Monday, May 14, 2007

May 13 on May 13

The real circumstances surrounding the worst racial riot in the history of Malaysia have so far not been made available to the Malaysian public. The official version is fraught with contradictions and inadequacies to which few pay credence ...
writes Dr. Kua Kia Soong in his new book May 13 - Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969.

I missed the launch yesterday but I can't wait to get my hands on a copy.

The book is said to be:
... the first credible account of the May 13, 1969 racial riots in Malaysia based on documents recently declassified at the Public Records Office in London.
May 13 is the great untalked-about in Malaysia, but its ghost still lingers everywhere - the great spectre being "Could this ever here happen again?".

Jeff Ooi was among the bloggers who went to the event and there is plenty of comment about it on the Malaysiakini site for those of you who subscribe.

Abu nearly got himself killed during the riots. He was a volunteer distributing rice in Kampong Baru, but some Malay chaps thought he looked Chinese ...

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

i am so buying this book.

all the stories my parents told me, amazing stuff. my sis was a little kid and she went missing on that day. drove my parents bonkers.

later, they found her, alone and crouching behind a pillar at her kindergarten. how a little kid knew how to hide herself, we would never know. even my sis cant remember exactly what happened.


The Shipping Viz

Chet said...

He looks Japanese! Okay, that's close enough to looking Chinese.

Anonymous said...

Can't wait to get a copy of this book. Hear enough of "cerita hantu" from our UMNO leaders..

Tunku Halim said...

A very sensitive subject for the establishment. It spelled the end for Tunku Abdul Rahman. May 13 has much to teach us.

I wonder if a memorial could be erected, perhaps in 2009, to commemorate 40 years since the tragic events.

Anonymous said...

i must get this book!

Unknown said...

ooohhh..this one is a must have! I have heard varied accounts - none concrete and somehow or rather, the way it keeps on being politicised without actually being detailed....

Amir Muhammad said...

Just finished reading it! Look forward to discussing it with others who have too.

According to SUARAM yesterday the first print run is almost sold out; a 2nd printing needs to be done before it can be sent to most bookshops.

Even before reading it, a certain Senator yesterday called for it to be banned...

BTW, I am off to the Cannes Film Festival later today for a week and am unsure if I have the time to get online frequently ;-)

Amir Muhammad said...

Actually ... Here's a report on the THREE senators who asked for the book to be banned and action taken against the author. All 3 had not read the book.

bibliobibuli said...

viz - that's quite a story! plot you could use ...

tunku halim - yes, there should be a memorial. at the moment there's jsut this ...silence

amir - oh goodness, off to the cannes film festival. do love the way you casually drop that into conversation! have a great time and blog it all.

doesn't surprise me that there is this call already for the book to be banned

Anonymous said...

Hey Jins Shamsuddin is my neighbour (well, 1km down the road). Didn't even know he was a senator. Would it be worth dropping a copy of the book in his letterbox, perhaps with some Quranic verse to do with ascertaining the facts before making an accusation?
Actually I haven't got a copy yet. Help!

Amir Muhammad said...

It can be ordered online now.

Amir Muhammad said...

Greetings from KLIA

... where I just read that this book has been seized from MPH Midvalley by the Internal Security Ministry.

Anonymous said...

Goodluck Amir. Be careful of the frenchies.

This book sounds like a hot potato. It may taste delicious but it may burn your tongue. I want to get a copy, but I have to work whole day today. I have to wait till Thursday. Please update us on the availability guys.

Anonymous said...

I wanted to buy this book..But the only available book shop selling this book is saying tat they're out of stocks..anyone know where else can i get the book?

Chet said...

I've ordered online from kinibooks.com. The book is currently out of stock there, but the store says can still order, so I did.

For someone like me, online shopping is increasingly a God-sent.

*back to huddling out of the sun*