Inevitably, the discussion about PAP’s racist policies bring in those who defend these policies.
But what I noticed is that the divide is not between the different races.
These policies that discriminated against the Malays were not implemented by Chinese or Indians or Eurasians or any other race or nationality in Singapura.
It was created and implemented by the PAP.
Those who came to defend and seek to perpetuate this racism….appears to be mainly if not solely..
PAP members or supporters.
The Malays, Indians, Chinese, Jews, Armenians etc do not really have much of an issue with each other.
The racists who defend these policies do so because it implicates their party.
We can see how the different nations in Singapura, when left to their own, will support each other.
As can be seen during the Tradegy Natra (Maria Hertogh) in 1950, Chinese in Singapura, supported the Malays.
And they persuaded the British to help the Malay community.
According to Assoc Prof Khairudin:
“The largest Chinese daily newspaper, the Nanyang Siang Pao, urged the British to ‘think thrice’ before making a legal decision in the upcoming appeal trial. The move to restore Maria Hertogh to her foster mother and husband would be of no great loss to Britain’s diplomatic ally; the Dutch.
On the other hand, the Malays were an important and integral part of the British Empire. The British should therefore ensure the repatriation of Maria Hertogh back to Singapore to avoid the violation of the religious rights of the Muslims, which could potentially lead to further bloodshed and violence.
The Kuomintang newspaper, Sin Chew Jit Poh, called upon the British, the Dutch and the Muslims to allow Maria Hertogh to decide for herself whether she wished to reside in the Netherlands or Malaya.
The paper stressed that Dutch diplomatic relations with other Muslim countries, such as Indonesia and Pakistan, would most certainly be jeopardized if custody of Maria Hertogh were to be awarded to her natural parents.
Another observer who identified himself as a ‘Straits Chinese’ expressed his regrets that the ‘very good name of the Singapore Malays and Muslims, who are regarded as a most law-abiding community in the colony has been besmirched (Straits Times, 17 December 1950).”
If any such events are ever to happen again, I have no doubt the ordinary Chinese, Indian, Eurasian etc in Singapura will once again defend the Malays.
And I have no doubt…the PAP Internet Brigade will lead the charge against the Malays.
Reference:
Aljunied, Khairudin. Heng, “Beyond the Rhetoric of Communalism:
Violence and the Process of Reconciliation in 1950s Singapore” Derek Thiam Soon, and Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied, eds. Reframing Singapore: Memory, Identity, Trans-regionalism. Vol. 6. Amsterdam University Press, 2009. p. 73
Source: Zulfikar Shariff
