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
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