Malay press and Malay politics: The Hertogh Riots in Singapore

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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The evolution and current state of public affairs in Hungary

This paper discusses the recent developments in public affairs in Hungary from a historical perspective. The country's communist/socialist past and the relative novelty of the public affairs industry paint an interesting picture of the evolution and the direction of this field. The paper covers the political and economic processes starting from the transition period through recent events. Although there have been several promising developments in the area of public affairs and corporate lobbying during the last 20+ years, Hungary's increasingly anti-democratic policies, corruption scandals, and centralized decision-making processes have hindered the proper functioning of the public affairs profession and have limited the influence of corporations and interest groups in the country. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.