Batang Kali massacre
Encyclopedia
The Batang Kali
massacre
is an incident that took place in Malaya
on December 12, 1948 during British military operations against native and Chinese communists in the post-World War II
Malayan Emergency
.
The 7th Platoon, G Company, 2nd Scots Guard surrounded a rubber estate at Sungai Rimoh, Batang Kali, Selangor
in Malaya and shot 24 villagers before setting fire to the village. The only adult male survivor was Chong Hong, who was in his 20s at the time. He fainted and was presumed dead by the Guardsmen. Eye witnesses include the victims' spouse and children and others including Tham Yong age 78 and Loh Ah Choy age 67. The men had been separated from the women and children for interrogation before the shooting began. The incident today is sometimes described as "Britain's My Lai massacre
".
It was in this campaign that Sir Gerald Templer
first coined the now famous phrase "hearts and minds" as part of his strategy for victory.
The British Defence Secretary (Denis Healey
) instructed Scotland Yard
to set up a special task team (led by Frank Williams) to investigate the matter. An ostensible lack of evidence allowed the incoming Conservative government
chose to drop the investigation in 1970.
On September 9, 1992, a BBC
documentary, an investigative report into the massacre
entitled "In Cold Blood" was aired in the United Kingdom
and revealed fresh evidence about it. The documentary includes accounts from witnesses and survivors, including confessions of an ex-Scots Guards
soldier and interviews with the Scotland Yard Police Officers who had investigated the case in 1970.
Legal Bureau, a petition was presented to her Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II asking that justice be done.
On July 14, 1993 a police report was lodged by three survivors, accompanied by the MCA Public Service and Complaints Bureau Chief Michael Chong.
On September 18, 1993, Mr Gavin Hewitt (Head of South East Asia Department of the Foreign Office, UK) states that "No new evidence has been uncovered by the British authorities to warrant the setting up of another official inquiry into the alleged massacre of 24 villagers in Batang Kali…"
On December 30, 1997 an investigation report was submitted to the Royal Malaysian Police
Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Bukit Aman. The case was closed on the grounds of insufficient evidence for prosecution.
On July 13, 2004, the DAP
, a Malaysian political party, raised the Batang Kali massacre in the Malaysian Parliament.
On March 25, 2008, the family members of the massacre victims and several NGOs formed an 'Action Committee Condemning the Batang Kali Massacre' and submitted a petition to the British High Commission in Malaysia. The petition seeks official apology, compensation for the family members of the 24 massacre victims and financial contribution towards the educational and cultural development of the Ulu Yam community.
On January 30, 2009, the Foreign Office in Britain rejected a call for an inquiry into the massacre of villagers. On April 24, 2009, the British government announced that it was reconsidering this decision.
On April 30, 2009, The Independent
reported that the British government bowed to legal action and agreed to reinvestigate the massacre. Secret papers uncovered by Mrs. Tham's solicitors, Bindmans, now show that the colonial Attorney General who exonerated the British troops of any wrongdoing at the time privately believed that mass public executions might deter other insurgents. A second document reveals that officials at the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur had briefed ministers that there was little point in Scotland Yard
officers interviewing eyewitnesses in the 1970s because Malaysian villagers were untrustworthy, motivated by compensation and it was "doubtful" they could recall events 22 years earlier.
On 2 April 2010, Tham Yong, 78, the last Malaysian adult witness to the massacre of 24 unarmed villagers by British troops in 1948, died, leaving the campaign for an official investigation uncertain.
Batang Kali
Batang Kali is a town in Hulu Selangor district of Selangor, Malaysia. The town is a transit point to Genting Highlands, where the famed casino and theme park is located. The new township of Bandar Baru Batang Kali is located in this area...
massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
is an incident that took place in Malaya
Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
on December 12, 1948 during British military operations against native and Chinese communists in the post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
.
The 7th Platoon, G Company, 2nd Scots Guard surrounded a rubber estate at Sungai Rimoh, Batang Kali, Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
in Malaya and shot 24 villagers before setting fire to the village. The only adult male survivor was Chong Hong, who was in his 20s at the time. He fainted and was presumed dead by the Guardsmen. Eye witnesses include the victims' spouse and children and others including Tham Yong age 78 and Loh Ah Choy age 67. The men had been separated from the women and children for interrogation before the shooting began. The incident today is sometimes described as "Britain's My Lai massacre
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass murder of 347–504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968, by United States Army soldiers of "Charlie" Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the Americal Division. Most of the victims were women, children , and...
".
It was in this campaign that Sir Gerald Templer
Gerald Templer
Field Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer KG, GCB, GCMG, KBE was a British military commander. He is best known for his defeat of the guerrilla rebels in Malaya between 1952 and 1954...
first coined the now famous phrase "hearts and minds" as part of his strategy for victory.
The British Defence Secretary (Denis Healey
Denis Healey
Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey CH, MBE, PC is a British Labour politician, who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979.-Early life:...
) instructed Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
to set up a special task team (led by Frank Williams) to investigate the matter. An ostensible lack of evidence allowed the incoming Conservative government
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
chose to drop the investigation in 1970.
On September 9, 1992, a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary, an investigative report into the massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
entitled "In Cold Blood" was aired in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and revealed fresh evidence about it. The documentary includes accounts from witnesses and survivors, including confessions of an ex-Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
soldier and interviews with the Scotland Yard Police Officers who had investigated the case in 1970.
Ongoing debate
On June 8, 1993 with the help of the MCAMalaysian Chinese Association
Malaysian Chinese Association is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that represents the Malaysian Chinese ethnicity; it is one of the three major component parties of the ruling coalition in Malaysia called the Barisan Nasional in Malay, or National Front in English.Along with the largest...
Legal Bureau, a petition was presented to her Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II asking that justice be done.
On July 14, 1993 a police report was lodged by three survivors, accompanied by the MCA Public Service and Complaints Bureau Chief Michael Chong.
On September 18, 1993, Mr Gavin Hewitt (Head of South East Asia Department of the Foreign Office, UK) states that "No new evidence has been uncovered by the British authorities to warrant the setting up of another official inquiry into the alleged massacre of 24 villagers in Batang Kali…"
On December 30, 1997 an investigation report was submitted to the Royal Malaysian Police
Royal Malaysian Police
The Royal Malaysia Police is a part of the security forces structure in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organization with responsibilities ranging from traffic control to intelligence gathering. Its headquarters is located at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur. The police force is led by an...
Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Bukit Aman. The case was closed on the grounds of insufficient evidence for prosecution.
On July 13, 2004, the DAP
Democratic Action Party
The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...
, a Malaysian political party, raised the Batang Kali massacre in the Malaysian Parliament.
On March 25, 2008, the family members of the massacre victims and several NGOs formed an 'Action Committee Condemning the Batang Kali Massacre' and submitted a petition to the British High Commission in Malaysia. The petition seeks official apology, compensation for the family members of the 24 massacre victims and financial contribution towards the educational and cultural development of the Ulu Yam community.
On January 30, 2009, the Foreign Office in Britain rejected a call for an inquiry into the massacre of villagers. On April 24, 2009, the British government announced that it was reconsidering this decision.
On April 30, 2009, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
reported that the British government bowed to legal action and agreed to reinvestigate the massacre. Secret papers uncovered by Mrs. Tham's solicitors, Bindmans, now show that the colonial Attorney General who exonerated the British troops of any wrongdoing at the time privately believed that mass public executions might deter other insurgents. A second document reveals that officials at the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur had briefed ministers that there was little point in Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
officers interviewing eyewitnesses in the 1970s because Malaysian villagers were untrustworthy, motivated by compensation and it was "doubtful" they could recall events 22 years earlier.
On 2 April 2010, Tham Yong, 78, the last Malaysian adult witness to the massacre of 24 unarmed villagers by British troops in 1948, died, leaving the campaign for an official investigation uncertain.
Further reading
- Short, Anthony. (2010, November). The Malayan Emergency and the Batang Kali Incident. Asian Affairs, 41:3, 337–354. Abstract, retrieved December 30, 2010.
- Ward, Ian, and Norma Miraflor. (2009). Slaughter and Deception at Batang Kali. Singapore: Media Masters.