Racial Riots In KL

Tuesday, 13th May 1969

A deadly Sino-Malay sectarian violence in Kuala Lumpur. Malay leaders who were angry about the election results used the press to attack their opponents, contributing to raising public anger and tension among the Malay and Chinese communities. Malays on their way to the procession had been attacked by Chinese in Setapak, several miles to the north. Meanwhile, in the Kuala Lumpur area, a Malay army officer was murdered by Chinese radicals as he and his spouse were coming out from a movie theater in the predominantly Chinese area of Bukit Bintang. A group of Malay protestors swiftly wreaked revenge by killing two innocent passing Chinese motorcyclists, and the riot began. Officially, 196 people were killed as a result of the riots but independent reporters and other observers estimated up to 2,000 people had died.

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