Project task A, Question 2

How racial issues could divide the people.

1964 Race Riots
When Singapore merged with Malaysia, Lee Kuan Yew hoped that Singapore and the Central Government could work together like brothers for the good of Malaysia. Unfortunately, this did not happen because both sides had different views about Malaysia and how the country should be governed. In Malaya, many of the political parties were formed along racial lines, Malayan Chinese Association(MCA), United Malays National Organisation(UMNO) & Malayan Indian Congress(MIC). Even though the three parties got together and formed the Alliance Party, but the main goal of each party was to look after the interests of their own community. However, in Singapore, everyone had equal rights, regardless of race, and did not aim to promote the interests of one community over another.

In Malaya, certain special rights were given to the Malays to help them improve their standard of living. Hence, the other races in the country did not enjoy these special rights. Whereas, in Singapore, the government felt that the people's standard of living would improve through education and industrialisation. It also believed that everyone should be given equal opportunity to succeed.

The Central Government expected Singapore to adapt to the system that was already in place in Malaya. However, Singapore still doesn't agree with those special rights only given to Malays. Hence, these problems strained the relationship between both political parties which led into the 1964 Race Riots.

The UMNO leaders from Malaya began to criticise the PAP government for not looking after the interests of the Malays in Singapore through the Malay press, the Utusan Melayu. Soon, an anti-PAP campaign was started. Over a period of time, more misleading articles about the PAP governments ill-treating the Malays in Singapore appeared in the Utusan Melayu.

On 21 July 1964, over 25,000 Malays gathered at the Padang to celebrate Prohet Mohammed's birthday. Some Malay leaders spoke to the peopl and in their speeches, they criticised the PAP government again for the lack of concern for the Malays in Singapore. These speeches led the group of Malays attacking Chinese passers-by and spectators. Soon, there were reports of clashes between Malays & Chinese in different parts of Singapore and a curfew was made. When the curfew was lifted, more clashes between both races occured and another curfew was imposed and was only lifted for short periods of time for people to buy food.

The Race Riots have caused a lot of racial tension between in Malays and Chinese, and also forced Singapore to leave Malaya to survive as our own. It had also caused a lot of injuries and deaths.

After the riots, we learnt that everyone regardless of race, language or religion, should stay in harmony with each another so that riots will not happen again. We also learnt that we should understand each others religion and culture so that it could solve the misunderstandings between one another.

If we do not know or understand each others religion and culture well, we might say something unpleasant, without knowing it ourselves, to another person of a different race. As a result, what we have said might have become an insult for their race and could cause hatred between two parties. I feel that everyone react sensitively to race issues because everybody has their own beliefs of their own race and could not tolerate insults from other people about their race.

Vivien Chong.

*Racial Harmony Day is celebrated every year to remind people to stay in harmony with each other, regardless of race, language or religion!:)