by
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Quote:
Excerpts: Read here for more".....The 13 May 1969 race riot was because it was time for such a race riot to happen and Kuala Lumpur was ripe and waiting to explode.
The 13 May 1969 race riot had to happen.
It had to happen because the gangs and secret societies and not the government controlled the streets.
... blame the gangs and secret societies for enforcing this segregation and territorial wars. And blame the government for losing control of the streets to the gangs and secret societies.
The 13 May 1969 race riot changed all that.The government took back the streets from the gangs and secret societies.
The government made it possible again for Chinese to go to Malay areas and for Malays to go to Chinese areas. In 1968 and 1969, they would do so at the risk of losing their lives.
And in that sense the 13 May 1969 race riot was good.
Today, Umno, MCA and MIC are controlled by gangsters. And if the IGP pushes too hard to clean up the towns and cities he may find himself facing early retirement.
Now, the gangs and secret societies even ‘own’ the police chiefs of certain states."
-Raja Petra Kamarudin
Before May 1969
".... I was quite close to Eddie Wong because he once saved my life in Pasar Road, just off Pudu.
We had stopped at a traffic light when four burly Chinese surrounded my bike and started shouting at me in Chinese. I could not understand what they were saying but Eddie Wong quickly interjected and explained something . They walked off after patting me on the back as a sort of apology.
Eddie Wong then signalled to me to get out of there quickly. When we reached the Kampong Pandan junction, I asked him what that was all about.
“They were asking you if you are Malay and I told them that you are a Serani.” (‘Serani’ means ‘Eurasian’).
“What if you said I am Malay?”
“Then they would have stabbed you. Did you not see one of them holding a knife behind his back?”
There was another Eddie I knew, Eddie Chan, the motorbike racer and a member of the 18 Immortals (Sap Pat Loh Hon) of Bukit Bintang. Eddie Chan and I had seen each other at the Batu Tiga race track, but we had never spoken to each other.
One night, while I was waiting to get into the Cathay cinema in Bukit Bintang, I was surrounded by six Chinese 18 Immortals boys. They asked me in Malay where I came from.
I replied Bangsar. One of the boys grabbed me by the throat and pulled out a knife.
Eddie Chan, who was sitting on the railings in front of the Cathay, saw what was coming down and he shouted something in Chinese. The chap gripping my throat let go and Eddie Chan signalled to me to come over.
I walked over to where Eddie Chan was sitting and he asked me whether I am the one in the Yamaha team. I replied that I am and he asked me whether I was crazy coming to Bukit Bintang.
“This is Sap Pat Loh Hon territory,” said Eddie Chan. “You are a Malay from Bangsar. They will kill you here. You are lucky I am here tonight if not you will be dead by now.”
1968:"Our gang BEFORE May 13 taught us that we were of different races"
(Photo courtesy of RPK)
Yes, Pudu, Pasar Road, Bukit Bintang, Cheras; these are all out of bounds if you are Malay, especially if you are from Bangsar.
In fact, Petaling Street is no better. I was in Petaling Street and I saw one Malay chap get beaten up by two Chinese toughies. He had made the mistake of asking one street vendor the price of something. He then asked the vendor to reduce the price and when the guy did, the Malay changed his mind and walked away without buying the item.
“Bodoh punya Melayu! Hoi, balek kampung tanam padilah, Melayu bodoh!” Then this Malay made a second mistake. He turned around to look the Chinese in the eye. They pounced on him and beat the shit out of him.
Even Brickfields, the area neighbouring my Bangsar home, was not safe.
On the way home from school one day at the Railway Club in Brickfields, one Gang 36 Chinese chap chased me with a parang. I did not have time to start my bike so I ran across the football field with him hot on my heels. I reached the teh tarek stall in front of the YMCA and Dennis Lourdes, the local Gang 08 chief, who witnessed the whole thing came to my aid.
“Get behind me Pete!” he shouted. The Chinese wielding the parang tried to push Dennis aside to get to me and I started running again. “Don’t run!” Dennis shouted. He then pulled out a parang from a stack of firewood and faced the Chinese chap who froze in his tracks.
Dennis then escorted me back to my bike and I zoomed home.
Yes, that was Kuala Lumpur in 1968.
Another of my friends, Richard, was shot dead in 1968 as he played Mah Jong. Dennis was stabbed to death outside his house. Rawi, another Gang 08 leader, was found dead in the Pahang River. Dinky, Dennis’ brother-in-law, was poisoned and died soon after. Moses disappeared and was never seen again.
Kuala Lumpur had become impossible.
Malays could not stray into Chinese or Indian areas, and vice versa. I personally faced death many times when I ventured into Brickfields, Pasar Road and Bukit Bintang.
I was even beaten up by four Malays in Bangsar because I did not look Malay enough. One actually pulled out a knife and when I saw it in his hand I just bolted out of there.
In 1969, the opposition political party won in Bangsar and Brickfields and organised a victory parade in their ‘conquered’ areas. “Bunuh Melayu! Mampus Melayu! Melayu balek kampunglah!” and much, much more were shouted during the victory parade.That was on 11 May 1969.
Two days later, on 13 May 1969, Kuala Lumpur ‘exploded’ and blood was spilled on the streets.
But if it had not been the 11 May 1969 opposition parade, or the 13 May 1969 Umno organised rally, or even the May 1969 general election, blood would have eventually spilled on the streets of Kuala Lumpur anyway.
It would have only been a matter of time and all it needed was a trigger.
The May 1969 general election was just the trigger. It was NOT the cause.
Anything could have been the trigger. It just happened to be the May 1969 general election and the 11 May and 13 May rallies and parades.
.The 13 May 1969 race riot was because it was time for such a race riot to happen and Kuala Lumpur was ripe and waiting to explode.The 13 May 1969 race riot was NOT because of the 11 May 1969 opposition parades. The 13 May 1969 race riot was NOT because of the 13 May 1969 Umno rally. The 13 May 1969 race riot was NOT because of the May 1969 general election
The 13 May 1969 race riot does have its silver lining though, notwithstanding the fact that this sounds very cruel when put that way.
Thereafter, the police cleaned up the streets and banished the secret society ‘Tiger Generals’ to Pulau Jerejak.
Today, Malays can go to Bukit Bintang, Pudu, Cheras, Pasar Road and Brickfields. Today, Chinese can go to Bangsar, Kampong Pandan, Kampong Baru and Kampong Datuk Keramat.
No one fears for their life any longer when they stray into another area like they used to in 1968 and 1969.
The 13 May 1969 race riot had to happen.
It had to happen because the gangs and secret societies controlled the streets and decided who can and cannot venture into their territory.
It had to happen because the gangs and secret societies and not the government controlled the streets.
But the 13 May 1969 race riot changed all that.
After 1969
The government took back the streets from the gangs and secret societies. The government made it possible again for Chinese to go to Malay areas and for Malays to go to Chinese areas. Today, Chinese go to eat Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa in Kampong Baru.
Today, Malays go to shop in Bukit Bintang. In 1968 and 1969 that would have been impossible. In 1968 and 1969 they would do so at the risk of losing their lives.
What went wrong? How did all this come about?
How did Kuala Lumpur get divided into Malay, Chinese and Indian areas and you ventured into the areas of the other races at your own peril?
I do not know how the government lost the streets to the gangs and secret societies. But the 13 May 1969 race riot changed all that.
And in that sense the 13 May 1969 race riot was good.
But don’t blame the Chinese. Don’t blame the Malays. Don’t blame the Indians either. Blame all three; the Malays, Chinese and Indians. All are to be faulted. All must be blamed.
And blame the gangs and secret societies for enforcing this segregation and territorial wars. And blame the government for losing control of the streets to the gangs and secret societies.
This is not quite a thing of the past though.
Twenty-Eight Years Later (2007)
TODAY, the gangs and secret societies again control the streets.
But today they control entire cities, not just segments of the cities.
Today, the gangs and secret societies control the night clubs, discos, karaoke joints, brothels, pirate VCD trade, loan shark (Ah Longs) business, gambling (in particular the slot machines or one-arm bandits), and much more.
The underground businesses are all owned by the gangs and secret societies, many headed by Chinese Datuks. This is an ‘improvement’ over 1968 and 1969.
How is this possible?
Well, according to what the mainstream media reported, the gangs and secret societies now even ‘own’ the police chiefs of certain states.
This is not what I say. This is what the government-owned mainstream media says. And the IGP appears to agree with them.
Yes, I have lived under this environment before. And you know what?
In the era of 1968 and 1969 the gang and secret society leaders were on the streets. Today, they are in the political parties. Today, Umno, MCA and MIC are controlled by gangsters. And if the IGP pushes too hard to clean up the towns and cities he may find himself facing early retirement.
Remember what one Selangor Assemblywoman retorted in her response to the Kampong Medan clash between the Malays and Indians? The Indians were asking for it and had it coming, she said.
Yes, the politicians protect the gangs and secret societies because they are useful. Hey, even the CIA uses terrorist groups to do their dirty work."
-Raja Petra Kamarudin
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