The 1964 Racial Riots...listen to MM LKY.

As we look back at what transpired 46 years ago, we, of that generation who lived through the riots and are still alive today, should go down on our knees and thank God ( or your lucky stars )

that multi-racial Singapore was kicked out of that " Abang" country on 9 August 1965.

For if we had been somehow still cowed to remain since that fateful separation year, the SINGAPORE of today would still be like the "dirty longkangs" of the 50's and 60's.

Look at Sabah and Sarawak...just imagine what they could have been today if only...... well, you know what I mean.

And we would still be singing an anthem that is borrowed from Indonesia and Hawaii.

And our heartaches and misery would have multiplied by a MILLION fold! Of this I'm not joking. Just imagine, what kind of education you would have got, if at all. What about freedom to worship? Equal job opportunities? Freedom from racial bias, promotion, bigotry? Freedom from party and all forms of government corruption? Safety and security?

I can name untold number of things that say we Singaporeans should be humbly Thankful that things worked out better for us this way after we each went our separate ways.

The Singapore of today is INDEED a NATION to be FULLY PROUD of!

[ Some results of Syed Ja'afar Albar and UMNO extremists plans, 1963-1965]

This particular crowd of UMNO instigators were at the Paya Lebar Airport to welcome

the Tunku ( M'sian PM ) in early August 1965 after he flew back from London, on a

stop over.

Despite the racial riots the previous year (in 1964)in Singapore as well as in Penang

having already occurred, the racial and political poison based on falsehoods continued non-stop...but

now mainly focussing their multi-prong attacks on just ONE MAN - Lee Kuan Yew,

then the PAP as a party, then Singapore Chinese..in that order.

The HATE campaign against Lee Kuan Yew embroiled everyone. Even the Agong ( M'sian King)

in his address in Parliament referred to " an enemy within the House"!

Special UMNO newspapers were printed that were meant for the rural and kampong folks..and they churned up big time, casting L K Y as the enemy of all Malays, Muslims, Sultans, and whatnots.

Those in the cities,towns and urban areas have their favourite "The Utusan Melayu" daily which was the main mouthpiece used by the UMNO ULTRAS...and Ja'afar ALBAR was the most popular and prominent among all. His words were used to deadly effect...as proved by the riots.

Thus it was a widespread sinister PLAN that required organisation, knowledge and approval from the very top of the leadership.

Allow me to quote from LKY's Memoirs - The Singapore Story. Chapter 40 subtitled " UMNO's

Crush Lee Campaign "...page 602. This was what MM wrote below.....

[ The race issue overshadowed everything else. During a session of the federal parliament in Nov 1964, Dr Lim Chong Eu, MP and leader of the opposition United Democratic party (UDP) based in Penang, commiserated with me over the two race riots we had suffered in Singapore. He said he had experienced it all.

From his description of the disorders in Penang in the 1950s, I realised that what ALBAR and his UMNO Turks had applied in Singapore was a well-tested method. The police and the army held the ring while favouring the Malay rioters - usually bersilat groups, thugs and gangsters let loose to make mischief.

Once passions were aroused and enough Chinese counter-attacked, even ordinary Malays joined in. When the Chinese hit back, they were clobbered by the police and army: law and order were enforced against them, not against the Malays.

The result was a sullen, cowed population.

We had to find a counter to this system of intimidation through race riots, with Chinese being killed and maimed wherever they dared to resist Malay domination. ]

( Colored emphasis is mine )

I made some checks on all those arrested and charged in court in July and Sept 1964...from the

Straits Times records. What MM said is TRUE . The rampaging mobs of rioters were mainly Malays when the riots started and continued more or less that way.

Yet about or more than 90 % of those arrested and charged were Chinese ! Only a few Malays.

Anyone can check this out for themselves.

Below is a story from the latest issue of SPRING...the NE Community Development Council of Singapore.

64 year old Sally ( not her real name ) described her terrible sadness at losing a good friend killed during the 1964 riots.

The victim was a former journalist G Subhas.

From my own careful research checking the digitalised pages of the Straits Times starting from 21 July 1964 and onwards..I think Sally made a mistake about the period when G Subhas was attacked and later died from his severe injuries.

On page 16 of the S Times issue of 23 July 1964, there was mention of G Subhas the ex-journalist and his attack.

I quote : [ G Subhas was admitted to hospital at 1 pm with severe injuries. He is believed to have been attacked while taking pictures of the clashes. ]

Then a day or so later [ G Subhas died last night in hospital... ].

So the case of this ex-journalist happened during the July riots and not the September riots.

Can't blame "Sally"for mixing up the periods...it happened 46 years ago!