Singapore Being A Multi-Racial Country Has Been Enjoying Peace And Prosperity For The Past Three Decades Since Its Independenc

Diploma in Education (General)

ECL 201 Oral History Project

NAME : ABDUL GAFFAR BIN SHAIK YUSOF

NRIC NUMBER : S7727148A

MATRICULATION NUMBER : 020001J24

TUTOR NAME : KEVIN BLACKBURN

TUTORIAL TIME : MONDAY 1630hrs-1830hrs ECL 201 – Oral History Project

Singapore being a multi-racial country has been enjoying peace and prosperity for the past three decades since its independence. The Government has been promoting racial harmony throughout the years with campaigns and activities. In some countries where there are different races living together, there will be disagreements over their rights and always most of these will turn to violence.

Their disharmony and intolerance have led the country being in turmoil and disarray. Singapore, too have experienced communal riots in its early days before independence from Malaysia.

For this Oral History project, I have the benefit to interview Mr Ramli B Saptu, my neighbour. He was 19 years old then working as a hawker assistant when the riots broke out. Now aged 58 and still working as a security guard at a warehouse in Tuas, he stills remember vividly events in and leading to the 1964 communal riots from 21st July 1964 to 2nd August 1964.

Mr Ramli’s account of the riots is similar to the accounts published on the Internet and books by acclaimed historians and ex-politicians. His account also shows life during the riots and how some Singaporeans at that time faced problems during the curfew. The events leading to this riots is also touched upon to show how distrust and misunderstanding sow discord for the riots to break out.

2 ECL 201 – Oral History Project

Events leading to the 1964 communal riots

Urban Redevelopment Plan

In May 1964, the Singapore Government pushed through an urban redevelopment plan for Crawford, Kampong Glam and Rochor. This urban redevelopment plan affected nearly 2,500 families. Among those are 200 Malay families who are made out by UMNO extremists to be the only ones affected.1

Mr Ramli lived in Kampung Melayu, Geylang at that time. When asked about this urban redevelopment by the Government, he recollected:

I read about the Plan from the newspaper. There was this

newspaper, Utusan Melayu read widely by the Malays. The

Government wanted to develop the area of Kampong Glam and

some more which I could not remember. Most of the Malays were

sad to hear that some Malay families will be relocated.

It can thus be deduced that “Utusan Melayu”, a Malay nationalistic newspaper, influenced the Malays at that time. They fanned up the Malay sentiments by publishing articles which are propagative. Mr Ramli seems to remember only

Kampong Glam in the Plan and forgetting about Crawford and Rochor and

“Utusan Melayu” only talk in details about Kampong Glam as most Malays lived there rather than Crawford or Rochor. This newspaper also singled out only the

200 Malay families being victimized where in fact the Plan affected 2,500 families and not just the Malays.

Arousal of Racial Sentiments in Singapore

On 12th July 1964, UMNO held a convention of 123 Malay organizations in

Singapore at the New Star Cinema. It was chaired by Syed Jaafar Albar, secretary-general of UMNO in Malaysia. In his fiery speech, he blamed Lee Kuan

Yew for the oppression of Malays in Singapore.2 During that time, Mr Ramli was not at the convention as it was reserved for Malay politicians and organization leaders and members only. When interviewed about the convention and Syed

Jaafar Albar, he said:

I think it was the day after convention, I was having tea break at a

“warong”(Malay term for coffee shop). The topic was hot about this

Jaafar from UMNO saying that we were oppressed by PAP. Some

people at the “warong” began to criticize openly Lee Kuan Yew and

there was a heated war of words between 2 groups of men. I went

off immediately as I do not want to be involved in any fight.

From his recount about Singaporeans divided into two camps for the support of

Jaafar’s inflammatory speech is a question as on 19th July 1964, Lee Kuan Yew met 900 Malay representatives and he pledged that the government would do its best to help the Malays overcome the problems of education, employment and housing.3 In that meeting, no Singapore Malays raised any serious complaints and thus to why there is an argument as said by Mr Ramli is questionable as perhaps the groups are just the small minority who tried to add fuel to the fire in the situation.

Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday Celebrations

Celebrations to mark the birthday of Prophet Muhammad were held on 21st July

1964. In Singapore 212 Muslim organizations participated in the rally. On that day, around 25,000 Muslims gathered at the Padang to hear the then Yang-Di

Pertuan Negara, Yusof Ishak making a formal address.4 Mr Ramli was in the rally and he recalled:

The Yang-Di Pertuan Negara addressed us. The crowd listened

intently to his speech. I was with my friends then and we could not

see any trouble brewing as all were peaceful and there were

uniformed policemen everywhere. I could not hear the speech

clearly as I was quite far out.

This oral account by Mr Ramli tends to support point made by historians. After the rally, an enormous procession or march were held. The police were informed about the route of the march. When interviewed how the procession went by,

Mr Ramli recounted:

After the rally ends, we were supposed to march from the Padang

to Arab Street and Kallang and some other places which I cannot

remember. At the Kallang area near the Gasworks, I heard noises

at the front and there were Malay men shouting

“Kacau,Kacau!”(disturbance in Malay). Immediately I dispersed

from the group and went home.

This account of how the riots first started coincide with what many historians or politicians at that time said. According to Tun Razak, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime

Minister, a mischief maker flung a bottle at the procession but according to Lee

Kuan Yew, he described that a group started to attacked the police when told to rejoin the mainstream after straggling away.5 Mr Ramli when describing these events which lead to the riots spoke in a calm but stern manner as he keep reemphasizing that he did not join in any riots but stayed home as he does not believe in violence and also to protect his family.

Life During the Riots

The Curfew

The government imposed a curfew during the period of the riots.6 During that time, Mr Ramli did not work. He was lucky enough to stay home and look after his family. He recounted:

Some of my neighbours who work in Johor Bahru could not go

home. I heard they said the Causeway was closed so they were

stuck. The police placed a curfew on 22nd July in the morning.

From Mr Ramli’s account, it is true that the Causeway is closed from 22nd to 26th

July 1964. The curfew were reimposed at 11.30 am after it had been lifted at

6 am. Mr Ramli is one of those lucky ones who need not need to rush home to beat the curfew.

Fights During the Riots

I asked Mr Ramli about him witnessing any fights in the riots and he replied that there were policemen everywhere and he did not see any fights but he said:

My friend, a Malay was going back home that night from work. He

came face to face with a group of Chinese men armed with

weapons. Then one of them charged towards him and grabbed him

in a headlock and forced him to walk together. It was then he

realized that it was his Chinese colleague who faked a capture to

save him.

This story coincides with what many people said after the riots. Stories of other races helping each other exist. Lee Kuan Yew’s view for the riots to stop was that the decisive factor would be dependent upon goodwill between neighbours.7 Lee

Kuan Yew also added that this had been proved when Malays in their kampongs protected the Chinese and Chinese in their own areas protected the Malays.

Food and Basic Necessities Problems

During the curfew, shops were also closed and most Singaporeans had problems in buying food and basic necessities. Mr Ramli is one of those few lucky

Singaporeans who had no problems in getting the necessities. He recounted:

I had no problems in getting food or other products as my uncle

owns a small provision shop at that time. Whenever the curfew is

lifted for a while to let people buy things, I always saw crowds of

people rushing to buy and stock up their necessities. My uncle told

me he had to raise prices up to three times. People were just

rushing to get their hand on basically anything. Luckily his shop

was not looted. I heard some looters strike a lot of shops during the

riots.

Mr Ramli’s account about the rising of price up to three times coincides with what historians said. Prices were increased as vendors wanted to make excessive profits. They were not even willing to bargain as for any one unwilling customer there were at least ten customers willing to buy the fresh goods. Even taxi drivers charged exorbitant rates for commuters rushing to get home before the curfew hours.8

Conclusion

By the time the island wide curfew was lifted on 2nd August 1964, 23 people had been killed and 454 wounded.9 Mr Ramli was those lucky ones not to be involved in the riots. Even though life returned to normal after the riots, it took quite a while for things to simmer down. Mr Ramli had shown me that how easy it was when a slight misunderstanding can lead to violence. Even though we are now living in a peaceful multi-racial Singapore, all races must work together to keep up this peacefulness and prosperity.

Endnotes

1. National Heritage Board, Singapore,Journey into Nationhood(1998), page 86

2. http://www.littlespeck.com/ThePast/CPast-64riots-640721.htm

3. National Heritage Board, Singapore,Journey into Nationhood(1998), page 89

5. John Drysdale, Singapore, Struggle for Success (1984),page 362

7. John Drysdale, Singapore, Struggle for Success (1984),page 363

9. http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/independence/ref/race.html

References

National Heritage Board, Singapore, Journey into Nationhood(1998)

John Drysdale, Singapore, Struggle for Success(1984) http://www.littlespeck.com/ThePast/CPast-64riots-640721.htm http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/independence/ref/race.html

Profile of the Interviewee

Name: Ramli B Saptu

Nationality: Singaporean

Language: Malay and some scattered English

Duration of Interview: 2 hours

Venue: Mr Ramli’s home

Transcript for Oral History Project

Q: How old were you at the time of the 1964 communal riots?

A: I was 19 years old then.

Q: How many family members do you have at that time?

A: I have 2 younger sisters aged 16 and 17 and my mother. My father died in

1962 and I am the sole breadwinner of the family.

Q: Where were you living at that time?

A: I was living in Kampung Melayu,Geylang.

Q: What were you working as at that time?

I was helping out at a hawker stall selling “Mee Rebus” and Malay food. The pay was quite small but it was enough for me to support my family. My mother sold

“Nasi Lemak” in the morning and in a way this help to supplement our family expenses.

Q: What do you think spark the riots?

A: I think we can say a lot of things spark the riots. In the newspaper especially

Malay ones, they are always accusing PAP of marginalizing and oppressing the

Malays. I feel unhappy but keep wondering if it is true. One thing also the

Government is planning on Urban Redevelopment Plan. I read about the Plan from the newspaper. There was this newspaper, Utusan Melayu read widely by the Malays. The Government wanted to develop the area of Kampong Glam and some more which I could not remember. Most of the Malays were sad to hear that some Malay families will be relocated. Also the Malaysian politicians also always come here and tried to influence us to support them rather than the PAP.

You see, they lost the previous year elections so they were trying to influence the Singaporean Malays to win their support. One incident I can recall is I think it was the day after convention, I was having tea break at a “warong”(Malay term for coffee shop). The topic was hot about this Jaafar from UMNO saying that we were oppressed by PAP. Some people at the “warong” began to criticize openly

Lee Kuan Yew and there was a heated war of words between 2 groups of men. I went off immediately as I do not want to be involved in any fight.

Q: Where were you when the riots break out?

A: I think it was during our Prophet Muhammad’s birthday procession. A lot of

Muslims were in the Padang. The Yang-Di Pertuan Negara addressed us. The crowd listened intently to his speech. I was with my friends then and we could not see any trouble brewing as all were peaceful and there were uniformed policemen everywhere. I could not hear the speech clearly as I was quite far out.

After the rally ends, we were supposed to march from the Padang to Arab Street and Kallang and some other places which I cannot remember. At the Kallang area near the Gasworks, I heard noises at the front and there were Malay men shouting “Kacau,Kacau!”(disturbance in Malay). Immediately I dispersed from the group and went home.

Q: Were there any Chinese family living in your neighbourhood at that time? Did you participate in the riots?

A: I was living in a Malay village at that time and around my place there is no

Chinese. I did not participate in the riots as I do not believe in violence but I hear some stories like one of my friend, a Malay was going back home that night from work. He came face to face with a group of Chinese men armed with weapons.

Then one of them charged towards him and grabbed him in a headlock and forced him to walk together. It was then he realized that it was his Chinese colleague who faked a capture to save him.

Q: How was life during the riots? Were there any curfew? Were the prices of things increased? Is there any looting?

A: There was definitely a curfew and I had no problems in getting food or other products as my uncle owns a small provision shop at that time. Whenever the curfew is lifted for a while to let people buy things, I always saw crowds of people rushing to buy and stock up their necessities. My uncle told me he had to raise prices up to three times. People were just rushing to get their hand on basically anything. Luckily his shop was not looted. I heard some looters strike a lot of shops during the riots. I also heard that some of my neighbours who work in

Johor Bahru could not go home. I heard they said the Causeway was closed so they were stuck. The police placed a curfew on 22nd July in the morning.

Q: How did the riots end? What measures were taken?

A: The riots end after two weeks and life returned as normal but you can see that

Chinese and Malays still do not speak that much to one another but as time flies, it went as usual.

End of Interview

I give permission for this work to be digitally stored and made available by NIE for educational and research purposes.

Date: 18/10/2003