May 13 race riots
| 13 May Incident Peristiwa 13 Mei 五一三事件 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Belligerents | |||||
| Malays mainly consisting of UMNO supporters | Chinese mainly consisting of opposition supporters | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 25 killed (official figure, disputed) | 143 killed (official figure, disputed) | ||||
Declaration of national emergency.
The 13 May 1969 incident refers to the Sino-Malay sectarian violence in Kuala Lumpur (then part of the state of Selangor), Malaysia. The riot occurred in the aftermath of the 1969 Malaysian general election when opposition parties made gains at the expense of the ruling coalition, the Alliance Party. Official reports put the number of deaths due to the riots at 196, although Western diplomatic sources at the time suggested a toll of close to 600, with most of the victims Chinese. The racial riots led to a declaration of a state of national emergency or Darurat by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong resulting in the suspension of the Parliament by the Malaysian government, while the National Operations Council (NOC), also known as the Majlis Gerakan Negara, was established as a caretaker government to temporarily govern the country between 1969 and 1971.
The event is significant in Malaysian politics as it led to the resignation of the first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, and eventually resulted in a change in government policy that would favour Malays by the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP).
On 31 August 1957, Malaya gained its independence from Britain. The country however suffered from a sharp division of wealth between the Chinese who dominated most urban areas and were perceived to be in control of a large portion of the country's economy, and the Malays, who were generally poorer and more rural. The special privileged position of Malay political power however is guaranteed under Article 153 of the Constitution written during Malayan independence.
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