come across, a dilapidated building standing by the road. For a second, I thought I was not gonna be playing any golf. Then my logic got hold of me and I later discovered that it was the old club house that unfortunately succumbed to the fire many years ago. It was reassuring to know that a newer and modern club house just 1.5 miles down the same road awaited my arrival.
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