BEST SELLER : MAY 13, 1969 RACIAL RIOTS A SECURITY PERSPECTIVE

The politically-motivated Communist-inspired May 13, 1969 incident was a Sino-Malay sectarian violence that took place mainly in Kuala Lumpur, and Petaling Jaya (delete), Malaysia. The countdown began on May 9 when the Maoist-style funeral of a Labour Party activist elevated as a Communist martyr. During the funeral procession, about 14, 000 pro-Communist placards and banners and chanting Communist slogans went through an unauthorized route in Kuala Lumpur.

On the next day, the election on May 10, the result showed the Opposition parties (Democratic Action Part and Labour Party) had made some gain in Selangor over the (at the expense of delete) the ruling coalition, the Alliance Party. The Opposition Parties organized a celebratory victory parade which deviated from the authorized route. The parade comprising Opposition party members including some members of the funeral rebel-rousers, secret society members, and Communist agents when through the Malay-dominated Kampung Baru throwing insults and obscenities at the Malays who in turn, organized a counter-parade. This resulted in armed clashes between the two opposing races.

As a result of a public disorder, a state of national emergency was declared by the Paramount Ruler, the Sultan of Terengganu resulting in a suspension of the Parliament by the Malaysian government. As an interim measure, the National Operations Council (NOC) was established. Also known as the Majlis Gerakan Negara (MGN), the NOC was headed by the deputy Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak as the Director of Operation who was nominated by the Tunku Abdul Rahman in his capacity as the Prime Minister with Gen. Ibrahim Ismail as the Chief Executive Officer. The NOC acted as a caretaker government to temporarily govern the country from May 1969 until February 1971.

After the military and Police had re-established law and order, the country reverted to parliamentary democracy after a period of 18 months. In the post-May 13 incident, the first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman stepped down and he was succeeded by Tunku Abdul Razak. He has the Herculean task to implement a drastic change in government policies to address the economic problems of the Malays by the implementation of the New Economic Policies (NEP).