13 May incident

13 May Incident
Peristiwa 13 Mei
ڤريستيوا 13 مي
五一三事件
13 மே சம்பவம்
Aftermath of the riots
Date13 May 1969 (1969-05-13)
Location
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Caused byResults of the 1969 Malaysian general election, when the ruling Alliance Party lost seats to the Chinese majority Democratic Action Party and Parti Gerakan.
MethodsWidespread rioting, looting, assault, arson, protests, property damage, murder
Resulted inDeclaration of a state of emergency by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Parties
UMNO, Malay supporters and civilians
Chinese and Indian civilians
Lead figures
Casualties and losses
25 killed (official figure, disputed)
143 killed (official figure, disputed)
Unknown

The 13 May incident was an episode of Sino-Malay sectarian violence that took place in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, on 13 May 1969. The riot occurred in the aftermath of the 1969 Malaysian general election when opposition parties such as the Democratic Action Party and Gerakan made gains at the expense of the ruling coalition, the Alliance Party.

Official reports by the government placed the number of deaths due to the riots at 196, although international diplomatic sources and observers at the time suggested a toll of close to 600 while others suggested much higher figures, with most of the victims being ethnic Chinese.[1][2] The racial riots led to a declaration of a state of national emergency by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King), resulting in the suspension of Parliament. A National Operations Council (NOC) was established as a caretaker government to temporarily govern the country between 1969 and 1971.

This event was significant in Malaysian politics as it forced the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman to step down from office and hand over the reins to Abdul Razak Hussein. Abdul Razak's government shifted their domestic policies to favour Malays with the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP), and the Malay party UMNO restructured the political system to advance Malay dominance in accordance with the ideology of Ketuanan Melayu (lit. "Malay Supremacy").[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference time1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "New book on 1969 race riots in Malaysia may be banned, officials warn". International Herald Tribune. 16 May 2007. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference saa2002 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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