1964 Racial Riots

1964 Racial Riots

INTRO OF ARTICLE: 
On 12 July 64 UMNO held a convention of about 150 Malay organisations in Singapore. He concluded that Malays in Singapore had not been treated fairly by the PAP government as they had not progressed in material terms. He urged the Malays to unite to overcome this unfair treatment. The Utusan Melayu, a Malay newspaper in Malaya also constantly adopted a communal line in their publications, and it accused the PAP of humiliating and trying to divide the Malay community in Singapore. There were already daily Indonesian accusations that he had sold out the Malays to the Chinese and Indian merchants in Malaysia. After the racial riot, Tunku suggested that it was caused by the long neglect of the Singapore Malays, pointing out for instance that, "(the Malays) were being driven out of their homes which they had owned to make way for new flats and so on ..." This created some unhappiness. On 21 July 1964, about 25,000 Malays gathered at the Padang, Singapore to celebrate the Muslim prophet Muhammad's birthday. Along the way, a few Chinese onlookers jeered or threw items like bottles at the Malay marchers who had been shouting "God is great" and other Islamic slogans loudly. Then fighting started and even policemen got attacked. The government declared a curfew at 9.30 p.m. to restore order, but in the first day of rioting, 23 people were killed and 454 injured.



Reflection: 
From the article it can be seen that ill feelings can be created very easily between the different races in Singapore. Singapore is a multi-cultural country and people from different races have different beliefs. Sometimes these beliefs are so vastly different that it may be difficult to compromise with one another. Hence, with a bit of provocation, other races may feel discriminated because they do not understand that it is difficult to make sure everyone is treated equally in Singapore. From this we can see the importance of bonding between the different races in Singapore. With strong bonds, no matter how much other people try to break us apart, we can still stand strong as one people and one nation to overcome all difficulties. With strong bonds we will not be swayed easily and together Singapore can be a country with strong stability whereby everyone works together as one and is considerate towards one another, sensitive towards others' feelings. Singapore cannot afford to have weak bonds between the different races because if this happens everyone will not be able to work together peacefully as they may feel discriminated against other races. Majority of Singapore is made up of different people from different countries. If these people are unable to work together and try to understand one another's way of life and thoughts, Singapore will be left with a very small workforce to sustain the economy. At the same time, if ill feelings get worse, riots may occur, risking the lives of the citizens in Singapore.