IT’S hard to imagine that it has been 40 years since the event that has so shaped and scarred our lives took place. 13 May 1969 is, to borrow from President Franklin D Roosevelt, a date that will live on in infamy, for Malaysians at least.
The riots in Kuala Lumpur and the bloody aftermath have become Malaysia’s own bogey — a spectre that is wielded ever so often by politicians bent on using it for their own ends.
The events of 13 May ultimately led to the creation of the National Economic Plan (NEP) that has — for better or worse — reshaped Malaysian society to what it is now.
Yet, 40 years on, the fear of racial riots remains; the ghost of 13 May looms large in our collective consciousness. But few really know what actually transpired on that date. The whole event is shrouded in secrecy. Everything from the total number of deaths, to the masterminds behind the riots, is open to question.
What we need to ask is, does it really matter anymore? Isn’t it time for us to move on, to show that we are no longer prisoners of our past?
Forty years on, Malaysians should be mature enough to talk about 13 May in a rational manner, and not let politicians hijack the discussion. Let’s collectively throw off the cloak of fear that dominates discussion on the subject, and move towards forgiveness and reconciliation. Towards making this a home for all Malaysians free of fear of each other.
What do you think? Give us your six words on 13 May in the comments section below. Here are some from The Nut Graph team to get started.
Jacqueline Ann Surin:
Remember the untold May 13 stories.
Why can’t we move on, please?
The politicians won’t let us forget!
Shanon Shah:
A day to reflect and reconcile.
The myth that keeps on giving.
Apa yang sebenarnya berlaku hari itu?
Kau kunci tanahairku dalam tarikh itu.
If South Africa can move on…
Turn that negative into a positive!
Cindy Tham:
Negaraku. Rakyat hidup bersatu dan makmur.
Deborah Loh:
Learn from, not bury the past.
Move on from 13 May, BN.
Don’t make it the bogey anymore.
We’ll never know what really happened.
N Shashi Kala:
Not just another date in Malaysia.
Gan Pei Ling
13 May? *looks around* Seditious lah!
Chinese vs Malays? Malaysians vs politicians. 
See also:
Surviving 13 May
The Nut Graph — reclaiming 13 May.
Inspired by Ernest Hemingway‘s genius, the Six Words On… section challenges readers to give us their comments about a current issue, contemporary personality or significant event in just six words. The idea is to get readers engaged in an issue that The Nut Graph identifies, while having fun and being creatively disciplined.
Lebih baik bunuh prasangka daripada jiran.
Off-topic, but it’s a comment on a six-words entry: Spot on. It is indeed Malaysians vs. politicians.
May 13 – Malaysia’s still being raped.
40 years on, Malaysia’s standing still.
May 13: Antiseptic and tears time!
The day a government attacked us.
A government golem designed to intimidate.
Forgive all past trespasses. Never forget.
It didn’t happen in Sarawak what!
No sex, much lies, no videotape.
Reclaim the truth with the internet!
Move along, nothing to see here
Boldly leaving the past to history
Mere remembrance gets us nowhere fast
Time to right the regrettable wrongs
Living precariously on a misunderstood myth
Time to live for the future
May 13. Excess baggage. Leave behind.
Why can’t we simply get along?
Let’s live as brothers and sisters.
Nasi lemak, yong taufoo, roti canai.
May God bless us — ALL Malaysians.
The rakyat’s united; politicians divide us.
Slay the specter of Thirteenth May!
I am Malaysian. Are you Malaysian?
Blame, blame, blame. Still no acknowledgment.
“Can’t we all just get along?” (quoting Rodney King)
Melayu, Cina, India, Punjabi, semua manusia!
We need Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
History forgotten, doomed to be repeated.
Unmask the murder, reclaim the facts.
Just another day in Sarawak, MALAYSIA
1BLACK Malaysia, Democracy First, Elections Now
- from Wong Chin Huat
Reading Horowitz’s “The Deadly Ethnic Riot”.
So terribly useful for racial politics
9/11 for Bush, 5/13 for Umno
It happened then … so what now?
Understand 1969 backwards; live Malaysia forward.
(re-adapted with thanks to Soren Kierkegaard)
Bangsa Malaysia, One People, One Nation.
Why? Umno lost 10% peninsular votes.
Why? Without crisis, PAS would overtake.
Why? PAS didn’t eye the non-Malays.
May 13 caused NEP? Opposite direction.
We need Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Forget history never. Forgive we must.
It’s funeral time after 40 years.
The truth shall set us free.
Set up Truth and Reconciliation Committee!
Can’t move forward without reviewing past.
Did Umno ever change? Beats me.
National holiday to adjust and accommodate.
513 is history, let’s move forward
An Umno scheme to justify NEP
Desperate measure by a desperate Umno
8 March exorcised 13 May already.
Past tragedy revisited to scare us.
“Ketuanan Melayu” keeps 13 May alive.
I agree with Wong Chin Huat!
Sorry, May 13 no longer scary.
Myths no facts, lies no truth.
Will we ever know its instigator?
It was the day Malaysia bled.
Be gone! Get lost! Good riddance!
No reruns please. Love one another!
40 years pass, it still hurts.
Bury the past, move on please.
Forget May 13, remember May 7!
I could go on and on…
Keeps Biro Tata Negara in business!
I was one month short of my 21st birthday on 13 May 1969, and I will never forget how I was escorted safely home by some Malay Malaysian men when I had to pass through the Malay section of Lorong Selamat (the Macalister Road end) on my way home on my Vespa scooter. One of them even rode pillion on my scooter to ensure I was not attacked.
The riot was not racial. It was the poor Malay Malaysians being told by Malay Malaysian politicians that the rich Chinese Malaysians caused them the economic suffering, and the poor Chinese Malaysians being told by Chinese Malaysian politicians that the powerful Malay Malaysians in government caused them to suffer.
The riot was triggered off by the then massive suffering of both the poor Malay Malaysians and poor Chinese Malaysians.
Who’s to blame?
Not the Malay Malaysians. Not the Chinese Malaysians.
But the happy-go-lucky tidak apa government of the day, which didn’t have any concrete plans and policies to uplift the quality of life of the poor Malay Malaysians and poor Chinese Malaysians.
That’s what I believe 13 May is all about.
By the way, 13 May is also my wedding anniversary.
We know who were those responsible.
May 13th do not repeat it.
You remember May 13th? I don’t.
History will repeat itself unless the facts are known and people allowed to take measures
Some started it, none found guilty.
May 13 1969, Tun abdul Razak.
The date that made Malaysians ‘kiasu’.
the truth of May 13 untold
May 13, May 07, same family.
The day we lost our independence
The day racism was given legitimacy
A ghost from before my birth.
The day racism became national policy
Get out! don’t call Malaysia motherland!
Why can’t I call Malaysia motherland?
Learn from history to repeat errors?
Asians hypocritically accuse westerners of racism
West openly discuss racism to reform
The devil whispered and somebody obeyed.