Dr M’s ‘May 13’ letter: Will history repeat itself?
In his letter to Tunku, Mahathir had said: “You have told me yourself that you had prevented riots by stopping the death sentence on 11 subversive Chinese. But it is this action of yours which led to the riots and resulted in scores of deaths since May 13.”
Free Malaysia Today
Popular blogger Tulang Besi has reproduced Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s scathing letter to first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman penned in the aftermath of the May 13, 1969 racial riots.
The letter, which was widely distributed back then, had led to Mahathir’s expulsion from Umno.
Tulang Besi, who operates the Malaysia Waves blog, poined out that the letter clearly blamed Tunku for the bloodletting.
“So I am perplexed as to why (Malay pressure group) Perkasa is blaming the Chinese,” he said.
Tulang Besi’s posting comes in the wake of a Malay unity rally, slated for May 13, being postponed following instructions from the top.
It is learnt that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s administration had pulled the plug following strong objections from both sides of the political divide.
Sources claimed that the premier was worried that the event would provide fodder to the opposition to sway Chinese votes in the Sibu by-election, which saw the parliamentary constituency fall to DAP last night.
Barisan Nasional is said to be shell-shocked by its defeat in Sibu, which is incidentally a Chinese-majority seat.
The rally, themed “Melayu Bangkit” (Rise Malays), was supposed to be officiated by Mahathir, and its postponement is said to have irked the former premier and groups like Perkasa.
He told reporters later that the tragedy should not be forgotten, as it is an important history lesson to prevent such an incident from recurring.
