What happened during the race riots?

Over 20 000 Malays and Muslims had met at the Padang to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad in the afternoon of 21 July 1964. Such celebration and assembly was a yearly affair but something different happened that year though.

Handouts calling on Malays to destroy the PAP government were distributed earlier that day. Even the 'Yang Di Pertuan Negara', Yusof Ishak, was teased at by some organisations during his speech. As part of the celebrations, groups from the various and different organisations and societies were to march from the Padang to Lorong 12, Geylang and along the way, near Kallang. A clash between a Chinese policeman and a group of Malays were then sparked off the 1964 race riots. Singapore was put under a curfew that allowed people to leave their houses only at certain times of the day as a result of the racial riots.

When the curfew was lifted on 2 August 1964, 23 people were already dead by then while another 454 people were injured. It is thought that the riots were not an automatic expressions of bad feelings among the races but were rather purposely started by rumours, exaggeration and lies that werecreated to stir racial and religious hatred among the malays. Most were pushing the blame on the government regarding the racial riots.

By Nur Diana