Module Title / Code

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Module Title / Code:

Selected History Topics for Primary Social Studies /

CTL 202

Assignment Title:

1964 Racial Riots –

Recollections of a Malay-Chinese Man

Name:

Farah Aida Binte Rahmat

Matriculation Number:

047020L08

Tutor:

Mr Clement Liew

Tutorial Grp / Day & Time:

TG 8

Tuesday, 2.30 – 4.30 pm

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1964 Racial Riots – Recollections of a Malay-Chinese Man

INTRODUCTION

For the purposes of this assignment, I enlisted the assistance of a family friend, Mr. Mohammad Abdullah, who grew up during the early years of Singapore’s independence. Our three-hour interview focused mainly on his childhood, family life and personal experiences during the racial riots period of July 1964. He was an interesting subject for this interview topic particularly because his family was an inter-racial one (Malay-Chinese) that lived in a largely Malay populated kampong. As a result they had some unique experiences during this period that other Singaporeans may not have had.

FAMILY BACKGROUND & CHILDHOOD

Mr. Mohammad is the sixth in a family of ten siblings and was ten years old in 1964. Interestingly he does not think that he comes from an unusual family despite the fact that his Malay father married his Peranakan-Chinese mother in the midst of the war in 1943. Although there are no statistics on the number of inter-racial marriages at that time, it is the belief of this writer that such unions were indeed a rarity.

Mr. Mohammad explained that it was not considered a serious loss of face for Chinese girls, particularly of Peranakan descent, to marry outside the race. However I believe there may have been other reasons for the ease in inter-racial matrimony. According to Hugh M. Lewis in his website on The Babas And The Nonyas:

Invasion by the Japanese marked the end of Baba supremacy in the Straits Settlements. Many Baba leaders were executed by the Japanese.[1]

It may be possible that the lack of suitable suitors during the War and the need to get their daughters married off quickly had led some Peranakan-Chinese parents to relax their marital requirements. Furthermore Mr. Mohammad’s father was considered quite well-off and held a respectable social position because of his job in the British Air Force (according to Mr. Mohammad) which was actually the Royal Air Force.[2] This would have assured a better life for his Chinese bride especially since he continued his work at the Air Force under the Japanese.

However, Mr. Mohammad’s family associated themselves more with their Malay heritage because of the environment they were raised in. In his opinion, being Muslims and living in a predominant Malay community strengthened their Malay roots. Despite this they still maintained ties with their Chinese relatives by participating in the annual Chinese New Year celebrations.

In 1964, Mr. Mohammad related that his father was an aircraft technician at the Singapore International Airport which was then located at Paya Lebar. The airport he referred to was Paya Lebar Airport which was officially opened in 1955 and functioned as an international airport.[3] His mother was a full-time housewife; his eldest sister was as a clerk in a trading company while the rest were still in school.

School was the now defunct all-boy Jalan Daud Primary School which was located at Jalan Eunos. According to Mr. Mohammad his school used to share part of the same plot of land that is now Eunos Primary School. Unfortunately there is no available information on this school.

COMMUNITY LIFE

Home was at a kampong located at Jalan Kobis, which was in between Kampong Tai Seng and Kampong Ladang. Kampong Tai Seng was mainly occupied by the Chinese and Kampong Ladang by the Malays. His kampong, however, was “mixed, Indian, Chinese … but majority Malays.” According to him, the people in his neighborhood got along quite well with one another. There was a spirit of gotong-royong (working together). An example of this sense of togetherness was the collective cleaning up of drainage, which he claimed was not the government’s duty at that time. This may have been a practice initiated through the Clean Up Campaign in 1960 in which

thousands of Singaporeans led by ministers, assemblymen … were mobilized to sweep and repair, clean draining and remove garbage.[4]

(Eds. Sam, J & Foo, C. Y. p.91)

FIRST DAY OF RIOTS

According to Mr. Mohammad, on the day the riots broke out there was a Maulud (religious celebration) in the kampong. This was an annual celebration that the villagers, especially the children looked forward to. The news of the riots did not quickly reach them and when it came, many were slow to respond. Mr. Mohammad’s explanation was that many were unsure if the events were true or mere rumors. Nevertheless, his family went about checking that other family members were all accounted for. It was also at this time when they realized that Mr. Mohammad’s eldest sister was not with them. She had gone out with her friend and had not returned. As telephones at home were not common, there was no way for the family to reach her and vice versa. The family assumed she was with her friend in other areas. Mr. Mohammad could not recall how they finally managed to reach his sister but they found out that she was unable to get back home that day and so

she had stayed at a friend’s home. She was escorted back in a patrol car the next afternoon. According to a report by Seah Chiang Nee, editor of news website, LittleSpeck.com, those who needed to get home that day went to police stations where the ‘police would accede to their requests’.[5]

COPING WITH THE SITUATION

Mr. Mohammad explained that the people in his kampong had a difficult time dealing with the news of the riots. Part of the reason the news did not spread quickly was because no one in the kampong really understood the gravity of the situation. In fact the people had carried on with the Maulud celebrations until the seriousness of the situation was confirmed via the radio.

Even though the riots did not spread into his village, they did reach close enough for him to witness some unforgettable moments. As Jalan Kobis led to Tai Seng, a dominant Chinese area, he witnessed some fights that occurred at Tai Seng. He also witnessed people running past his home; some with open wounds on their heads, faces or hands. Whenever this happened his family members would grab any tools they could get their hands on in case they were also attacked.

When asked why he thought the fighting did not spread into his village he explained that no one wanted to initiate a fight. The ones who did were gangsters from secret societies at Kampong Tai Seng and Lorong Tai Seng and not the inhabitants of the kampong. These gangsters had the network and the people they attacked were not their neighbors. However sometimes villagers got involved because they did not realize that the instigators were from outside the village. He remarked that there was always a fear of leaving his home and kampong because he was not sure if his home would be burned down too.

The family refrained from going out in the days following the riots. When they had to travel they would move in groups. For his family in particular, they had to pay closer attention to the outfits they wore because of their oriental features. His sisters would wear baju kurung (traditional Malay dress for ladies) while his brothers wore their songkok (traditional cap) when they traveled to mainly Malay areas. In Chinese areas they would all wear Western outfits.

Within the kampong however, life was still quite peaceful. It was the school holiday and the children spent most of their time playing. According to the article, Trials & Turbulence in 1964, school holidays were brought forward by a week.[6]

Mr. Mohammed commented that the Malay and Chinese children still played together but the Chinese children did not join them for all the games. For instance they would join the Malay children for kite-flying but not for contact sports like football. He realized later it was their way of avoiding trouble.

On the days following the riots, Mr. Mohammad would accompany his mother to the market. It was at this time food items like seafood and vegetables were very expensive. Food prices rose ‘threefold’ which eventually led to an intervention by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce.[7] According to Mr. Mohammad his mother enjoyed cheaper prices for seafood because the stallholders, who were mostly Chinese, knew her as a Chinese woman. On the other hand, he said that the Malay customers were charged higher prices.

LIFE AFTER

As a result of the food rationings and price increases, the family started to store tinned food and Mr. Mohammad’s mother would continue with this practice for ten to fifteen years until after his older siblings were married. He felt that his mother continued with this practice fearing that a disaster like the riots would someday happen again.

CONCLUSION

The racial riots left an indelible mark on the lives of everyone; adults and children of all races. The lessons in these historical episodes should not be ignored by the present generation of Singaporeans lest the suffering endured by those in that lifetime would have all been in vain. Nevertheless it should be noted that not all of the interviewee’s comments may have been completely accurate because his recollections were after all based on the consciousness of a ten year-old boy.

References:

Eds. Sam, J & Foo C. Y. (May 1984). Singapore 1960 – 1980 in Road to Nationhood Singapore 1819 -1980. Singapore: Singapore News and Publications Ltd.

History of Civil Aviation in Singapore. Retrieved 10 October 2004 from: http://www.changiairport.com.sg/ changi/index.jsp

History of Royal Air Force. Retrieved 10 October 2004 from: http://www.rafseletar.com/History.htm

Lewis, H. M. The Birth of the Babas. Retrieved 11 October 2004 from: http://www.lewismicropublishing.com/ Publications/Nonya/NonyaFrames.htm

Trials & Tribulations in 1964. Retrieved 19 August from: http://www.knowledgenet.com.sg/singapore/SG/NR/ NRTNT001.asp?next=0

Seah, C. N. July 21, 1964 Riots. Retrieved 11 October 2004 from: http://littlespeck.com/ ThePast/CPast-64riots-640721.htm

Transcript

Interviewee Profile:

Name: Mr. Mohammad Abdullah

Age: 50 years old

Nationality: Singaporean

Language used: English

Duration of interview: 3 hours

How old were you in 1964?

Ten years old.

What was your family life like?

Average. I am number six in a family of ten siblings. There are six boys and four girls. Our family is inter-racial … my mother was Chinese and my father is Malay. Father worked as an aircraft technician at the Singapore International Airport located at Paya Lebar then. Mother was a full-time housewife, eldest sister was already working as a clerk in one of the trading company while the rest still in school.

Which dialect group did your mother belong to?

Hokkien.

What year did your parents get married?

1943, soon after World War 2. At that time my father was working as an apprentice with the British Air Force at that time. After the British left he was enlisted by the Japanese to continue work in the Air Force.

How were intermarriages perceived at that time?

There were two categories of Chinese, the pure Chinese and the Baba Chinese. My mother was from the Baba Chinese and marrying a Malay was not a problem because it was not a serious loss of face for daughters to marry outside the clan. Furthermore my father was considered to be quite well-off and held a higher status in those days because of his job.

How did the community in the kampong perceive your family?

Because our faith is Islam, so the Malays classify us as Malay and the Chinese also.

How did your siblings and you perceive yourselves?

Since we have been brought up with Islamic faith we regard ourselves more to the Malay side. The environment around us strengthen our culture as Malay. Nevertheless, we do celebrate Chinese New Year too by visiting our relatives who are non-Muslims.

Was there ever any confusion about whether you were Chinese or Malay?

In terms of facial outlook yes … if people did not know us or if we were not introduced, people usually think we are Chinese.

Where did you go to school?

Jalan Daud Primary.

Where is that?

Jalan Eunos, our school was on partly what is now Eunos Primary and partly the expressway.

What was school life like?

Ours was a boys’ school and opposite us was Jalan Eunos Primary and it was a mixed school. In class … serious but a lot of play time.

Who were your friends in school?

5 Malays, 2 Chinese, 2 Indians.

What was your childhood like?

No worries, insecurities … a lot of free time. A lot of time to play and ah … we had to use our creativity to invent toys and games.

What were some of the games or toys that you created?

Kites, shooting, canon, car and lorry toys, rakit and boats using recycle items during rainy days etc.

Who did you play with?

Everyone … the youngest as young as six years old. The eldest as old as 21 years old. In the kampong everybody is a friend.

Which kampong did you come from?

My house at Jalan Kobis which is in the middle of Kampong Tai Seng and Kampong Ladang. Kampong Tai Seng was had mostly Chinese people and Kampong Ladang more Malays.