1964 Race Riots
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The 1964 Race Riots were a series of riots that took place in Singapore during two separate periods in July and September between Chinese and Malay groups. The first incident occurred on 21 July during a Malay procession that marked Prophet Muhammad's birthday. In total, the violence killed 36 people and injured another 556. About 3,000 people were arrested. The riots are also known as the Prophet Muhammad Birthday Riots, 1964 Racial Riots, and 1964 Sino-Malay Riots. At that time, Singapore was a state in the Federation of Malaysia.
Contents |
[edit] July riots
| This article is part of the History of Singapore series |
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| Early history of Singapore (pre-1819) |
| Founding of modern Singapore (1819-1826) |
| Straits Settlements (1826-1867) |
| Crown colony (1867-1942) |
| Battle of Singapore (1942) |
| Japanese Occupation (1942-1945) |
| Sook Ching massacre (1942-1945) |
| Post-war period (1945 - 1955) |
| First Legislative Council (1948-1951) |
| Maria Hertogh riots (1950) |
| Second Legislative Council (1951-1955) |
| Internal self-government (1955–1962) |
| Hock Lee bus riots (1955) |
| Chinese middle schools riots (1956) |
| Merger with Malaysia (1962–1965) |
| Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation (1962-1966) |
| Merger referendum, 1962 |
| Operation Coldstore (1963) |
| Race Riots of 1964 |
| MacDonald House bombing (1965) |
| Republic of Singapore (1965-Present) |
| East Asian financial crisis (1997) |
| Embassies attack plot (2001) |
| See also: Timeline of Singaporean history |
| [edit this box] |
On 21 July, 1964, about 25,000 Malays gathered at Padang, Singapore to celebrate the Prophet Muhammad's birthday. After the speeches, the procession went on to Geylang. Along the way, a group that was dispersed was asked to rejoin the procession by a policeman. Instead of obeying the orders, the group attacked the policeman. This incident led to a race riot after the group of Malays attacked Chinese passers-by and spectators. The riots were reported to have started at about 5:00 p.m. between Kallang and Geylang Serai. A curfew was declared at 9.30 p.m. to restore order, but in the first day of riot, 4 people were killed and 178 injured. [1]
After the curfew was lifted at 6 a.m. the next morning, the conflict grew even more tense, and another curfew was imposed - only lifted for short periods for people to buy food. The curfew was completely lifted on 2 August, 11 days after the start of the riots. After the riots, goodwill committees were set up made up of community leaders from the various racial groups. The main job of these leaders was to help restore harmony and peace between the Malays and the Chinese by addressing the concerns of the residents. About 23 people lost their lives and 450 people were injured during the July riots. There was significant damage to property and vehicles. About 2,500 people were arrested, including 600 secret society members and 256 people arrested for possession of dangerous weapons. The rest were arrested for violating the curfew.
[edit] Causes
Different reasons have been cited for causing the riots. Malaysia Deputy Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak blamed Indonesian and Communist provocateurs.
On the other hand, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and several other foreign observers attributed the riots as the result of agitation by Syed Jaffar Albar and other elements of the ultra-nationalist faction in UMNO. According to the Australian Deputy High Commissioner, W.B. Pritchett:
"...there can be no doubt that UMNO was solely responsible for the riots. Its members ran the communal campaign or allowed it to happen."[2]
The riots occurred during the period when the PAP-UMNO relations were severely strained after the People's Action Party challenged the UMNO in Malaysia federal election in March 1964 with the campaign slogan of Malaysian Malaysia.
In addition, the involvement of Chinese secret societies in the riots also increased the level of violence.
[edit] September riots
A second race riot occurred just a month after the first on 3 September. This time, a Malay trishaw-rider was found murdered at Geylang Serai and his attackers were believed to be a group of Chinese. The race riot ensued in the neighbourhoods of Geylang, Joo Chiat and Siglap, and another curfew was imposed. In this incident, 13 people lost their lives and 106 people were injured. Under the presence of troops and the imposing of curfews, these tensions eventually eased after a few days. 480 people were arrested.
Both Malaysia and Singapore have attributed the September riots to Indonesian provocateurs. It was the Konfrontasi period and 30 Indonesian paratroopers had landed in Labis, Johor on 2 September.
[edit] Aftermath
Leaders in Malaysia and Singapore were surprised by the rapid escalation of racial violence and both sides made frequent appeals for calm. The riots exposed serious racial tension and the fear of further violence contributed to Singapore's secession from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965, when both sides were unable to resolve their disputes.
During the riots, large number of arrests were made under the Internal Security Act (ISA), for those involved in subversion and rioters who were members of secret societies. This helped to contain the violence, especially during the September riots. ISA remains in force in both countries and is used to counter potential threats of communalism or racial and religious violence.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Lai Ah Eng (2004). Beyond rituals and riots : ethnic pluralism and social cohesion in Singapore, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-272-8
- ^ Lau, Albert (2000). A Moment of Anguish: Singapore in Malaysia and the Politics of Disengagement, Times Academic Press, ISBN 981-210-134-9
