Racial Tension
Racial tensions increased dramatically within a year and were fuelled by Barisan Sosialis's tactics of stirring up communal sentiment as the pro-communist party sought to use means to survive against the crackdown by both the government of Singapore and the Federal Government. In particular, the Chinese in Singapore disdained being discriminated against by Federal policies of affirmative action, which granted special privileges to the Malays guaranteed under Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia. There were also other financial and economic benefits that were preferentially given to Malays. Islam was the sole official religion, although non-Muslims maintained the freedom of worship.
The Malays and Muslims in Singapore were being increasingly incited by the federal government's accusations that the PAP was mistreating the Malays. Numerous racial riots resulted, and curfews were frequently imposed to restore order. The external political situation was also tense at the time, with Indonesia actively against the establishment of the Federation of Malaysia. President Sukarno of Indonesia declared a state of Konfrontasi (Confrontation) against Malaysia and initiated military and other actions against the new nation, including the bombing of MacDonald House in March 1965 by Indonesian commandos which killed three people. Indonesia also conducted sedition activities to provoke the Malays against the Chinese.
One of the more notorious riots was the 1964 Race Riots that took place on Prophet Muhammad's birthday on July 21, near Kallang Gasworks with twenty-three killed and hundreds injured. Additional riots broke out in September 1964. The price of food heavily skyrocketed when the transport system was disrupted during this period of unrest, causing further hardship. The Government later introduced the Racial Harmony Day, which falls on the same date as the riots.
Read more about this topic: Singapore In Malaysia
Famous quotes containing the words racial and/or tension:
“I don’t think Dr. King helped racial harmony, I think he helped racial justice. What I profess to do is help the oppressed and if I cause a load of discomfort in the white community and the black community, that in my opinion means I’m being effective, because I’m not trying to make them comfortable. The job of an activist is to make people tense and cause social change.”
—Al, Reverend Sharpton (b. 1954)
“Measured by any standard known to science—by horse-power, calories, volts, mass in any shape,—the tension and vibration and volume and so-called progression of society were full a thousand times greater in 1900 than in 1800;Mthe force had doubled ten times over, and the speed, when measured by electrical standards as in telegraphy, approached infinity, and had annihilated both space and time. No law of material movement applied to it.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)