How racial issues could divide the people.
In 1964, the PAP participated in the Federal Election in Malaysia, with a fresh mind of how to create a Malaysia where everyone is given equal rights,opportun
This sparked anger within the UMNO, as they did not want Singapore to have a hand in the affairs of Malaysia, which then led to an anti-PAP campaign set up by some UMNO leaders.
UMNO also found blame on PAP's resettlement and redevelopment programme launched to uproot the Malays from their homes in traditional Malay-populated
Utusan Melayu, was used by UMNO, to spread the anti-PAP campaign, fabricating lies about the number of Malay families affected by the government's decision for resettlement in an area. They also highlighted that the PAP did not bother about the Malay population in Singapore.
The riots occurred during the period due to the strains in the PAP-UMNO relations after the PAP's attempt to challenge the UMNO in the March 1964 Malaysia Federal Election with the campaign slogan of "Malaysian Malaysia".
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and several other foreign observers also attributed the riots as the result of agitation by Syed Jaafar Albar and other elements of the ultra-nationali
On one fateful day in July 1964, a clash between a Chinese policeman and a group of Malay participants of the procession of Prophet Muhammad's birthday led to a racial riot before the group of Malays started attacking Chinese passers-by and spectators.
In total, the violence killed at least 36 people and injured another 556. About 3,000 people were also arrested for participating in the riots, including 600 secret society members and 256 people arrested for possession of dangerous weapons with the rest arrested for violating the curfew given.
The aftermath of the racial riot in July 1964 was quite fatal, and Goodwill Committees were formed, made up of community leaders from the various racial groups to help foster the racial bonds of the people in Singapore. Their main task was to restore peace and harmony between the Malays and the Chinese by addressing the concerns of the residents, and spreading the message of peaceful living with each other.
The lessons learnt was that racial tension between both races could provoke a riot, which may turn fatal if not hastily handled. It also teaches us that we have to maintain the racial bonds between the people of Singapore, as stated from our Pledge.
" We, the citizens of Singapore
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society,
based on justice and equality,
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation. "
People are sensitive to race issues as they do not like to be generalized as "lowly humans" or even like being insulted by another race, which promotes suspicion, distrust and hostility among the people of Singapore.
And thus, a trigger of an issue of race will result in a deadly full-blown racial riots.
Here's a video of the what happened in the 1964 race riots
How religious issues could divide the people.
The Maria Hertogh riots of 1950 first started when the biological parents of Maria wanted their daughter back , which was under the care of a Malay lady when her biological parents were imprisoned by the Japanese. Maria was then raised as a Muslim, and also was married to a Malay teacher.
A court trial followed, and the court threw out the appeal within five minutes, which had wide media coverage. The brevity of the hearing convinced the gathering of a large crowd of Malays that the colonial legal system was biased against Muslims.
The riots then erupted, attacking any Europeans and even Eurasians in sight. Cars were overturned and burnt, and the police, populated of Malays, could not do much in the quelling of the riot. The British military was then sent to control the situation, while various Muslim leaders appealed over the radio for the riots to cease.
18 people were killed, among whom were seven Europeans or Eurasians, two police officers, and nine rioters shot by the police or military, 173 were injured, many of them seriously, 119 vehicles were damaged, and at least two buildings were set on fire.
The lessons learnt was that we must not be biased against different races, and we must maintain equal treatment of every race in Singapore.
If religious issues are not handled carefully, hostillity and distrust among the people might occur, thus affecting the relationships among different religious groups.
Here's a video of the story on the Maria Hertogh riots.
How issues relating to transnational terrorism could divide the people.
Transnational terrorism refers to acts of global violence in terms of aims, organisations and impact. These acts of violence tests the social bonds of people in Singapore, and Singapore needs to handle it carefully as it could result in the dividing of people. In multi-ethnic countries like Singapore, race and religion can be used as a tool to create tension among the different ethnic groups, which therefore, could endanger the safety of the people of Singapore and also destroy Singapore's image of having racial and religious harmony in them.
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Social Studies Textbook.
-Javan