Operation Lalang
Encyclopedia
Operation Lalang was carried out on October 27, 1987 by the Malaysian police to crack down on opposition
leaders and social activists. The operation saw the arrest of 106 persons under the Internal Security Act
(ISA) and the revoking of the publishing licenses of two dailies, The Star
and the Sin Chew Jit Poh and two weeklies, The Sunday Star
and Watan.
, were sparked ostensibly by mounting political tensions having strong racial overtones. According to the White Paper
explaining the arrests, various groups who had played up "sensitive issues" and thus created "racial tension" in the country had exploited the government's "liberal" and "tolerant" attitude, according to the document. This racial tension made the arrests "necessary" and further forced the government to act "swiftly and firmly" to contain the situation, according to some individual's opinions.
appointments of some 100 senior assistants and principals to vernacular Chinese schools. This provoked a storm of protest when it was learnt that those appointed were Chinese who were not Mandarin-educated.
Politicians from the Malaysian Chinese Association
(MCA), the Democratic Action Party
(DAP), GERAKAN and major Chinese-based parties joined the protests and on October 11, 1987, the Dong Jiao Zong (Chinese educationists) held a 2,000-strong gathering at the Hainanese Association Building, beside the Thian Hou Temple
in Kuala Lumpur
, which evoked racially provocative speeches from the Chinese politicians present. The meeting resolved to call a three-day boycott in Chinese schools if the government did not settle the appointments issue. The boycott was called off later, albeit at the eleventh hour.
and UMNO Education Minister Anwar Ibrahim
, UMNO announced the holding of a mammoth rally in KL to celebrate its 41st Anniversary, which it was claimed would see the attendance of half a million members.
The proposed UMNO rally was the ostensible reason for the Inspector General of Police to precipitate the 27 October crackdown. Had the rally been held it was not improbable that racial riots could be sparked by the incendiary speeches of UMNO politicians. To make matters worse, a tinder box situation was already created by the rampage of a Malay soldier who killed a Malay and two Chinese with an M16 rifle in the Chow Kit
area, straddling two large Chinese and Malay communities.
Najib Tun Razak
, then chairman of the UMNO Youth wing, had led a massive Malay rally in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur. The Chinese community was gripped with fear of the possibility of May 13 repeating, and many Chinese businesses around the city was closed for a few days to avoid any potential attacks from the Malay ultra-nationalists.
The pundits have it that the Prime Minister had to have a quid pro quo
for cancelling the UMNO rally. Hence the arrests of prominent Chinese politicians.
. Among the more prominent detainees were opposition leader and DAP Secretary-General Lim Kit Siang, ALIRAN President Chandra Muzaffar, DAP Deputy Chairman Karpal Singh
, MCA
Vice President and Perak Chief Chan Kit Chee, PAS
Youth Chief Halim Arshat, UMNO MP for Pasir Mas Ibrahim Ali, and UMNO Youth Education Chairman Mohamed Fahmi Ibrahim. Other prominent non-political detainees included Dong Jiao Zhong (Chinese Education Associations) Chairman Lim Fong Seng, Publicity Chief of the Civil Rights Committee Kua Kia Soong, and WAO
member Irene Xavier
. Besides that, there was also another detainee called Hilmy Noor, a Malay Christian
, who was accused for "disrupting the Malay culture by being a Christian", while the Federal Constitution of Malaysia defines a Malay
as someone who is a Muslim
, speaks Malay
, and practices Malay culture. The detainees were kept at the usual place used for ISA detainees, at Kamunting Detention Center
.
Although most of the detainees were released either conditionally or unconditionally, 40 were issued detention order of two years. Included were Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh plus five other party colleagues, a number of PAS members and many social activists. A categorization of the initially named detainees, numbering 97, gives the following breakdown: political parties: 37; social movements: 23; individuals: 37.
was amended so that it would be more difficult for printers and publishers to retain printing licenses eliminating the renewal process. They would have to annually re-apply. In addition if any license is revoked, it could not be challenged in court. A prison term was added for publication of false news, jail sentence for up to three years.
The leading Malaysian English language
daily, The Star
, was closed down for a few months. In the weeks prior to Operation Lalang, The Star had continuously provided transparent news coverage about the Opposition's point of view. This constituted treason as far as the government was concerned, and they were shut down under Malaysia's repressive sedition laws. The Star resumed publication months later under new management that was installed by UMNO. Most of the previous staff were laid off or otherwise threatened with prison and ISA.
From that point onwards, The Star, as well as many other media outlets in Malaysia, became government-controlled mouthpieces with an obvious pro-government slant. These media outlets were also noticeably whitewashing all of the UMNO government's wrongdoings and corruption. All the cover-up and whitewashing by the mass media became more obvious towards the late-90's, when another power struggle within UMNO (the Mahathir vs Anwar episode) revealed the extent of corruption and crimes among the UMNO executive that have never been revealed or reported.
Amendments were also made to the Police Act making it practically impossible to hold any political meeting, including a party's annual general meeting, without a police permit. A conviction could mean a fine of RM10,000 and a jail term of one year. Even an assembly of more than five people in a public area is considered an "illegal assembly" and could not be held without a police permit. This law was intentionally made to be so restrictive in order to give the police arbitrary rights to detain any group in public by citing it is an illegal assembly.
Opposition (Malaysia)
The Opposition in Malaysia is a term used to describe political parties represented in the Parliament of Malaysia that are not in government either on their own or as part of a governing coalition. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in parliamentary systems, i.e...
leaders and social activists. The operation saw the arrest of 106 persons under the Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act (Malaysia)
The Internal Security Act 1960 is a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The ISA allows for detention without trial or criminal charges under limited, legally defined circumstances...
(ISA) and the revoking of the publishing licenses of two dailies, The Star
The Star (Malaysia)
The Star is an English-language, tabloid-format newspaper in Malaysia. It is the largest in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the . It has a daily circulation of between 290,000 to 300,000...
and the Sin Chew Jit Poh and two weeklies, The Sunday Star
The Star (Malaysia)
The Star is an English-language, tabloid-format newspaper in Malaysia. It is the largest in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the . It has a daily circulation of between 290,000 to 300,000...
and Watan.
Causes
The political developments which brought this second largest ISA swoop in Malaysian history since the May 13 riotsMay 13 Incident
The 13 May Incident is a term for the Sino-Malay sectarian violences in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia, which began on 13 May 1969...
, were sparked ostensibly by mounting political tensions having strong racial overtones. According to the White Paper
White paper
A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...
explaining the arrests, various groups who had played up "sensitive issues" and thus created "racial tension" in the country had exploited the government's "liberal" and "tolerant" attitude, according to the document. This racial tension made the arrests "necessary" and further forced the government to act "swiftly and firmly" to contain the situation, according to some individual's opinions.
Vernacular Chinese school controversy
The sensitive issues were brought on by what appeared innocuously enough as Education MinistryMinistry of Education (Malaysia)
The Ministry of Education is a Government ministry responsible for Malaysian educational matters...
appointments of some 100 senior assistants and principals to vernacular Chinese schools. This provoked a storm of protest when it was learnt that those appointed were Chinese who were not Mandarin-educated.
Politicians from the Malaysian Chinese Association
Malaysian 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...
(MCA), the Democratic Action Party
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...
(DAP), GERAKAN and major Chinese-based parties joined the protests and on October 11, 1987, the Dong Jiao Zong (Chinese educationists) held a 2,000-strong gathering at the Hainanese Association Building, beside the Thian Hou Temple
Thean Hou Temple
The Thean Hou Temple is a landmark six-tiered Chinese temple in Kuala Lumpur. It is located on a 1.67 acres of land atop Robson Heights along Lorong Bellamy, overlooking Jalan Syed Putra . It was completed in 1987 and officially opened in 1989...
in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, which evoked racially provocative speeches from the Chinese politicians present. The meeting resolved to call a three-day boycott in Chinese schools if the government did not settle the appointments issue. The boycott was called off later, albeit at the eleventh hour.
Response by UMNO Youth and detentions
In the event, even though the boycott was cancelled, the stage was set for a mirror response from the Malays, led by UMNO Youth. A mass rally of 10,000 was held at the TPCA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur and, by then, UMNO politicians had begun to condemn MCA leaders for their collusion with the Dong Jiao Zong and the opposition DAP. Amidst calls from both sides for the resignations of MCA Deputy President and Labour Minister Lee Kim SaiLee Kim Sai
Tan Sri Lee Kim Sai is a Malaysian politician. In the 1980s and 1990s, he served as Health Minister, Labour Minister and Housing and Local Government Minister....
and UMNO Education Minister Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...
, UMNO announced the holding of a mammoth rally in KL to celebrate its 41st Anniversary, which it was claimed would see the attendance of half a million members.
The proposed UMNO rally was the ostensible reason for the Inspector General of Police to precipitate the 27 October crackdown. Had the rally been held it was not improbable that racial riots could be sparked by the incendiary speeches of UMNO politicians. To make matters worse, a tinder box situation was already created by the rampage of a Malay soldier who killed a Malay and two Chinese with an M16 rifle in the Chow Kit
Chow Kit
Chow Kit is a sub-district in central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located around Jalan Chow Kit and is enclosed by the parallel streets of Jalan Raja Laut and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. It is named after the tin miner and municipal councillor Loke Chow Kit. Today the area features a large...
area, straddling two large Chinese and Malay communities.
Najib Tun Razak
Najib Tun Razak
Dato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...
, then chairman of the UMNO Youth wing, had led a massive Malay rally in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur. The Chinese community was gripped with fear of the possibility of May 13 repeating, and many Chinese businesses around the city was closed for a few days to avoid any potential attacks from the Malay ultra-nationalists.
The pundits have it that the Prime Minister had to have a quid pro quo
Quid pro quo
Quid pro quo most often means a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services. English speakers often use the term to mean "a favour for a favour" and the phrases with almost identical meaning include: "give and take", "tit for tat", "this for that", and "you scratch my back,...
for cancelling the UMNO rally. Hence the arrests of prominent Chinese politicians.
Detainees
Operation Lalang resulted in the arrest of 106 people under the Internal Security ActInternal Security Act (Malaysia)
The Internal Security Act 1960 is a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The ISA allows for detention without trial or criminal charges under limited, legally defined circumstances...
. Among the more prominent detainees were opposition leader and DAP Secretary-General Lim Kit Siang, ALIRAN President Chandra Muzaffar, DAP Deputy Chairman Karpal Singh
Karpal Singh
Karpal Singh is a Malaysian lawyer and politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the neighbourhood of Bukit Gelugor in the state of Penang since 2004...
, MCA
Malaysian 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...
Vice President and Perak Chief Chan Kit Chee, PAS
PAS (political party)
The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party commonly known as PAS or Pas, is an Islamist political party in Malaysia and is currently headed by Dato' Seri Abdul Hadi Awang...
Youth Chief Halim Arshat, UMNO MP for Pasir Mas Ibrahim Ali, and UMNO Youth Education Chairman Mohamed Fahmi Ibrahim. Other prominent non-political detainees included Dong Jiao Zhong (Chinese Education Associations) Chairman Lim Fong Seng, Publicity Chief of the Civil Rights Committee Kua Kia Soong, and WAO
Wao
Wao may refer to:*Wao, Lanao del Sur*The Wao language, a.k.a. Huaorani language*Wet Air Oxidation *Wacken Open Air, also known as W:O:A...
member Irene Xavier
Irene Xavier
Irene Xavier is a Malaysian women's rights activist. She is a prominent member of the Women's Aid Organisation - a women's rights NGO. She is also a key activist of Suaram, Malaysia's leading human rights organisation....
. Besides that, there was also another detainee called Hilmy Noor, a Malay Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, who was accused for "disrupting the Malay culture by being a Christian", while the Federal Constitution of Malaysia defines a Malay
Malay people
Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...
as someone who is a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
, speaks Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, and practices Malay culture. The detainees were kept at the usual place used for ISA detainees, at Kamunting Detention Center
Kamunting Detention Center
Kamunting Detention Centre is a prison camp located in Kamunting, near the town of Taiping, Perak, in Malaysia. The prison is used by the government to detain and interrogate persons arrested under the Internal Security Act . The detention is also known as Malaysia's Supermax prison or Maximum...
.
Although most of the detainees were released either conditionally or unconditionally, 40 were issued detention order of two years. Included were Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh plus five other party colleagues, a number of PAS members and many social activists. A categorization of the initially named detainees, numbering 97, gives the following breakdown: political parties: 37; social movements: 23; individuals: 37.
Implications for civil liberties
The incident provided Mahathir's government with the excuse to further tighten the executive stranglehold on politics. In the following year, the Printing Presses and Publications ActPrinting Presses and Publications Act
The Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 is a Malaysian statute governing publishing and the usage of printing presses in Malaysia. It replaced the Printing Presses Act 1948 and the Control of Imported Publications Act 1958...
was amended so that it would be more difficult for printers and publishers to retain printing licenses eliminating the renewal process. They would have to annually re-apply. In addition if any license is revoked, it could not be challenged in court. A prison term was added for publication of false news, jail sentence for up to three years.
The leading Malaysian English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
daily, The Star
The Star (Malaysia)
The Star is an English-language, tabloid-format newspaper in Malaysia. It is the largest in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the . It has a daily circulation of between 290,000 to 300,000...
, was closed down for a few months. In the weeks prior to Operation Lalang, The Star had continuously provided transparent news coverage about the Opposition's point of view. This constituted treason as far as the government was concerned, and they were shut down under Malaysia's repressive sedition laws. The Star resumed publication months later under new management that was installed by UMNO. Most of the previous staff were laid off or otherwise threatened with prison and ISA.
From that point onwards, The Star, as well as many other media outlets in Malaysia, became government-controlled mouthpieces with an obvious pro-government slant. These media outlets were also noticeably whitewashing all of the UMNO government's wrongdoings and corruption. All the cover-up and whitewashing by the mass media became more obvious towards the late-90's, when another power struggle within UMNO (the Mahathir vs Anwar episode) revealed the extent of corruption and crimes among the UMNO executive that have never been revealed or reported.
Amendments were also made to the Police Act making it practically impossible to hold any political meeting, including a party's annual general meeting, without a police permit. A conviction could mean a fine of RM10,000 and a jail term of one year. Even an assembly of more than five people in a public area is considered an "illegal assembly" and could not be held without a police permit. This law was intentionally made to be so restrictive in order to give the police arbitrary rights to detain any group in public by citing it is an illegal assembly.