Riots In Singapore

1.	Pictorial Source	The riot, Maria Hertogh
2.	Textual Source	Life of Maria Hertogh ( Nadra )	http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_508_2004-12-23.html
3.	Textual Source	Significant & Consequence
4.	Pictorial Source	Hock Lee bus riot	http://singaporedaily.net/2012/12/11/daily-sg-11-dec-2012/
5.	Pictorial Source	Hock Lee bus riot	http://sghardtruth.com/2011/11/04/headlines-that-shook-singapore-since-1955-by-remenber-singapore
6.	Pictorial Source	National Service riot	http://www.thesmartlocal.com/read/5-riots-that-rocked-singapore#sthash.GChwnuI1.dpuf
7.	Textual Source		http://www.thesmartlocal.com/read/5-riots-that-rocked-singapore#sthash.GChwnuI1.nlbUFEf3.dpuf
8.	Textual Source	1964 Race Riot	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_race_riots_in_Singapore

RIOTS IN SINGAPORE DURING 1950s TO EARLY 1960s

11 December 1950 -- Maria Hertogh Riot

1. The Riot, Maria Hertogh (Pictorial Source)

British and Malay troops, with fixed bayonets,were in support with Singapore police last night in efforts to quell the rioting which broke out in the afternoon after the appeal in the case of Maria Hertogh is being heard.

Two Europeans, two Chinese and a Eurasian were fatally injured and more than 100 people - Europeans, Eurasians, Chinese and Indians - were wounded in the Muslim rioting which gripped a section of Singapore city yesterday afternoon and last night. 

2.  Textual source :  Life of Maria Hertogh( Nadra)                                                            http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_508_2004-12-23.html

Maria was the third child of seven children that Adeline Hertogh bore. She was baptised Maria Huberdina Hertogh by her Dutch-Eurasian parents. The Japanese invasion of Java during World War II saw Maria's father become a prisoner-of-war in 1943. Struggling alone and having just given birth to her sixth child, Adeline gave Maria to the care of a family friend, Che Aminah binte Mohamed, on 1 January 1943. The process was witnessed by Adeline's brother, Soewaldi. Maria was brought to Bandung, raised as a Muslim and given the name Nadra bte Maarof at her circumcision a year later.

Aminah and Maria moved to Jakarta for one period but soon returned to Bandung, where Aminah's fluency in Japanese enabled her to work as an interpreter for the Japanese military police. In 1947, fearing that Maria's Dutch background made her vulnerable during the Indonesian War of Independence, Aminah and Maria fled to Terengganu, Malaysia. She grew up in Aminah's hometown Kemaman, Terengganu, where Aminah was highly regarded. Studying at Chukai Malay Girls' School, Kemaman, Maria also was trained in Koran reading outside school hours by an ustazah.

3. Textual source : Significance and consequences 
      http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_83_2005-02-02.html

The riots highlighted the insensitive way the media handled religious and racial issues in Singapore. The British colonial authorities also failed to defuse an explosive situation when emotional reports appeared in the local press of the custody battle accompanied by sensational media photographs of a Muslim girl in a Catholic convent.

Although the rioters were mainly Malays, they included a large number of foreigners including Indian, Pakistani and Indonesian Muslims. Added to this, the mainly Malay Police Force appeared to sympathise with the Muslim rioters and displayed some measure of deliberate inaction and defection during the riots. Gurkha Police Riot Squad Detachment, constituting at least 149 men were unfortunately not utilised and were in fact withdrawn at critical locations.

As a result of this historic event, the Government of Singapore, upon independence in 1965, instituted legislation against racial discrimination. It became an offence to incite racial and religious hatred in Singapore. The local media exercised greater discipline in the coverage of sensitive issues. National integration and nation-building took top priority in the formulation of government policies.

12 May 1955 – Hock Lee Bus Riots

4. Pictorial Source
 Daily SG: 11 Dec 2012 | The Singapore Daily

singaporedaily.net

5. Pictorial source


http://sghardtruth.com/2011/11/04/headlines-that-shook-


singapore-since-1955-by-remenber-singapore

Protesting against long hours, poor benefits and working conditions, the workers of Singapore Bus Workers Union (SBWU) organised a peaceful demonstration on 23 April 1955.

Large number of drivers were dismissed by Hock Lee Bus Company, who in turn protested by locking themselves in the garages at Alexandra Road. Soon, students from Chinese middle schools took sympathy of the drivers and joined in the protests. The government viewed the strike as pro-communist and anti-colonial.

13 May 1954 – National Service Riots

6. Pictorial source

http://www.thesmartlocal.com/read/5-riots-that-rocked-singapore#sthash.GChwnuI1.dpuf 

The 1954 National Service Riots, also known as Anti-National Service Riots was a riot that broke out in Singapore in May 1954, which involved a number of Singaporean Chinese students. 

24th October 1956--Chinese middle school riots

7. Textual source

  http://www.thesmartlocal.com/read/5-riots-that-rocked-singapore#sthash.GChwnuI1.nlbUFEf3.dpuf 

24 October 1956 – Government told parents to persuade their children to return home after many of them camped to organize meetings and demonstrations. Most of the students refused to budge. On the same day, the pro-communist leader Lim Chin Siong, held a workers’ meeting and after it ended, some of the workers joined the students in creating disorder. The government issued an ultimatum on the same day for the schools to be vacated.

26 October 1956 – Police entered the schools and forced the students out using tear gas. The students moved to the city and rioted for 3 days.

1964 Race Riot

8. Textual source

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_race_riots_in_Singapore

Various reasons have been cited for the riots. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak blamed ethnic Indonesian and communist Chinese provocateurs.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and several foreign observers attributed the riots to agitation by Syed Jaafar Albar and other elements of the ultra-nationalist faction in the UMNO.

The riots occurred during the period when the People's Action Party (PAP) and UMNO relations were severely strained after the PAP challenged the UMNO in the March 1964 Malaysia federal election. PAP ran on the campaign slogan of Malaysian Malaysia, a political philosophy different from UMNO's pro-Malay or Malay-dominance political philosophy.

Essay

Riots in 1950s and early 1960s

Remembering 1950s and 1960s today, it seems far from us young teenagers, but for our older generations, they surely would not forget the riots. 1950s and early 1960s, a period of time when Singapore struggled to be independent, and riots were not uncommon. We should remember these years as the riots caused a great impact on Singapore and we should learn from them in order to not repeat those unpleasant times. There were a few significant riots such as the Maria Hertogh Riot, the Hock Lee Bus Riot and the National service riot.

Singapore is multi-racial society, the harmony between the different races is very important and the current peace is extremely fragile. One wrong comment or insult can cause outrage and aggression between the races. A very serious riot involving different races is the Mariah Hertogh riot that happened on 11 December 1950. The riot was about the custody of Maria, who was a Dutch-Eurasian but was raised as a muslim because she was left with a Malay lady, Aminah, during the World War II.  It was a riot that happened due to poor management of the situation by the government , who greatly angered the Muslims, thus causing them to riot.Two Europeans, two Chinese and a Eurasian were fatally injured and more than 100 people - Europeans, Eurasians, Chinese and Indians - were wounded in the Muslim rioting . Riots like these can have serious consequences and we should never repeat them. this riot clearly tells us that we should always respect and remain harmonious with all different races, and that cases like these have to be approached with utmost delicacy. This is still important in the present Singapore and we should always keep it in mind.

The Hock Lee Bus Riot is another important riot to learn from .On April 23, 1955, workers from Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus company and some Chinese students began to go on strike. The workers from the Singapore Bus Workers Union protested against long hours, poor benefits and working conditions.On 12 May 1955 a major riot broke out. 4 people were killed and 31 injured in the violent and bloody riot. This tells all of us that we should not forget to treat working people like bus drivers fairly and give them decent wages. It is due to their hard work that we are able to travel quickly and easily to different places. Treating them fairly will also help maintain peace in the country as people will not riot and create havoc if they are happy with their work. Riots concerning workers can be serious because there is a large number of working people in Singapore and if everyone were to riot, there may be serious casualties. The same still applies in Singapore today, in fact everywhere else too and if we do not continue to treat workers equally, history might repeat itself thus we have to remember them.

The national service riot is also important in the history of Singapore. This riot broke out in May 1954, which involved a number of Singaporean Chinese students. We learn from this riot that we cannot depend on others to defend our country. Also, it is important that we do not to discriminate other races as it may result in riots and protests. In the national service riot, the chinese feel that the government is biased towards other races, in terms of job and education opportunities. This is why when the British introduced National Service, the Chinese were reluctant to serve them. They didn’t want to serve the British who did not look after their welfare and interests well enough. Hence they vent their anger through violence. In Singapore today, if the government did not treat the different races equally, riots may occur any time.

Chinese middle school riot is another significant riot in the history of Singapore. This riot happened in 24th October 1956 and resulted in 13 people killed and more than 100 injured. It happened after the resignation of David Marshall. Lim Yew Hock, the next Chief Minister announced that the Singapore Chinese middle School Students’ Union (SCMSSU) would be closed down because of the communist activities. In the riot, students gathered and camped at Chung Cheng High School and The Chinese High School. They sat-in over two weeks, organising meetings and holding demonstrations. We should always remember this riot as this is our school's history and we should preserve what we have now!

And last but not least is the race riots that happened in 1964. The 1964 race riots was a series of riots that took place in Singapore during July and September, between Chinese and Malay groups. This riot in total caused 36 deaths and injured another 556, about 3,000 people were arrested. Through this riot, we should learn that reacting sensitively to race issues is very important. It is never easy for different races to live peacefully together in a country. Our forefathers risked their lives for us today, so we must cherish this peace and harmony between different religions and races and not to take it for granted.

Peace is very important in a country, these riots have undoubtedly left deep marks on Singapore’s history and the people who had experienced it. It is vital that we do not let history repeat and always stay united together as a country, never to let racial and religious differences cause any form of conflict or social unrest. We have to always be sensitive towards each other in whatever we do and say because social peace and harmony can never be taken for granted. Hence, it is important for us to keep remembering the 1950s and 1960s.