RACIAL DISCORD IN MALAYSIA: RIOTS ON MAY 13, 1969, AFFIRMITIVE ACTION, BOAT PEOPLE

RACIAL DISCORD IN MALAYSIA

Crowds on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur on the night of 13 May; Flames of a burning car and shophouse can be faintly seen in the top right background

At independence in 1957, Malays made up about 55 percent of the population, Chinese 35 percent, and Indians 10 percent. The inclusion of majority-Chinese Singapore raised the Chinese share to nearly 40 percent and heightened Malay anxieties. Tensions grew as Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP), led by Lee Kuan Yew, promoted multiracial equality and threatened to contest elections in Malaya. Relations deteriorated, and in August 1965 Singapore withdrew from the federation. [Source: Wikipedia]

After independence, the most contentious issues were education and ethnic disparities in economic power. Malays resented Chinese dominance in commerce and education, and these disputes were fought largely within the ruling coalition, dominated by UMNO. A crisis erupted in 1959 when MCA leaders challenged UMNO over education policy but retreated after threats to dissolve the coalition. The Education Act of 1961 entrenched Malay advantages by making Malay and English the main languages of instruction and requiring university entrance exams in Malay, effectively limiting Chinese access to higher education and weakening MCA support.

Economic policy followed a similar pattern. Development plans and the First Malaysia Plan (1966–70) focused on rural development and Malay advancement through infrastructure, land settlement schemes such as FELDA, subsidized credit, and preferential access to government contracts. These measures shifted economic opportunities toward Malays and narrowed ethnic disparities, though critics argued that rising national prosperity would have produced similar outcomes regardless.

Chinese and Malay Riots

Cars at Jalan Raja Muda, where the riots first began, were overturned and set ablaze

In 1965, there were mass killings in Malaysia and Chinese were often the targets. After that tensions were very high between Malays and Chinese. In 1967 there were rumors that the Muslim Malays had poisoned pork eaten by the Chinese and many Chinese men came down with a mental disease called “koro” in which they believed their penises were being sucked into their bodies.

As early as the 1959 general election, when there was much racial tension within and outside the Alliance, some observed that the country’s worst enemy was not the communists in the jungles, but rather communalism in the cities. Bloody incidents were not new to the country either. Beginning with the January 1957 incident in Penang, in which four people were killed, there were minor clashes between small groups of Malays and Chinese long before 1969. However, a foretaste of the communal violence to come erupted in Penang in November 1967, when political demonstrations spread to Perak and Kedah, resulting in the deaths of 25 people. [Source: Zainon Ahmad, The Sun, July 26, 2007]

A kampong dweller near Singapore said: In 1961, “a racial riot happened when I was about five or six years old. The Malays and the Chinese were killing one another. The Malays wanted to kill the Chinese. When I was young, I was not very sure what racial riot was. People told me that it was racial riot. When I heard that the Malays were coming, I would run for the other way. When the Malays were coming from this way, I would run that way. The direction I ran depended on which direction the Malays were approaching...One or two people. I heard that one or two Chinese were killed by the Malays...My legs turned jelly when I heard about it and was supposed to run for my life. Actually, I did not have not much feeling because I was too young at that time. Hence, I only felt frightened." [Source: Evelyn Chua Sok Huang, msevelynchua@mail.nie.edu.sg]

May 13, 1969 Riots

There were bloody race riots between Chinese and Malay on May 13, 1969 that nearly ripped Malaysia apart. Dozens were killed and 4,000 were arrested. Some say at least 63 people were killed. Most sources say at least 200 people were killed. They occurred after a hotly contested general election in which the ruling party lost many seats to the opposition and the parties tried to win voters by making racial attacks at one another.

The Malaysian government’s official account attributed the riots to opposition parties allegedly “infiltrated by communist insurgents” after their strong electoral gains. Although the UMNO-led Alliance retained a parliamentary majority, it lost its two-thirds dominance and faced the prospect of losing control of Selangor. Celebrations by largely Chinese opposition supporters heightened Malay fears that their political supremacy was under threat. Official figures later reported 196 deaths, some 6,000 people made homeless, and more than 700 buildings damaged or destroyed. [Source: Philip Bowring, the Asia Sentinel, May 16, 2007; Zainon Ahmad, The Sun, July 26, 2007]

Many non-Malays, however, have long argued that the violence was largely one-sided. They contend that certain Malay leaders, notably Selangor Chief Minister Harun Idris, encouraged attacks on Chinese neighborhoods and that the security forces were initially slow to intervene. Contemporary accounts, including those by Far Eastern Economic Review correspondent Bob Reece, lend support to this interpretation.

Despite being a dark chapter in Malaysia’s history, May 13 has been kept vividly alive in public memory. Rather than encouraging open reflection, it is often invoked to discourage debate on sensitive issues such as citizenship, education, culture, and religion, serving as a warning against challenges to the political order in the name of preserving racial harmony and national unity.

Events During the May 13, 1969 Riots

Burnt-out shophouses on Jalan Campbell

In 1968 the UMNO-led Alliance began preparing for the renewal of its mandate in the 1969 general election, fully expecting another decisive victory. With Singapore having left the federation in 1965, the economy performing well, the Indonesian Confrontation ended, and the opposition fragmented, Alliance leaders were confident of retaining their two-thirds majority, capturing Kelantan, and holding all other state governments. That confidence was abruptly shattered when the results of the 10 May 1969 election became known. [Source: Zainon Ahmad, The Sun, July 26, 2007; : Library of Congress, 2006]

The Alliance won only 66 seats, down from 89 in 1964. It lost Penang, failed again to take Kelantan, and came close to defeat in several other states, including Perak, Selangor, Kedah, and Terengganu. The opposition also surprised itself: the DAP won 13 seats, PAS 12, Gerakan 8, and the PPP 4. Although the Alliance still held power and results from Sabah and Sarawak were pending, many Malays feared that the political order they had long dominated was beginning to unravel.

In post-election discussions, some UMNO leaders blamed the MCA, which saw 20 of its 33 candidates defeated. Weakened and embittered, the MCA announced on 13 May that it would withdraw from participation in federal and state governments, a move that further heightened ethnic tensions. Meanwhile, opposition supporters—particularly Chinese and Indians backing the DAP and Gerakan—celebrated openly in Kuala Lumpur, staging motorcades and demonstrations that included provocative slogans and gestures.

These celebrations, interpreted by many Malays as a threat to their political and economic position, triggered a backlash. Groups of Malays gathered at the residence of Selangor Chief Minister Harun Idris in Kampung Baru, where a counter-demonstration was announced for the evening of 13 May. What followed was a rapid descent into riots and intercommunal violence in Kuala Lumpur, leaving hundreds dead and thousands of homes and businesses destroyed.

Lead up to the May 13, 1969 Riots

After the separation of Singapore and Malaysia, ethnic issues continued to simmer between Malays and Chinese. In the elections of May 1969, the Alliance was opposed by the Democratic Action Party, which had a predominantly Chinese following and advocated the abolition of Malays’ special status. After a bitter campaign between the two sides, the Alliance maintained power but lost a significant share of the total vote. Opposition party supporters held public demonstrations to celebrate their election gains, and violence broke out between opposition supporters and Malay bystanders. Riots ensued for two weeks, mostly in Kuala Lumpur, and resulted in hundreds of casualties, primarily Chinese and Indians. The government declared a state of emergency and ultimately passed laws against questioning governing institutions and Malays’ special status. [Source: Library of Congress, 2006]

The MCA and MIC's collaboration on these policies weakened their hold on the Chinese and Indian electorates. Meanwhile, the government’s affirmative action policies of the 1950s and '60s created a class of educated but underemployed Malays who were discontented. This dangerous combination led to the formation of a new party: the Malaysian People’s Movement (Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia), established in 1968. Gerakan was a non-communal party that brought together Malay trade unionists and intellectuals, as well as Chinese and Indian leaders. Meanwhile, the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), an Islamist party, and the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a Chinese socialist party, gained increasing support at the expense of UMNO and the MCA, respectively. In the May 1969 federal elections, the UMNO-MCA-MIC Alliance received only 48 percent of the vote, though it retained a majority in the legislature. The MCA lost most of the Chinese-majority seats to Gerakan or DAP candidates. [Source: Wikipedia]

Violence During the May 13, 1969 Riots

Empty street at Jalan Pasar, Pudu, on 15 May 1969 during the curfew

The riots engulfed Kuala Lumpur and much of Selangor, spreading across the capital with startling speed—Time reported that large parts of the city were affected within 45 minutes. Ordinary residents were caught up in the violence: dozens were injured or killed, homes and vehicles were burned, and streets were left wrecked. Apart from minor disturbances in Malacca, Perak, Penang, and Singapore—areas with sizeable Chinese populations—the rest of the country remained largely calm, with violence concentrated mainly in urban centres. In the initial outbreaks, enraged Malay mobs attacked Chinese communities; eight Chinese were reported murdered in the early stages. Official police figures, which remain disputed, recorded 196 deaths and 149 injuries, along with 753 cases of arson and the destruction or severe damage of 211 vehicles. [Source: Zainon Ahmad, The Sun, July 26, 2007; Wikipedia]

The atmosphere had already been inflamed during the election campaign. As Zainon Ahmad later recalled in The Sun, police shot dead a Labour Party member in Kuala Lumpur for resisting arrest. The party was granted permission to hold a funeral procession on 9 May, but not on polling day itself. About 10,000 people took part, defying police instructions on routes and order, marching through central Kuala Lumpur, disrupting traffic, and displaying red flags and portraits of Mao Zedong while singing The East Is Red. Some participants taunted Malay bystanders with chants such as “Malai si” (“Death to the Malays”) and “Hutang darah dibayar darah” (“Blood debts will be repaid with blood”). Although no violence occurred that day, the incident heightened tensions and helped set the stage for what followed.

On 13 May, violence erupted at around 6 p.m. when about 100 Malays from Gombak marched through Setapak, the site of the previous night’s demonstrations, shouting slogans and carrying banners. Clashes soon broke out with Chinese and Indian youths, with parang, sticks, and iron pipes used as weapons. Many of the Malay demonstrators proceeded to the residence of Selangor Chief Minister Harun Idris in Kampung Baru, where some 5,000 people had gathered amid exaggerated reports of attacks on Malays. Tempers were high. When a passing bus carrying Chinese and Indian passengers made taunting remarks, it was attacked; by 6:40 p.m., three Chinese lay dead by the roadside. News of the violence spread rapidly, and within hours Kuala Lumpur was engulfed in communal rioting on an unprecedented scale. The worst of the violence burned itself out during that first night.

On 14 May, a state of emergency was declared and Parliament was suspended indefinitely. Two days later, Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman established the National Operations Council (NOC) to govern by decree, appointing his deputy, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, as director of operations. Sporadic clashes continued for several weeks, finally subsiding about a month later. The last major outbreak occurred on 28 June in Kuala Lumpur, when fighting between Malays and Indians left five people dead.

Time Magazine's Account of the Violence During the May 13, 1969 Riots

Time reported: “ Malay mobs, wearing white headbands signifying an alliance with death, and brandishing swords and daggers, surged into Chinese areas in the capital, burning, looting and killing. In retaliation, Chinese, sometimes aided by Indians, armed themselves with pistols and shotguns and struck at Malay kampongs (villages). Huge pillars of smoke rose skyward as houses, shops and autos burned. Firemen drew sniper fire as they attempted to douse the flames, and outnumbered police watched helplessly at times as the street gangs rampaged. One man, trying to escape from his burning car, was thrown back into it by a howling mob, and died. By the time the four days of race war and civil strife had run their course, the General Hospital's morgue was so crowded that bodies were put into plastic bags and hung on ceiling hooks. Government officials, attempting to play down the extent of the disaster, insisted that the death toll was only 104. Western diplomatic sources put the toll closer to 600, with most of the victims Chinese. [Source: Time, May 23, 1969 ^^^]

“The trouble began two weeks ago, when newly formed Chinese opposition parties cut heavily into the Alliance's majority in parliamentary elections. It became suddenly apparent that many Chinese were no longer satisfied with just economic hegemony, but wanted a protective share of the political power as well. Nothing was more surely calculated to frighten the Malays, in particular the Malay "ultras" (right-wingers), who have long preached the doctrine of Malaysia for the Malays. Alarmed, the ultras began to discuss ways of retaining control. At a Malay post-election meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Chinese onlookers began to taunt those in attendance. Infuriated, the Malays attacked. At least eight Chinese were killed and within 45 minutes fast-spreading riots forced the Tunku to clamp a 24-hour curfew on the capital. ^^^

“Struggling to restore order as the fighting mushroomed, the Tunku and Deputy Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak took power into their own hands. Parliament was suspended, as were constitutional guarantees. Total administrative power was taken by the newly formed, all-powerful National Operations Council headed by Razak, which proceeded to suspend publication of all Malaysian newspapers for several days. Arrests began. Ninety-three alleged terrorists were bagged in a swoop on a Chinese apartment building in Kuala Lumpur, and Razak reported that all Communists and known sympathizers were being rounded up. Razak and the Tunku blamed all the troubles on Communist China, which, they charged, had funneled large sums of money to Communist agitators in Malaysia. Later, however, the Tunku backed off slightly, and praised "loyal Chinese elements," adding that he had been mistaken when he blamed Chinese Communists for all the troubles. As tensions eased late in the week, curfews were lifted long enough to allow householders to go out and buy food. The fires burned on, however, and there were still occasional racial clashes. ^^^

Consequences of the May 13, 1969 Riots

The government declared a state of emergency, and a National Operations Council, headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, took power from the government of Tunku Abdul Rahman, who in September 1970 was forced to retire in favour of Abdul Razak. It consisted of 9 members, mostly Malay, and wielded full political and military power.

Using the Emergency-era Internal Security Act (ISA), the new government suspended Parliament and political parties, imposed press censorship and placed severe restrictions on political activity. The ISA gave the government power to intern any person indefinitely without trial. These powers were widely used to silence the government’s critics, and have never been repealed. The Constitution was changed to make illegal any criticism, even in Parliament, of the Malaysian monarchy, the special position of Malays in the country, or the status of Malay as the national language.

Tunku effectively stepped aside when emergency powers to rule by decree were temporarily placed in the hands of a National Operations Council, which was headed by his deputy, Tun Abdul Razak — the father of the current deputy prime minister, Najib Abdul Razak. The Tunku remained prime minister until September 1970, though he had little authority. In 1971, he also stepped down as president of UMNO following intense criticism from the Malay "Young Turks," led by Mahathir Mohamad, who would become prime minister. That same year, the government announced the New Economic Policy and began implementing affirmative action programs to improve the economic and educational status of Malays. [Source: Philip Bowring, the Asia Sentinel, May 16, 2007]

In January 1970, Tun Razak established a National Consultative Council to promote and strengthen racial harmony, allowing for the return of normalcy and the restoration of Parliament. On September 21, the Tunku retired as prime minister, depressed and saddened by the collapse of the racial harmony he had devoted much of his political life to strengthening. Tun Razak succeeded the Tunku as the country’s second prime minister. Eventually, the NOC came to an end after 21 months, and Parliament convened again on February 23, 1971.

Causes of the May 13, 1969 Riots

The May 13, 1969 communal riots have been explained in various ways. Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman attributed them to communist agitation, but few studies have supported this claim. Most scholars instead point to deep Malay dissatisfaction with Tunku’s relatively liberal policies toward non-Malays, combined with non-Malay challenges to Malay rights and privileges. The weakness and decline of multi-ethnic, non-communal parties—particularly the socialist parties—also allowed communal politics to dominate. Their minimal participation in the 1969 general election left the field largely to communal parties, and after the riots it was communalism, rather than communism, that emerged as the dominant force in Malaysian politics. [Source: Cheah Boon Kheng, National University of Singapore, New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 11, 1 (June 2009): 132; Zainon Ahmad, The Sun, July 26, 2007 ***]

As journalist Zainon Ahmad later observed, many of the underlying problems could have been addressed earlier, and warning signs were evident well before 1969. Racial tensions had already surfaced during the 1955 and 1959 elections and during debates over the national constitution. Issues such as Malay special rights, citizenship, language, culture, and education became especially contentious after Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963, when the People’s Action Party (PAP) entered Malaysian politics. The PAP’s call for a “Malaysian Malaysia,” meritocracy, and the removal of ethnic quotas clashed sharply with the Alliance’s position and intensified communal debate, particularly during the 1963 and 1964 elections.

After Singapore’s expulsion in 1965, public discussion of these issues subsided temporarily, but they re-emerged forcefully during the five-week campaign before polling day on 10 May 1969. The Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the newly formed Gerakan became strong challengers, attracting large numbers of Chinese and Indian voters. The DAP openly promoted the idea of a Malaysian Malaysia and attacked the MCA for compromising on language and education policies, while Gerakan criticized special Malay rights and language policies as inequitable.

Within the Alliance, the MCA and MIC struggled to defend coalition policies, while UMNO faced attacks from PAS, which accused it of betraying Malay interests. At the same time, the Labour Party—allegedly infiltrated by communists—stayed out of the elections but organized street demonstrations, further heightening tensions. By the eve of polling, political rivalry, ethnic grievances, and inflammatory rhetoric had combined to create an atmosphere primed for violence.

Did the Ruling UMNO Orchestrate the May 13, 1969 Riots?

Philip Bowring wrote in in the Asia Sentinel: “A book by a Malaysian Chinese academic is on the point of being officially banned for suggesting that May 13 was the occasion for what amounted to a coup against the independence leader and Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman by his United Malays National Organisation colleagues who were pushing pro-Malay policies. Officials of Malaysia’s Internal Security Ministry confiscated 10 copies of the book from a Kuala Lumpur bookstore, advising the store not to sell it as it may be banned. According to a letter issued by ministry officials, the book is suspected of being an “undesirable publication.” [Source: Philip Bowring, the Asia Sentinel, May 16, 2007 /~/]

“Declassified Documents on the Malaysian riots of 1969” by Dr. Kua Kia Soong, the principal of New Era College, is based not directly on Malaysian sources but on now-open British documents held at the Public Records Office in Kew Gardens, near London. These consist of contemporary British diplomatic and intelligence reports which suggest that the riots were not spontaneous acts of communal violence, as is constantly alleged by UMNO, but were fanned by Malay elements, with support from the army and police, wanting to discredit the accommodating prime minister and impose a much more rigorous Malay agenda. One British document concluded that the goal was to “formalize Malay dominance, sideline the Chinese and shelve Tunku. /~/

“Kua’s thesis suggests that there was a grander political design behind the episode, which from the beginning was intended to create a new political agenda and new leadership. He attributes this to a younger Malay group dissatisfied with the aristocratic, pro-British the Tunku. However, while the consequences of May 13 may be clear, there are disagreements about Kua’s thesis even among those who attribute the riots to Malay politicians. For example, Dr Syed Husin Ali also a respected academic and deputy head of the opposition Keadilan Party, has suggested that while some UMNO figures used the events as an opportunity to sideline the Tunku and set out a pro-Malay agenda, it was not planned as such. In other words, Razak and others took advantage of the situation which arose after the election and the appearance of Malay mobs to grab the reins of power from the Tunku, with whom they were dissatisfied, but that it was not premeditated. Syed also takes issue with Kua’s view that they represented an aspirant Malay capitalist class when most had traditional and feudal links.” /~/

New Economic Policy: Malaysia’s Affirmative Action Plan

The New Economic Policy (NEP) is an affirmative action plan implemented in the 1970s in response to the ethic riots of 1969 to counter the economic dominance of the country's ethnic Chinese minority and improve economic position of naive Malays. The policy has helped indigenous Bumiputras (native Malays, literally "sons of the soil") improve their positions by giving them preferential treatment in education, business and government, and setting quotas that limited the number of Chinese and Indians in universities and public jobs. Malays were given preferences in housing, bank loans, business contracts and government licenses.

The policy is backed by a special clause in the Constitution guaranteeing preferential treatment for Malays. It imposes a 30-percent bumiputra equity quota for publicly listed companies and gives bumiputras discounts on such things as houses and cars. Money is provided by banks and investment firms to Malays and indigenous people to start businesses. Businesses are required to have a bumiputra partner, who would hold at least a 30 percent equity stake.

The policy was introduced under Prime Minister Abdul Razak, the father of disgraced Prime Minister Najib Razak. It emerged in the aftermath of the 1969 racial riots, which were driven in part by Malay perceptions that ethnic Chinese dominated the economy. To address these imbalances, Razak designed an affirmative-action program aimed at raising the share of national wealth held by Malays and other indigenous groups to at least 30 percent. The policy provided Malays with preferential access to housing, university admissions, government contracts, and shares in publicly listed companies. [Source: Shamim Adam, Bloomberg, September 09, 2010]

Boat People from Vietnam and Dayaks

After the fall of Saigon in 1975, more than a million people left Vietnam, about 5 percent of South Vietnam’s population, most of them by boat. Many sailed long distances in overcrowded small boats, at risk of shipwreck and pirate attacks. Many were Chinese Vietnamese. Some didn’t make it to their final destinations. Some died. Most settled in the United States, which accepted political refugees but turned back economic refugees. Many of those who didn't make it were detained at camps in Hong Kong or the Philippines.

More than 3 million people fled Communist-controlled Vietnam and neighboring Laos and Cambodia after the Vietnam War ended in 1975. More than a million Southerners, including about 560,000 "boat people," fled the country soon after the communist takeover, fearing persecution and seizure of their land and businesses. The plight of the so-called "boat people" turned into a humanitarian crisis as they came under sometimes deadly assault. More than 125,000 refugees from Vietnam were resettled in the U.S. between 1975 and 1980, according to the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

From 1978 to 1989, Malaysia provided asylum to approximately 230,000 Vietnamese refugees while they awaited resettlement in Western countries. In March 1989, in response to the ongoing influx of refugees and the slow efforts of Western nations to resettle them, Malaysia implemented a plan to screen refugees and separate economic migrants from political refugees. The United Nations (UN) confirmed this policy.

After the 1987 state elections, the rise of Dayak nationalism in Sarawak was also considered a threat to political stability, but it had been diffused by the 1991 elections. In 1991, the Sarawak Native People’s Party (PBDS, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak) retained only seven of the fifteen seats it had won in 1987. [Source: Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, Thomson Gale, 2007]

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, Compton’s Encyclopedia, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, Foreign Policy, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications.

Last updated January 2026