Racial Stroking By Irresponsible Politicians

The riot was not racial per se. It was sparked off by the poor Malays being told by Malay politicians that the rich Chinese caused them the economic suffering, and the poor Chinese being told by Chinese politicians that the powerful Malays in the government caused them their hardship.

The riot was triggered off by the then massive suffering of many poor Malays and poor Chinese, both having reached the extreme intolerable level of economic and financial hardship. The intense manipulative racial stroking by irresponsible politicians of the already tense environment during the campaign for the May 10 general election detonated the already ticking racial time bomb.

But the happy-go-lucky government of the day, which didn't have any concrete plans and policies to uplift the quality of life of both the poor Malays and poor Chinese.The faulty socio-political economic situation at that time was the context in which the May 13 riots took place.

The heat generated during the election campaign, followed by the then unprecedented electoral set-back of the ruling Alliance coalition, resulted in a herd self-defensive instinct of the poor Malays which was expertly exploited by irresponsible and immoral politicians. The ordinary Malays should not be blamed as they were certainly being denied their legitimate rights to have a proper and decent life. The Chinese, meanwhile, were victims of circumstances, not of racial hatred.