Malay press and Malay politics: The Hertogh Riots in Singapore |
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Authors: | Nordin Hussin |
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Institution: | (1) Institute of Occidental Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia |
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Abstract: | During the morning of Monday 11 December rioting began outside the Supreme Court of Singapore, where a largely Moslem crowd
had gathered to hear the court’s decision in a case where the custody of a young Dutch girl, Maria Hertogh, was being contested.
This riot was the first and only one of its kind directed against the British and Eurasians in Singapore by the Malay-Moslem
community. Both the violence itself, as well as the circumstances which precipitated this Moslem protest, became the focus
of a tangle of cultures and religions which aroused worldwide interest. The riot was considered to be the fault of the British
colonial authorities, who had been guilty of racial and religious discrimination, and seen as an indication of anti-colonial
feeling among the people of Singapore. The events in Singapore also aroused strong feelings of anger among the Malay political
parties who felt that the Moslem religion had been humiliated by the judgement of the Singapore Supreme Court. As a result,
British rule in its predominantly Moslem colonies, already under threat from the various pressures for decolonisation, faced
a further challenge. Despite the significant impact which the Moslem riots had both in Singapore and elsewhere, they have
understandably been overshadowed by the more systematic and enduring violence emanating from another quarter, the Communist
presence in Malaya. This study therefore sets out to understand inter-racial problems after the Second World War which was
also related to problems relating to security, religious and inter-racial relationship. During the war period social and racial
relationship seemed to be tied closely due to the suffering and the majority of the people were trying to help each other
however after the war when everybody were liberated, political and racial relationship seemed to be divided and fragmented.
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