By Singa Terhormat
__________________
In the run-up to the 13th GE, and in view of BN’s increasing desperation to hold on to power, there are various matters we ought to anticipate will likely occur and in the process not allow ourselves to be influenced or swayed by such happenings.
Amongst these matters and going by past elections I will venture to hazard a guess that the following will take place:
Cross-overs
There will likely be announcements of mass crossovers of PKR, DAP, PAS and other allied party members switching their allegiance to BN arising from their purported disillusionment with their respective parties.
Newspapers, radio,tv and likely the internet media too will be having a field day on this almost on a daily basis.
As one who has observed this happening on numerous occasions in the past, do not be surprised if it is later discovered that many of the persons purportedly crossing over are actually BN members themselves disguised as opposition party members.
Comments by NGO and Association representatives, (including religious bodies) and the man in the street
To show a groundswell in BN’s favour, interviews galore will be conducted and reported in the press and radio and screened on tv where persons will express their support for BN and badmouth the Opposition.
As in the past, many of them are BN members or those who have a vested interest in BN’s success, though of course that will not be disclosed during such interviews.
I recall one election where a certain academic appeared on tv, shamelessly campaigning for BN.
Shortly after the election, she was appointed a Vice-Chancellor of one of our Universities.
As alluded to in an earlier posting, the ‘worms’ are on their way out.
I had mentioned Dollah Ahmad then.
Musa Hassan is at it too.
So too Mahathir, who though not a candidate, is daily campaigning as though he is one.
It is almost as though they are afraid that if PR triumphs, there could be proper investigation into things done by them.
Stay “tuned” for more about Musa Hassan in a posting to come.
Scenes of chaos
Almost daily too all local tv stations will telecast chaotic scenes of uprisings/demonstrations and even clips of the May 13th incident to cower the rakyat into submission to BN’s rule.
There will also be talks, forums and comments on this.
In fact this has already started with Mahathir and Musa Hassan warning about the possibility of something similar to the Arab Spring taking place and Najib and Nazri Aziz asking that the losing party must be ready to accept defeat and not take to the streets.
In a way what they are telling us is that even if BN wins through wide-scale cheating, you are to accept such defeat without protest.
Is this their way of paving the way to cheat?
Racial/Religious issues—Hudud/Christianisation
Mark my words—this is going to be a big one.
All the signs are already there.
MCA. GERAKAN and MIC are going to attempt to frighten the non-Muslims about the introduction of Hudud and the Talibanisation of the country..
UMNO and PERKASA will on the other hand be demonizing the Christians and ranting on about their plans to turn Malaysia into a Christian state.
This will be the main issue in the Malay heartland.
In this, UMNO will exploit to the hilt the “under siege mentality” that they have heaped upon the Muslims here and in which UMNO will portray itself as the only savior of the Malay race and of Islam.
My advice to my Muslim brothers and sisters is to remind them that Muslims make up 60% of our population whilst Christians make up merely 9%.
There is absolutely no way Malaysia will be made into a Christian state after GE 13.
UMNO is merely misleading you for its own selfish ends.
Remember too that the Almighty, has told all of us:
“As for such [of the unbelievers] as do not fight against you on account of [your] faith, and neither drive you forth from your homelands, God does not forbid you to show them kindness and to behave towards them with full equity: for, verily, God loves those who act equitably.”… (Qu’ran Al Mumtahina: 60:8)
“…and you will certainly find the nearest in friendship to those who believe [to be] those who say: “We are Christians,” because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant.”…(Qur’an Al Maeda: 5:82)
And The Holy Prophet (pbuh) has in no uncertain terms reminded us:
“Beware! Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, or curtails their rights, or burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their ee will; I (Prophet Muhammad) will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.” (Abu Dawud)
It is all about divide and rule, nothing less.
Connected to this will be accounts of disagreements between PAS and DAP and how unstable a Government comprising these two will be.
On this issue, I cannot emphasise enough that the Holy Prophet was sent, as the Holy Qur’an tells us, as a mercy to all Mankind. Yes, all Mankind, not just to the Muslims or believers. Will we Muslims then not try to follow in his footsteps?
During these trying times, two of my favourite quotations, from both a Muslim and a non-Muslim, are worth bearing in mind.
“Deeply, simply, he who cannot love, cannot understand.”…Tariq Ramadhan.
“Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God. First fill your own house with the fragrance of Love”….Tagore
Violence during campaigning
There will likely also be clips of violence and ill-mannered behavior during the campaign period.
Of course all such acts of violence will be attributed to the Opposition.
You might even get to see the culprits all dressed in Opposition-parties’ T-shirts during such acts of violence.
This is an old trick of BN carried out many times before.
Depending on BN’s level of desperation, you might even come across reports of arms caches being discovered.
Some of you may like to add to the list above. Please share your thoughts.
Also as these are some matters that we should expect and hence be prepared for, we ought to share them with others who may not frequent this blog so that they may be similarly prepared and not be taken in or influenced by reports of such happenings.
I therefore urge that you share these matters with those known to you.
Taipan
February 13, 2013
I believe the urbanites stand resolved where their votes are concerned. Afterall, we are not new to all these bouquets and brickbats thrown at us over the years. If Gangnam Style is anything to go by it will show that the people are more determined to have their choices heard, signed, sealed and delivered no matter what. What that is worrying are the rural folks and the comings and goings-on over in Sabah & Sarawak. And, to a certain degree, the Indian votes. Nevertheless, I feel the object’s velocity is changing with the momemtum to change as reflected in this video:
chintoolan
February 13, 2013
my predictions : 1. before polling day, statics showing increase support for BN and chinese voters change their mind voting for MCA will appear daily on main stream multimeadias.they will say chinese support for Bn has increase to near 50% , instead of the 20% now.
2. at the polling day, bus load of foreigners who look like Nepal/Pakistan/Bangla present at polling centre preparing to vote.
Lawan Tetap Lawan
February 13, 2013
Just wonder if the Chinese still want to vote BN…remember thwew was the man who unleashed a keris at stadium TPCA in Kampung Baru and declared that this keris will bathe in Chinese blood?
Ali Karim
February 13, 2013
An excellent article by CT Ali, FMT Columnist on how Umno ‘killed’ the Malays who voted them into power for the last half a century.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/02/13/killing-the-mother-of-all-golden-geese/
This article must be translated into Bahasa by the millions and dropped from a Helicopter over all rural areas of Peninsular and East Malaysia.
ILuvMalaysia
February 14, 2013
Seriously Haris, BN has to go all out with their dirty tricks because running the government is a billion dollar industry to them. Do you think they will just let it go like that? But saying that, as one who loves this country, it is without any doubt that I must vote PR because another term under BN is going to bring Malaysia into bankruptcy. The treath of unrest is very real but we have to stick to our guns n vote them out! ABU!!!!!!!!
Just can't wait for GE13
February 14, 2013
The country we luv is already bankrupt, only it’s kept in wraps so that the rakyat doesn’t know. Wait till after GE13, everything will increase in pr, and there’s the sales tax as added bonus. And these people think receiving the rm500is striking gold. I am also worried that bro Harris and many opp leaders may end up arrested and sent to Kamunting if an artificial riot is instigated.
Malchindian
February 14, 2013
Haris,
It has to be anticipated that there will be Internet blackout(s) to starve and confuse the rakyat of information and to force them back to rubbish MSM for doctored propaganda.
Text messaging already tested to the hilt by BN with festive? birthday greetings? will continue to bombard more drivel.
Has anyone figured out alternative means of communicating in the event of the above? If there are suggestions, now would be a good time to share and prepare. Thanks
ABU has. Cant share details here
bigjoe99
February 14, 2013
Tell that to Hindraf, Star and SAPP they don’t seem to think keeping our society together is any of their responsibility…
shakuntala
February 14, 2013
ILUVMalaysia you have guts!!!! So courageous……a true Malaysian
We have to remain as cool as a mountain stream, and let the world witness BN antics….the thugs will definitely be out to create their fuss and illwill.
WE the Rakyat will have to show the UMNO what goodwill is…go to vote early, go in groups, laugh all the way, dress in gay (I mean colour!) clothes, create a carnival atmosphere and just think it is one of the greatest days in the history of our country Malaysia.
The grassroots are getting to know who the devils are, because their own words are saying it.
ILUV Malaysia, I admire your guts…..but your responsible tone in uttering those words speaks a thousand…well done/bravo!
ablogsmith
February 14, 2013
I feel encouraged when I read articles waxing lyrical about PR winning federal power and retaining Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and recapturing Perak. However, I just wonder if they have taken into consideration the huge increase in the electoral roll and phantom voters. I pray that enough genuine voters will turn up to vote plus there will be a bigger tsunami than 2008 to overcome all those cheating. What other steps can we take to kick BN from Putrajaya?
Nurul Ashikin
February 14, 2013
I think the first thing that PR should do is ONLY PUT a candidate who can perform or deliver the message of rakyat.
Doesn’t matter how far we try to reach to rakyat, we try to inform them every single manifesto that we are up to, if our candidates not or CANNOT convince the rakyat because of their intergrity our effort will be varnished and vain.
wandererAUS
February 15, 2013
The world was warned, don’t wake the sleeping dragon (China). If once awoke, nothing will be able to control their emergence as a super power, how very true. Equally, the Chinese in Malaysia have seen it all, corruption, deception and even murders committed by this ruling UMNO/BN regime. Enough is enough, the Chinese in Malaysia have en-block switched their support to the Opposition …nothing BN can do now to woo them back. MCA is history. It is left to the Indians, how they want to be seen…as UMNO mandores or the face of a new Indian Malaysian. Acually,there is not much of a choice to those who were marginlized by this corrupted and evil UMNO/BN regime.
Sheila Pakiam
February 15, 2013
Haris,
You are my dearly beloved brother. Ever since I met you in that very first roadshow in Nov 2006 I have backed you 110%. That’s how much God backs us His children working to establish His kingdom of heaven on earth where Truth and Justice reign and people live in peace and harmony, where there is no poverty as there is enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed., etc.etc. Truth will triumph! has been my battle-cry, always. I am heading back for the elections and to celebrate with all of you, God’s victory.
God bless, sis
Anonymous Personal (Lover Of Justice, Peace, Human Right, Peace and Equal Lovely Life)
February 15, 2013
Hi everyone, I am new to this site, however I am so impressed with the concern, care and love showed here, I am an Malaysian Indian who are so fed-up and angry with the government of Malaysia and some Indian community who have not changed their mind-set even after going through so many discriminations, cheating, violation and many more, I am exposed and know what life is all about, In Malaysia there is no human rights, people are manipulated by the government by all their criminal act such as the RM500 that they are giving out to a small number of other race people in Malaysia which is absolute criminal act as it clearly shows that they are buying vote with money. Malaysian Government sold the land in Kelantan to Australia for 500 Billion, why till today they have not announced what happened to the money and what they gone do with the money? Just to shut the Thailand people it was announced by BN that will give Bumiputra status to migrants from Thailand to Malaysia, as the land is at the border of Thailand and the Uranium production which gone be conduct by Australian company will cause deceases, sickness and child which about to be born at the surrounding will be born handicapped. There are many land has been sold to foreigners and what happened to the money, why people has not been notified and why nothing is transparent in Malaysia? Cyberjaya is owned by 4 Singaporeans who are Billionaires, Not everyone in Malaysia knows about it, there are many more things has happened and happening, First of all I don’t understand what religion teaching got to do with a country management? Even British who ruled Malaysia and most of the country in the world has given freedom of religion and believe to their people, Most of the developed country gives high priority to human rights and dedicate their people with sense of humour. Don’t we have all the right to live as how we want? Who are these people to determine others life? There are many more things that we can look in to and all this is discrimination done by BN, They have even make all Muslims (Islam) brothers and sisters look ugly and bad in the eyes of others, I don’t understand why there are still Muslim (Islam) brothers and sisters who don’t realise this discrimination by BN? Ok, Me as an Malaysian Indian will promote this site to all my Indian Family and friends who I know for them to read and understand the dirty work that has been and is being done by BN, I hope and wish that our Malaysian Indian brothers and sisters will wake up from their lala land and get out of this BN shit hole at-least after knowing what is happening in Malaysia. Anonymous Personal (Lover Of Justice, Peace, Human Right, Peace and Equal Lovely Life)
Invictus
February 18, 2013
So, our inclusive 1Malaysia Prime Minister arranged for only FELDA settlers to watch Tanda Putera, ostensibly to draw inspiration from the Razak-Ismail relationship. That too, after the captive audience was exhorted by Mahathir not to be ungrateful to the government (read: UMNO). The May 13th scenes of chaos as Singa Terhormat mentions above, are to be regarded in the film as merely part of the historical backdrop. If however, those viewing the film ultimately came away with a sense of being under siege by pendatangs (read: ethnic Chinese), rest assured that was not the main purpose of the film. And why screen the film now? Ahmad Maslan, Deputy Minister in the PM’s Department, wasn’t smart enough NOT to state the obvious: “if we wait till tomorrow, it’ll already be the general election”. All those flag-waving, hand-kissing MCA sycophants and all those who welcomed Najib to the Dong Zong CNY open house, please take heed.
annabrella
April 22, 2013
Malaysia – Death of a Democracy written by John Slimming in 1969.
Pages 25 to 29 – THE RIOTS
KUALA LUMPUR: SUNDAY MAY 11 – TUESDAY MAY 13
The rioting began on Tuesday evening, May 13, when a group of Malays came out from a house in Princes Road and, quite literally, ran amok. A lorry was stopped and set alight. A taxi was overturned and burned; the Chinese driver, as he tried to scramble clear, was cut down with a parang and thrown back into the burning vehicle.
In Kuala Lumpur today there is so much hatred, accusation and wild rumour that it is difficult to sift through it all in an endeavour to apportion blame for the disturbances with any degree of certainty. However, Dato Harun bin Haji Idris, the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Selangor, together with other local UMNO officials, must be held responsible for encouraging and organising the UMNO demonstration which started the race riots. Today the Malays speak of him with pride; the Chinese with bitterness.
During the election campaign, Dato Harun was roughly received by the crowds at some of the Alliance rallies. On at least one occasion he was prevented from speaking and booed off the platform. He is not popular among the non-Malays in the Kuala Lumpur area nor in the rest of Selangor. On Sunday morning (May 11) when the election results were known, it was clear that Harun’s political future was in some doubt. The Alliance had won only 14 of Selangor’s 28 seats but Dato Harun, as Menteri Besar, affirmed his intention of forming a State Government.
The Opposition parties demanded another poll, to be held within a week, hoping for a decisive victory which would oust Dato Harun and end the deadlock. If the Opposition had been successful in Selangor, then, for the first time, the Menteri Besar would not have been a Malay. However, according to the State constitution: ‘No person shall be appointed Menteri Besar unless he is of the Malay race and profess Islam as his religion.’
Always frightened by the spectre of Chinese domination, the Malays decided that they had to ‘put the Chinese in their place’.* The planning for an UMNO demonstration, ‘to teach the Chinese a lesson,’ began on Sunday afternoon when the election results were known to everyone.
The Menteri Besar’s house is in Princes Road, bordering a Malay area on the northern edge of Kuala Lumpur, called Kampong Bahru. The first lorryload of young Malays reached Kampong Bahru early on Sunday evening. On Monday (May 12) further groups of Malays arrived in Kampong Bahru, by lorry, from outlying areas of Selangor State.
On Sunday night, during a spontaneous demonstration and on Monday evening, during the Opposition parties’ victory parade, uncontrolled groups of Chinese** gathered outside Harun’s shouting insults and obscenities. These were young hooligans, many of them in their teens and not of voting age, and their behaviour created much ill-will. They shouted and chanted: ‘Harun out! Malays out! The Malays are finished! The Chinese are going to run the country!’
Those who maintain that this riff-raff crowd was directly responsible for aggravating the situation and causing the riots which followed the next day are overlooking the fact that groups of young Malays, from rural areas, were already gathering in Kampong Bahru. Tuesday’s political demonstration by UMNO was already being planned before the Opposition victory parades took place, and both urban and rural Malays were preparing for it.
Too many people tell stories of the kampong Bahru preparations for them to be dismissed as mere rumour. Residents who have lived in this area of Kuala Lumpur for many years report seeing the streets full of ‘Malays from out of town’ carrying knives, parangs and spears. One diplomat described these as ‘villians’ weapons’.
That morning (May 13), while Tengku Abdul Rahman was flying back to the capital from Kedah, ready to announce the composition of his ‘more dynamic and progressive cabinet’, and while the Malayan Chinese Association was holding its emergency meeting, Malays from out of town continued to reach Kampong Bahru and started to gather in the compound of the Menteri Besar’s house.
The same morning, Dato Harun asked for police permission to hold UMNO’s political procession that night. This was refused by the police.
When this happened, Dato Harun announced that the procession would take place as planned and that he himself, as Menteri Besar, would sign the police permit. During the morning and the afternoon (May 13) young Malays continued to arrive at Harun’s compound form Morib (Harun’s own constituency), Banting and other parts of Selangor State.
I talked with one Malay (a Kuala Lumpur resident) who was adamant that Malays from his own kampong, near Telok Anson (Perak), were present in Harun’s house by Tuesday afternoon. This is just possible, but I found no evidence to support the contention that rural Malays were arriving from as far away as Kelantan, Perlis and Johore.
At least three Chinese, living close to Harun’s house, claim that they were warned by Malay servants, as early as 11.30a a.m., that they should leave the neighbourhood ‘because there is going to be trouble tonight’.
A Chinese family would usually employ Chinese servants in the home but the syce (driver) and the gardener could be Malay. One Chinese family, who have employed the same driver for more than twenty years, found that ‘he had to return to his kampong early that morning because his grandmother was sick’. He left at a moment’s notice, without mentioning any impending trouble, and did not return until three weeks later.
At midday a kenduri (feast) was held in Dato Harun’s house which one Chinese business man attended by accident. He appears to have been a man of swift action but little courage. Alarmed by the Malays’ preparations and aggressiveness he left before the kenduri was over. He bundled his wife and family into a car, locked his house and drove out of town without pausing to mention his fears to his Chinese friends. His house was burned down by Malays that night.
Between 3 and 5 p.m. many people in the vicinity knew that there was going to be trouble; some Chinese received warning telephone calls from ‘friends in the police’. Some heeded the warnings and went home early; others did not and regretted it.
Two senior police officers went to see Dato Harun in his house during the afternoon an again suggested to him that it would be unwise to go ahead with the political demonstration. Referring to the Malays in the compound they told him that ‘these people outside are bent on mischief’, but Dato Harun still insisted that it would be a peaceful demonstration, no more than a show of force, and he could control it.
Shortly before 6.30 p.m. (Tuesday May 13) this ‘peaceful’ demonstration left Dato Harun’s house in Princes Road and began to attack Chinese passers-by. Not all the Malays were armed, as they left the compound; some acquired weapons later. Dato Harun must have known that many of the Malays were carrying parangs, spears and sticks; he could have prevented the demonstration from taking place, had he so wished, instead of encouraging it. He insisted that it would be a peaceful demonstration and that he could control it when, lamentably, it was not and he could not.
Much later that evening, sometime before 9 o’clock, Dato Harun himself telephoned a newspaper office in Kuala Lumpur and asked the editor to use his influence in bringing his ‘situation’ to the notice of the police. By this time his own house was in some danger from a Chinese mob (if not in fact, at least an attack was rumoured) and he was unable himself to contact the police by telephone.
This would suggest that, since he disregarded police advice, the police were prepared to let him chafe for the time being, but no police officer now will allow anyone to infer that this is what happened.
The ferocity and savageness of the Malays in the first clashes seems to have surprised everyone. There is no indication whatsoever that any Alliance ministers were in the least aware of what was likely to happen. The rioting took them completely by surprise.
The question which remains unanswered is: why was the Government taken by surprise when so many people, police and civilians alike, were fully aware of what was going to happen, several hours before the slaughter began?
Dato Harun’s involvement with the planned demonstration is beyond question; other UMNO officials must share the complicity and the responsibility with him. At no time since the disturbance has any member of the Government commented publicly on the part played by Dato Harun, the Menteri Besar, or said in public that it was the Malays and not the Chinese who were at fault.
At a press conference on May 17, Tun Razak was asked by members of the foreign press how the rioting in Kuala Lumpur had started. In reply, he said: ‘The disturbances broke out outside the residence of the Menteri Besar. I will not say what group of people was involved. They were Malaysian citizens and Malaysians were killed.’
May 13 – May 30
The disturbances in Kuala Lumpur can be divided into three phases:
Phase I: The first 24 hours, from the outbreak of the rioting on Tuesday evening (May 13) until the Proclamation of a state of emergency on Wednesday (May 14). During this first phase the machinery of Government broke down.
Phase II: The next three days, up until the formation of the National Operations Council under Tun Razak (which was announced on Saturday night, May 17). During this second phase the Government attempted to regain control of a situation which was completely out of hand.
Phase III: From the formation of the National Operations Council onwards. During this third phase the Government had regained control and began the task of bringing the city back to apparent normality.
*According to a senior police officer’s assessment.
** These crowds were mostly Chinese but did include numbers of young Indians.
(More of the truth to be continued…….)
“Imagine Power To The People” John Lennon.
annabrella
April 22, 2013
Malaysia – Death of a Democracy written by John Slimming in 1969.
Pages 29 to 37 – THE RIOTS
PHASE 1: TUESDAY MAY 13 – MAY 14
The UMNO demonstration disintegrated into a rioting mob shortly before 6.30 p.m. Soon afterwards, Malays armed with parangs and spears left Kampong Bahru and entered the north end of Batu Road. Cars and buses were burned; Chinese shops were set on fire.
Initially, many Chinese were taken completely unawares and did not begin to fight back for more than an hour later. Those who had been warned to anticipate the trouble expected something similar to the Labour Party’s funeral procession of the preceding Friday) and were prepared to put up shutters and lock themselves in their homes. Even those who were forewarned were taken aback by the savagery of the Malays’ attack. They were frightened and panicked.
In Batu Road, Chinese and Indian shopkeepers hurriedly formed themselves into an improvised defence force, using whatever came to hand as weapons. Stones, sticks, iron bars and brickbats were all used, together with kitchen knives, bottles and bamboo poles. Men and boys clambered on to lorries and drove up and down the street, urging non-Malays to unite; groups quickly banded together in a belated attempt to prevent further damage to Chinese property.
Improperly organised, they chased away the invading Malays, who left at the first signs of Chinese resistance. Then, in turn, it was Malay-owned cars and lorries which were smashed and burned by the Chinese. They attempted to burn down the UMNO headquarters, in Batu Road, where two propaganda Land-Rovers had already been set alight. People rushed to the collective protection of their own kind; single individuals were stabbed and beaten by mobs of other races.
The casualties, admitted to the General Hospital that night, give an indication of how the rioting developed. Three senior members of the hospital staff, on duty at the GH, agree that: ‘At the outset, between 7 and 8.30 p.m., the first batches of casualties were all Chinese and they were all suffering from parang slashes, stab wounds or mutilations. Between about 8.30 and 10.30 p.m. the casualties, still with slash wounds, contusions or mutilations, were almost equally divided between Chinese and Malays. After about 10.30 p.m. and throughout the night the casualties were almost entirely Chinese and nearly all of them were suffering from gun-shot wounds (many sustained at close range with powder burns).*
This same breakdown applies to those who were killed and whose bodies were taken to the General Hospital mortuary. The same hospital authorities say that there were ‘about 80 dead by 5 a.m.’ and they were ‘piled, three deep’, because of lack of space.
In Batu Road ‘the police arrived at about 9 p.m. but did not remain in the area. Late, truck loads of Federal Reserve Units (riot squads) drove past,’ one correspondent reported.* ‘By midnight the street was almost deserted but sounds of gunfire and the glows of fires showed that trouble had flared up elsewhere.’
A 24-our curfew, for the whole of Kuala Lumpur, was imposed before 7.30 p.m. and was first announced at 7.35 on the radio. Radio Malaysia continued to announce curfew restrictions and they were repeated on television at 8 p.m. No loudspeaker vans were used; radio and TV alone were used to inform the public, apart form police patrols on the streets who told people to go home.
Many residents, who knew that there was trouble in the area of Princes Road and Kampong Bahru knew nothing at all of the curfew and were shot, by army patrols, late in the evening, many of them in their own gardens or standing in their own doorways. The same journalist continues: ‘A number of foreign correspondents saw members of the Royal Malay Regiment firing into Chinese shop-houses for no apparent reason. The road itself was completely deserted and no sniping or other violence had been observed (by them).*
The decision to open fire and ‘shoot to kill’ was taken by the Inspector General of police (IGP) Mat Salleh, sometime between 8.30 and 9.0 p.m. This was followed, shortly afterwards, by an order from the Chief of Armed Forces, General Tunku Osman Jiwa, to Malay troops already deployed, telling them also to ‘shoot to kill’. While his order was similar to the IGP’s it would seem that the Malay troops interpreted the order differently, restricting their targets to Chinese and refraining from shooting at Malays.
Throughout the disturbances there is evidence of considerable friction between the army and the police at all levels. Much of the friction stemmed from the manner in which this original order was interpreted.
Police riot squads were in action in Princes Road early in the evening and, at the beginning, used tear gas in an attempt to control the rioters. It appears that this was the only time when tear gas was used by riot squad. During Phase I there appears to have been no unified control of military and police activity.
In the final analysis the police behaved far more impartially than the army. The Royal Malay Regiment battalions are made up entirely of Malays whereas the Police Force, while predominantly Malay, contains a leavening of Chinese, Indians and Sikhs. Some racial bias was inevitable but the police were concerned with restoring law and order while the Malay troops were concerned with ‘teaching the Chinese a lesson’.**
The Sarawak Rangers (from Borneo), who happened to be stationed in the Kuala Lumpur area, were in action on the first night and proved themselves well-disciplined, impartial troops. They were withdrawn, and replaced by Malay troops, after the first thirty-six hours, ‘because of their impartiality’.+
In the absence of any kind of informative announcement by the Government many people listened in to the police radio network, to hear exchanges between police on the ground and police control. Three people whom I met subsequently had the foresight to record some of these exchanges on tape. A great deal can be gained from listening to the tapes now.
One fact which emerges is that the police in direct contact with the rioters were doing their utmost to take the heat out of the situation; it was police control which was urging them to open fire.
One recorded exchange to which I listened demonstrates this point.
Officer i/c Patrol: ‘I need reinforcements. I can control this if I have reinforcements,’
Control: ‘How many are you?’
Officer: ‘We’re five. Only five.’
Control: ‘We have nothing to send you. Do the best you can.’
Officer: ‘I need more men.’
Control: ‘Use your fire weapons. I say again, use your fire weapons.’
Pause…….
Officer: ‘What about those reinforcements? I can control this if I have more men.’
Control: ‘We have nothing to send you. Nothing here available. Use your fire weapons.’
Pause…….
Officer: ‘This is not easy. What about those reinforcements?’
Control: ‘Use your fire weapons! I say again, use your fire weapons!’
Still Control, but a different voice: ‘God, man! How many more times! I’m giving you a direct order. Use your fire weapons. D’you hear me? Shoot them!’
This exchange was recorded sometime between 9 and 10 p.m. on Tuesday evening (May 13). The exact time is not known, nor, because of the manner in which it was recorded, is it possible to say how long the pauses were, which punctuate the exchange. Nevertheless it appears from this that the man on the ground was doing his best to avoid bloodshed while the police control was not.
All the taped recordings to which I listened were conducted in a mixture of Malay and English. On several occasions when the men on the ground appeared to be under pressure and getting flustered they lapsed into English and the Malay was forgotten. This would indicate that the speakers were non-Malay officers for whom English was their first language.
Late on Tuesday night the Prime Minister, Tengku Abdul Rahman, made a radio broadcast in which ‘he appealed to all responsible citizens to support and give their fullest co-operation to the security forces in the maintenance of peace and security in the country.**
It is sad to record that, at a time when some sort of authoritative statement from the Government was needed, the Tengku was completely ineffective. He spoke emotionally and sounded as though he was weeping. He did not tell his listeners what was happening in the city, beyond saying that everything was ‘under control’. He concluded his short speech by saying:
‘In this hour of need I pray to Allah to secure you against all dangers. At the same time you must look after yourselves. I will do all I can without fear to maintain peace in this country. God bless you all.’***
This did nothing to boost morale. If anything, it lowered it.
By this time the situation was quite chaotic; rumour was rife. Many believed, for example, that ‘2,000 armed Chinese were advancing on Kuala Lumpur from Kepong’, which was untrue.
On the same night, Tun Razak (Deputy Prime Minister) and Tan Siew Sin (Chairman of the MCA) also made short broadcast appals to people to ‘stay indoors and remain calm’. No early warning was given before any of these broadcasts and a large percentage of Kuala Lumpur residents did not hear them.
During the first hours of rioting Radio Malaysia issued bulletins which said: ‘Do not listen to rumours. The situation is under control.’
Quite clearly it was not. The night sky was bright with the glare of blazing vehicles and burning houses; the bodies of victims were lying in the streets. The continual wail of sirens on police cars, ambulances and fire engines did nothing to give confidence to all those shut indoors, who were literally in terror of their lives. In some parts of town many Chinese spent the night in their homes trying to extinguish burning kerosene rags, flung through smashed windows and splintered shutters by Malay thugs.
People who had been to the evening performance at the Majestic Cinema were caught by the curfew and unable to get home. Police told them to wait in the foyer until transport came. After some delay a police Land-Rover arrived and took away a few of them; the remainder were told to wait for an army lorry.
When the lorry finally arrived, this crowd of impatient people ran out, pushing and scrambling to get into it. The soldier tailboard of the vehicle, thinking he was being attacked, opened fire on the crowd. Several people were wounded.
A group of Malays, arrested and charged with arson and curfew-breaking, were taken to Campbell Road Police Station. At this time over 2,000 Chinese, mostly from Batu Road, had sought refuge in the police station compound. The police received telephoned orders to release the Malays who were let out of the cells and remained that night in the compound with genuine refugees.
In Lorong Yap Ah Shak (a cul de sac on the edge of Kampong Bahru) two elderly Chinese women were forced from their houses by gangs of Malays and killed on their own doorsteps’. Hooligans on the pavements shouted: ‘China keluar! China keluar!’ (‘Chinese out! Chinese out!’) and slashed with parangs and knives any who, thinking they knew the Malays well enough to reason with them, opened their doors.
These were the hours of atrocity and bestiality. As I have already said, it is not my intention to record, unnecessarily, stories of atrocities perpetrated during those first twelve hours of rioting. Nevertheless, some mention of them must be made in order to understand the degree of terror to which people were subjected. It explains all the hatred and fear to be found in Malaysia today.
A Chinese woman, alone in her home in Jalan Hale, was unable to prevent rioters from setting her house alight. Burning rags and torches, pushed through half-open louvers, finally set the front rooms ablaze. A Malay woman neighbour called to her through the back door, brought her Malay clothes as a disguise, and l her away to safety through the back garden.
This Chinese woman claimed that several Chinese in Jalan Hale were saved in this way by Malay women neighbours, and that the trouble makers were ‘Malays from up-country’. Many other Chinese disagree; they maintain that Chinese shops were destroyed by local Malays who were in debt to Chinese shopkeepers.
A young Chinese courting couple were in a motor car near Circular Road on Tuesday evening. They were surrounded by Malays. The man was dragged out, killed and the car set on fire. At the side of the road, the girl as stripped and her breasts were cut off. She was left for dead, with a broken bottle pushed between her legs. Later she was taken to hospital.
A Chinese was caught at the Golf Club by the curfew; when the curfew was lifted and he was able to return home, he found the dead body of his servant in the garden of his house and, on the doorstep, severed, his mother-in-law’s feet. His mother-in-law’s body was never found.****
These examples of barbarity could be supported by many similar stories. They are enough to illustrate, with horrid clarity, the primitive behaviour of the Malays who had run amok. Nothing whatsoever can be said to justify this kind of savagery.
A rioting mob of Chinese is equally capable of this kind of behaviour, as any witness to the Singapore riots of 1955 will testify. Chinese rioters can act just as brutally. Any Chinese who question this should be reminded of the immediate post-war massacres, when members of the MPAJA came out of the jungle and put to death literally hundreds of Malays who, rightly or wrongly, they believed had collaborated with the Japanese.
During Tuesday night, wild rumours circulated by telephone. An effective pronouncement on the radio would have done much to curb them. Telephone switchboards were overloaded; in some districts householders could ‘phone out but not receive calls; in others they could receive but not make calls. In some districts, the ‘phones were working normally; in others they were not working at all.
As the evening wore on Radio Malaysia began to broadcast appeals for blood donors. ‘Blood donors are urgenty required at the General Hospital.’ Anyone who might have contemplated donating blood was curfew-bound, indoors, and too frightened to consider venturing out. ‘Curfew breakers will be shot on sight,’ continued the radio. The hospital remained short of blood.
It was not until the following day, when the situation at the General Hospital was even more urgent, that blood donors were asked to telephone the hospital, giving their name and address, so that police transport could be sent to collect them.
By 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning there was only one pint of blood left in the Genera Hospital and they had run out of surgical dressings. Only two qualified surgeons were on duty. A small supply of blood was brought in to them from University Hospital in nearby Petaling Jaya during the night. One member of the staff, commenting on the shortage of blood, said that there was no proper blood bank and the supply of blood normally kept in the hospital was only sufficient to deal with a serious traffic accident.
Official figures show that 100 lorries, buses and cars were destroyed during the first night and, in addition, a number of motor-cycles and scooters. (In Batu Road alone more than 40 vehicles were burned out.) These figures are, almost certainly, an under-count; but the more serious arson occurred later, during the nights which followed. Most of the 500 houses which were fired were destroyed during Phase II. Officially, only 25 houses and shops were burned in the first night.
There is a great deal of evidence to show that the army was much biased in favour of the Malays during the first night of rioting (and, indeed, during the nights which followed). Police impartiality was regarded by both officers and men of the Malay battalions as an indication of weakness. One Malay army officer told me: ‘The police were bloody soft, man!’ The troops considered that they were far better qualified to cope with the riots than were the police.
The curfew was rigorously enforced, many say brutally enforced, against the Chinese, while the Malays were allowed to roam the streets at will. Troops manning road blocks chatted and smoked with groups of young Malays while Chinese curfew-breakers were fired upon. A Chinese schoolboy, returning home in a police truck, was taken to within thirty yards of his house and then shot by soldiers as he ran towards his front door. The child was eleven years old; his parents were too frightened to go out to him. His body remained outside the house for the next thirty-six hours – until the curfew was relaxed.++
Foreign journalists saw the army’s irresponsible bias and reported it in the world press. Nobody in the Government was able to ensure that the curfew was enforced with equal rigidity against Chinese and Malays.
Ill-disciplined Malay soldiers drove through Chinese streets in jeeps, shooting into ground floor and upstairs rooms of Chinese houses. Indoors, people were too frightened to turn on lights or fans since such an indication of their presence could invite gunfire. One elderly Chinese described to me how they spent the whole night, sitting up, in the dark, without turning on either the electric fan or the light. ‘Once I searched through a desk drawer with a torch looking for our passports,’ the husband said. ‘I wanted the passports ready for the morning if we could get away. Even the light from the torch was enough to make them shoot up at the windows.’
His wife said: ‘All the time we could hear what we thought was a cat crying. There was nothing we could do. In the morning there was an Indian outside, dead on the pavement.’
Hamzah, the Minister for Information, was quoted as saying that the Malaysian security forces were not involved in any criminal acts, or had seized or looted private property. He said that subversive elements had been masquerading in army-type uniforms to commit various crimes. He assured the public that the security forces had carried out their duties according to law and every complaint against them had been fully investigated.+++
At that time, when the whole administration was still disorganised, it seems unlikely that any complaint against the army’s behaviour had been investigated. In all probability the Minister had been misinformed.
There is no doubt whatsoever that the Malay soldiers behaved shamefully and yet Government leaders have continued to deny this. Tun Razak is reported as saying: ‘The army performed its task very satisfactorily in difficult times. Reports by foreign journalists which give them a bad image were not fair. I emphatically deny that the Malaysian Army acted in any callous way.’++++
In fairness to the many Malay civilians who were not responsible for the initial outrages but who later joined in the rioting, it must be said that many false rumours of impending Chinese attack made the Malay men turn out from their kampongs in full force. Rumour bred alarm and confusion; confusion and panic gave rise to further rumour.
(Wednesday May 14 to be continued…….)
* Bob Reece, reporting for the Far Eastern Economic Review
** According to a senior officer of 5 Bn the Royal Malay Regiment this same expression was used by Malay Police Officer when talking of the immediate causes of the riots (p.19).
+ According to the same army officer.
***Straits Times: 14 May, 1969
****I have checked and re-checked these stories. I am convinced that they are true.
++ Told by the child’s relatives.
+++Straits Times: May 28, 1969.
++++ Straits Times: June 3, 1969
Am passing on more truth and insights from John Slimming’s book as I know he was right and also because I believe that the more we know of the truth of what’s happened to us, the more we will be able to better understand ourselves and others and in this instance, perhaps put troubled ghosts from the past to rest in peace.
I am also writing this for that unknown eleven year old innocent Malaysian schoolboy coming home from school, probably tired and hungry, who was shot in the back so cruelly by the heartless Malaysian racist bastards, who desecrated their state uniforms and the people’s trust and whose murderous crimes have never been held to account. That unknown schoolboy would have grown to be 55 years old today had he been allowed to just go home that fateful day when he was unnecessarily shot in the back and left to die alone in the heat just within yards of his home and while his parents watched him die helplessly from the inside. So when you cast your vote on 5 May 2013, remember him. Vote tactically for him. Cast your vote to oust an unaccountable racist and supremacist UMNO/BN government from power.
“Imagine Power To The People” John Lennon.
annabrella
April 23, 2013
Malaysia – Death of a Democracy written by John Slimming in 1969.
Pages 37 to 41 – THE RIOTS
PHASE 1: TUESDAY MAY 13 – MAY 14
Wednesday May 14
Wednesday, after a night of bloodshed and carnage, was comparatively quiet. The enforced curfew kept the Chinese indoors, frightened and apprehensive, while in Malay areas of the city, Malays walked the streets, waiting for Chinese reprisals which never came.
Scores of Malays had, by this time, dressed themselves in black sarongs with a twist of red or white cloth as a headband. This is the traditional garb of a warrior in a holy war. Many people claim that some junior army officers paraded before their men in the same, traditional, makeshift uniform.
During the early hours of Wednesday morning the army made some effort to collect the out-station Malays together and provided transport to send them back to their kampongs. Outside Stadium Negara convoys of army lorries assembled and NCOs shouted out the destination and route to be taken by each lorry; the Malay civilians were loaded on to trucks and driven away from the city and back to their homes.
Wednesday was a quiet day during which Chinese and Malay minorities tried to move to other parts of town; all were concerned with ethnic, geographical groupings.
The three Government stadiums were opened as refugee centres (racially segregated, one for Malays, two for Chinese), and police transport took people either to these centres or to the homes of relatives in other districts. The refugee problem and the work done by the Red Cross and the Civil Defence are discussed later in this account of the disturbances. It is sufficient, at this stage, to realise that small migrations took place on the Wednesday, and that the rioting of the previous night had quietened down.
During these tense hours of waiting, both the Chinese and the Malays expected the other to make the next move. Some fires were still burning; there were further outbreaks of arson as more cars and lorries were set alight, shrill sirens still wailed in the streets but, in contrast to the previous night, Wednesday was quiet.
The whole ugly situation should have been brought under control by noon on Wednesday. With an efficient, centralised Police/Military Control this would have been possible but the Government had come to a complete standstill. Everybody – Malay, Chinese and Indian – thought that each hour was likely to be his last and reacted, each in his own way. The Tengku, on his own admission, prayed and wept. Many, unknowingly, were following his example. Some, more practical people, packed a few valuables into suitcases and waited for transport to take them away; others spent the day preparing for the next round.
Curfew passes were issued to members of some essential services on Wednesday morning by the police at the High Street Police Station. The passes were valid for twenty-four hours only. One doctor claims that he took 21/2 hours to get a pass which he had to renew the following day (Thursday) because initially nobody would authorise the issue of curfew passes for more than twenty-four hours.
Subsequently, radio announcements called for all doctors to ‘offer their services’ and, before doing so, to obtain a curfew pass from the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health was not open; applicants who telephoned to Police Headquarters in Bluff Road were told to ‘try to get a pass’ from High Street Police Station. ‘Bluff’ is an ironically apt name for the road that accommodates Police Headquarters.
Throughout the day, official releases on Radio Malaysia and on TV continued to say: ‘Do not listen to rumour. The situation is under control.’ Nothing more informative than this was released.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (the Paramount Ruler) issued a proclamation of Emergency on Wednesday. This was announced by the Tengku in his second broadcast on Wednesday night. He spoke of a ‘real attempt’ by disloyal elements to overthrow the Government by force of arms and spread panic throughout the country.
‘The terrorists,’ he said, ‘under cover of political parties are trying for a comeback.’ *
The Emergency was declared in the State of Selangor and certain areas of other States. It was not until the next day that it was extended to cover the whole country.
‘My avowed intention,’ the Tengku continued, is to preserve the country against lawlessness and disorder….
‘The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is now empowered to make provision for the apprehension, trial and punishment of persons offending against the regulations.
‘He is also enabled to: Make provision for the detention, exclusion and deportation of persons:
‘Create offences and prescribe penalties including the death penalty…
‘Make special provisions in respect of trial, which can even be held in camera….
‘….Amend any written law or suspend the operation of any written law, and deprive any person of his citizenship.
‘The Government, under the proclamation, may also suspend the elections of the Dewan Ra’ayat and Legislative Assemblies of any State which have not yet been completed.’ *
These were indeed far-reaching powers. The references to deportation of persons and loss of citizenship could however only apply to the Chinese and Indians. A Malay could hardly be deprived of his citizenship; if this happened then to where would he be deported?
The final reference to suspending the elections of the Dewan Ra’ayat (House of Representatives) was the first indication that the elections in Sarawak and Sabah would not be held. The disturbances were still confined to the capital but it was highly probable that the remaining, undecided seats in East Malaysia would all have gone to the Opposition. This was yet a further indication of the Government’s fear of the Opposition even though they had a clear working majority, with or without the undecided seats in the Borneo States.
Leaders of the Opposition parties appealed to the public to co-operate with the Government. Some of them offered to tour the streets with Alliance leaders in an attempt to help restore order. These offers were declined by the Government.
‘I have telephoned both the Tengku and Razak,’ one Opposition leader said, ‘repeatedly suggesting that I go down into the streets to calm my people. But I get no response whatsoever. Meanwhile some of the troops are allowing youths in Malay areas to swagger around carrying knives despite the curfew, but in the Chinese quarters they are standing by while people are burned alive in their houses.’**
Opposition leaders, at the same time, pleaded with the army to take the Malay Regiment away from Chinese areas and replace Malay troops with multi-racial Federal Reserve Units. In particular, the leaders of the moderate Gerakan Ra’ayat o to help in any way they could. No attempt was made to utilise these offers from Opposition leaders.
Tan Chee Khoon’s Gerakan was a party which had received quite considerable support from kampong Malays. In one area near Kuala Lumpur+ I talked with many Malay villagers who said: ‘During the last two years, Tan Chee Khoon is the only politician who has bothered about us. He’s given us medical treatment when we’re sick and free medicine when we can’t afford to pay. Nobody from UMNO has been near us since the last time they wanted our votes.’
Many of the May rioters came from this same area. When I asked them why they had fought against the Chinese during the disturbances, when only a few days earlier they had voted for a multi-racial party, they replied: ‘We weren’t fighting Tan Chee Khoon. We had to fight the Chinese before they had time to attack us. Thousands were waiting to attack our kampong.’
There were false rumours circulating to this effect at the time and these kampong Malays, several weeks after the event, still believed that their homes were threatened and in danger.
A great deal of good will existed (and still exists) for Tan Chee Khoon of Gerakan and other Opposition leaders but the Government has refused to take advantage of it. It remains untapped. By identifying themselves in any way with the Opposition, Government leaders think they will be admitting failure. The Opposition’s valuable contribution continues to be ignored and unacceptable. The Government failures are plain for all to see.
Two Indian Leaders (both of the Malay Indian Congress and members of the Alliance), Mr Manickavasagam, Minister of Labour, and Mr Sambanthan, Minister of Works, Posts and Telecoms, both offered to go out into the streets with the police and help in any way they could. Their offers were relayed on the police radio network and were accepted. There was no mention of any similar offers from other Government leaders, who apparently stayed indoors. Armed police escorts were provided for the Tengku, Tun Razak and Tan Siew Sin, between their homes and Radio Malaysia whenever they made a broadcast. At a time when all the Alliance leaders should have been out on the streets many of them were not to be found.
*Straits Times: May 15, 1969.
**Dennis Bloodworth, in the Observer, May 18, 1969.
+ 6th to 8th mile, Damansara Road.
(I have underlined the last sentence of the last paragraph to emphasise the lack of any indication of common sense or compassion or understanding by the Government of what was necessary at that critical point to protect and comfort the people they “governed”.
Next, Phase II, Thursday May 15 to Saturday May 17……)
“Imagine Power To The People” John Lennon.
annabrella
April 25, 2013
Malaysia – Death of a Democracy written by John Slimming in 1969.
Pages 41 to 45 – THE RIOTS
PHASE II: THURSDAY MAY 15 – MAY 17
Most of the killing occurred during Phase I of the disturbances (on Tuesday night or in the early hours of Wednesday morning); most of the serious arson – the house burning and the looting – happened during Phase II (on the Thursday night and Friday). The Government was still not in control of the situation, though the army was effectively controlling the Chinese. Malay thugs and, in many instances, Malay troops behaved more or less as they wished.
On Thursday morning there were at least 5,000 refugees in official refugee centres in different parts of town. Most of them were Chinese; two stadiums were filling up but many more refugees were to arrive there during the next forty-eight hours.
In addition there were several thousand refugees who had taken shelter with relatives or friends. The homes of all these people, full of possessions, had been abandoned in a hurry. The majority were Chinese houses on the outskirts of Kampong Bahru or near Jalan Rajah Bot.
These unoccupied houses were systematically looted by Malays and then set alight either on Thursday or Friday. Over 450 houses were destroyed during Phase II. The Malays, after Wednesday’s lull, realised that the Chinese were not going to retaliate and, once more, went on the rampage.
Two police inspectors, in uniform, were prevented from entering the area of Kampong Bahru in a police vehicle on Thursday afternoon. At an army road-block a sentry told them: ‘You can’t enter. The army is in control here!’
They contend that the army was certainly there in some strength but not in control. They report the soldiers in uniform trousers and boots but either bare-chested or wearing civilian shirts, were helping Malay civilians to carry TV sets, radios, reading lamps and household articles from the empty houses. A number of these half-uniformed soldiers wore side-arms or carried weapons.
A score of other people confirm the inspectors’ story. One inspector was a Malay, the other was not. The non-Malay described Kampong Bahru that afternoon as: ‘Bloody bedlam, with the Malays doing what they liked!’ He said this in front of his Malay colleague who did not contradict him.
A subsequent examination of the ruined houses clearly indicated that most of them had been stripped of furniture and fittings before they were set on fire. With the exception of five small burned-down huts, all the destroyed buildings, and I saw many, belonged to Chinese.
Two weeks after the event, when I was taking photographs in the ruins of Lorong Yap Ah Shak, a Malay army sentry challenged me, touching my chest with the tip of his bayonet. He asked me, in Malay, why I was photographing the burned-out houses. I replied that I wanted to have some pictures of these Malay houses which the Chinese had destroyed. This answer satisfied him and, after a short conversation, he allowed me to leave. He confirmed that the houses had belonged to Malays and that the Chinese had burned them down. In fact they were all Chinese house (36 of them); one had belonged to a Chinese family I used to visit several years ago.
On the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, not far from Circular Road, is Kampong Pandan, another Malay area. Within the Kampong is a single row of shop-houses, newly built. Of these 20 shops, 19 were owned by Chinese and 1 by a Malay. During this period of the disturbances, 19 shops were burned out, individually. The single Malay shop was left untouched.
Also in Kampong Pandan, a Chinese shopkeeper, in a completely separate building, was shut indoors on Thursday night (May 15) when his shop was surrounded by Malays carrying torches. They demanded that he hand over the contents of his shop to them. When he refused to do this they set fire to the shop; he escaped with one child and his wife (who was injured with a parang cut as they ran away). Four other children, still inside were burned to death. I had no reason to disbelieve this man when he told me his story. He was about 45 years of age; he said: ‘I hope I live long enough to kill four Malays.’
During this Phase II period the morale of the Chinese was at its lowest. Leaderless and betrayed, they had nothing but hatred for the Malays and bitterness for the Alliance leaders, unable to regain control.
Tun Razak was named A Director of Operations and the head of a National Operations Council (NOC) on Thursday, May 15, but it was not until the evening of Saturday, May 17, that he announced the members of the Council who would work with him.*
The main function of the NOC was to co-ordinate the work of the Government, the police and the military. Tun Razak explained on the radio that ‘full powers have been given to me under the Emergency Regulations – to use fairly but firmly’. At a press conference he said he would handle the situation ‘likeTempler’ and in reply to a question said that the Emergency would go on ‘for months and months and months’. Until Saturday evening, however, the National Operations Council existed in name only. This, in itself, was perhaps an indication that Tun Razak was not another Templer.
During this period of hysteria and panic Government spokesmen were quick to blame the disturbances on communist terrorists. Nobody at all made mention of the fact that these were racial clashes. The Tengku, Tun Razak and Dr Ismail (the ex-Home Minister who rejoined the Government on Thursday) all said that the troubles were communist inspired. In a broadcast (May 17) the Tengku said: ‘Last night I blamed the communists alone but intelligence reports say that paid saboteurs were involved too.’ He talked of ‘evil elements’ and ‘traitors’ and continued: ‘There is no going back now. We will fight them hard, hit them really hard to break their backbone and their spirit.’
He said that many Opposition ‘workers’ had gone to Sabah and Sarawak to create disorder during the elections. ‘So, in order to save the process of democracy, it is necessary to postpone the elections in those states.’ **
These Government allegations, which lumped together the communists and the Opposition parties, only increased Chinese bitterness and despair.
Dr Ismail, in his radio broadcast, said: ‘Democracy in Malaysia is dead!’ Without any doubt many observers would agree with him, but at the same time question his rider, ‘It is dead at the hands of the Opposition parties.’+
To ignore completely the real causes of the racial conflict and, instead, to raise once again the bogey of communism was criminally stupid. Tun Razak stated that ‘Malaysia’s image has suffered a serious set-back as a result of the disturbances in Selangor and other parts of the country’. He added that he was confident ‘that the communists and other anti-national elements would soon be brought to book’, ++
According to Tun Razak, the Labour Party boycott of the elections had only been a feint. The real strategy of the communists had been to ‘intimidate’ people into voting for the Opposition. ‘The unseen hand of communism, ‘said Dr Ismail, enlarging on this theme, ‘has manoeuvred events, using the Opposition parties as its tools.’ ++
All official spokesmen avoided making reference to the fact the clashes were racial and the Malays were responsible for the aggression.
The 24-hour curfew, imposed on Tuesday evening, was first relaxed briefly on Thursday morning and reimposed quickly when further incidents occurred. When the curfew was lifted people who had been stranded in other parts of town for more than thirty-six hours hurried back home; thousands queued outside shops to buy food but, with the first signs of renewed violence, the curfew was again imposed. It was not relaxed on Friday (‘mosque-day’) but was lifted again on Saturday (May 17) for three hours in the morning.
Again it must be stressed that during the hours of curfew it was the Chinese section of the population that was kept firmly shut-up indoors; in the Malay districts of the town Malays moved about the streets at will.
During Phase I and Phase II of the disturbances there was no evidence of any centralised control or organisation. From overheard exchanges on the police radio network it would appear that the city was divided up, arbitrarily, into police areas and army areas. There was no co-ordination.
In conversation with officials afterwards I found that they referred to Police Control, Army Control, Information Control, Special Branch Control and even Joint Control but during the first four days of the disturbances there seems to have been no single co-ordinating body. The Police and the Army were apparently at no time running in harness.
Police helped to move refugees from one part of town to another; the army, with more adequate facilities, helped in moving refugees from army-controlled areas an, by Sunday morning, were providing escorts for Social Welfare workers who helped with food distribution.
Government servants at home when the troubles started, remained at home and declined to venture into the streets while the curfew was in force. They can hardly be blamed for this. One reason for the breakdown of the Government machinery is that there was no Emergency Control Centre and, even if they were willing to return to duty, officers had no idea what was expected of them nor to where they should report. Constant reminders, on the radio, that curfew- breakers would be shot on sight did little to encourage those who might have been venturesome.
* A list of the members of the National Operations Council is contained in Appendix B
Director of Operations – Tun Razak
Council Members:
Tun Dr Ismail – Minister of Home Affairs
Tun Tan Siew Sin – President of the MCA
Tun Sambanthan – Minister of Works, Posts and Telecoms (& President of MIC)
Enche Hamzah bin Dato Abu Samah – Minister of Information & Broadcasting
Tunku Osman Jiwa – Chief of Armed Forces Staff
Tan Sri Salleh – Inspector-General of Police
Tan Sri Ghazali bin Shafie – Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Chief Executive Officer – Lt. Gen. Dato Ibrahim bin Ismail, Director of Operations, West
Malaysia.
Assistants:
Enche Abdul Rahman Hamidon, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Defence
Lt. Col. Ghazali bin Che Mat, Ministry of Defence
Superintendent Shariff bin Omar, Royal Malaysia Police
Enche Yusoff bin Abdul Rashid, Attorney-General’s Office
**Sunday Times (of Malaya): May 18, 1969.
+ Radio broadcast, May 17, 1969.
++At his press conference, May 17, 1969.
(Next, Phase III, Saturday evening May 17 onwards…….)
“Imagine Power To The People” John Lennon.