50 years have passed since May 13 tragedy

It has been five decades since the May 13 racial riots, which happened in 1969. It is a day to remember as a lesson learned rather than a celebration.

 

Malaysia, May 13, racial riots

 

The media mentioned the incident when human rights organisation SUARAM director Kua Kia Soong urged the government to declassify the secrets of May 13 racial riots.

 

Kua is also the author of ‘May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969’, which was written and published in 2007.

 

In reply, Home Affairs Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that his side has yet to receive a formal request to declassify the secrets of May 13 tragedy, which are protected under the Official Secrets Act 1972.

 

Meanwhile, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Professor Datuk Dr Teo Kok Seong was heavily quoted by the media over his comments on the incident. He said that the racial riots should be a lesson for the multiracial people of Malaysia to recognise the importance of staying united to maintain peace and live in harmony.

 

Malaysia, May 13, racial riots

 

According to the media share, MalaysiaKini is the most active news portal to report on the May 13 tragedy for the past week. The independent news portal came out with 13 news mentioning the racial riots.

 

This is because MalaysiaKini published several news with different angles on the matter such as interviewing eyewitnesses of the tragedy and commentaries by experts in addition to Kua’s demand of declassifying the secrets of May 13 tragedy.

 

Nevertheless, politicians did not politicize the incident as it is a highly sensitive topic to discuss.