While the 1947 hartal is widely quoted on paper today, there is little mention of a hartal that once swept across the island of Penang in 1967. Originally intended as a peaceful protest, this hartal escalated into a bloody atmosphere of heightened racial tension. Tan Sri Wong Pow Nee, the island's first Chief Minister even related the said protest as one of the incidences which might have possibly led to the 1969 racial riots.
However, a closer look at the mood and circumstances surrounding the 1967 Hartal explains the contrary. Allow me to first transport you back to the island of Penang in the 1960s.
The Prince of Wales Island in a crumbling state
Penang in the 1960s was no wonderland.
Towards the mid-1960s, both her economy and trading environment was in a depressing state. Per capita income declined as much as 12% under the national wage and the island's entreport trade (mostly with Indonesia) was also affected by the Indonesian Confrontation.
A 2% surtax imposed by the Malaysian government on Indonesian goods re-exported from Penang placed the island in yet another disadvantage as compared to other ports like Singapore.
Things crumbled in 1967 when Penang lost her free port status. Businesses were struggling to survive the recession and unemployment rate was soaringly high.
According to a Straits Echo report, in early months of 1968, the state government estimated it at about 20% of the work force, with a total of 10,000 school leavers requiring jobs.
Perhaps, your grandparents would recall how many young people were out of jobs (many made a living then by becoming parking attendants and other odd job workers) and how one is considered extremely lucky to land one's self in a teacher's college or sixth form.
The island's economic condition was so bleak that even the President of the International Chamber of Commerce predicted that Penang would end up as a fishing village (of course, his prediction was proven wrong!). Nevertheless, the sentiments of rage and dissatisfaction due to the various economic pressures in place were mounting among the masses.
Sterling devaluation and brewing rage
The decision of the Malaysian authorities to devalue the Malaysian dollar which was tied to the Sterling in November 1967 added fuel to the fire.
Malaysia then had two types of currencies in circulation – the old, based on Sterling and the new, based on gold. The new currency issued by the Malaysian government in June 1967, at par with the value of the old, was meant to replace the old in time to come without any 'phrasing out' period stipulated.
In the light of the British devaluation, the impromptu action to similarly devalue only the old currency, making it 15% less valuable than the new, resulted in confusion and not to mention, a heightened level of anger and annoyance among the people, typically the lower income group.
It was not the fashion then for farmers, fishermen and small-time traders to own bank accounts. Many lived in the outshirts and many kept their savings (in shilings especially) in their homes with the bulk of it in old currency. Thus, the devaluation burden, in which the government should accordingly have shouldered by itself, fell upon those who could least afford it and simply aggravated the plight of most Penangites.
While the authorities maintained that they were faced with no choice but to devalue the old currency, immense public outcry inevitable and many questioned the validity of that stand . It was in such condition that Lim Kean Siew, the then Chairman of the Labour Party Penang division, decided on a hartal ala the style of Gandhi's civil disobedience protest.
A public statement urging the government to provide a grace period for the lower income groups to get rid off their old currencies was similarly issued. Neverthless, their demands were swept under the carpet.
The Hartal and its unanticipated violence
Contrary to common perception, the hartal was never meant as a racial riot. It was intended as a peaceful, democratic protest against the decision to devaluate the old dollar. Lim even made it clear that the move was in no manner communist-inspired as well. Calls were merely made for shops to cease from conducting their usual business routines by putting up their shutters as an act of protest.
In fact, there were neither any street demonstrations nor elements of violence and hostility during the wee hours of the launch of the hartal.
The hartal in its early stages, was perceived as a success by the Labour Party – they had the entire Penang City under their control. Overwhelming support also gave the party a ray of hope for the upcoming 1969 general elections.
But what was it that stirred the trouble?
In an era where thugs ruled most of the streets in George Town, the hartal haphazardly went out of hand in the later stages and was amplified into an unexpected racial conflict when gangs and party extremists decided to take matters at their hands as well. To this, even the police force was not fully prepared.
Of course, folks who lived through that era might tell you different incidences of the hartal stirred up by these notorious assemblages along the many numerous parts of the island.
One of them dictates how a group of gangsters went into rows with a goreng pisang seller along the Malay dominated Dato Kramat area and had later killed a guard at the Standard Chartered Bank. The other, how a gang of Chinese youths attempted to block Malay passerbys in revenge of an earlier Malay group who did the same to the Chinese.
The Straits Times also reported chaos along the main streets of George Town – from Chulia Street to Penang Road, Prangin Road and Beach Street. The windows of the Cold Storage were smashed by stones and bricks and even the Jefferson Centre in Beach Street suffered the same fate upon being attacked by a group of youths, shouting and screaming anti-devaluation slogans.
The famous Violet Café along Magazine Road was not spared either – demonstrators forced their way in and about 100 people breakfasting inside ran out as the mob smashed the furniture and showcases.
At least two other restaurants along Penang Road and Campbell Street were attacked. Bus companies also withdrew their vehicles upon several attacks. A mob was reported to have stopped a bus along Penang Road and stones were thrown into the bus to chase out all its passengers before an attempt to overturn the said vehicle. Even two reporters from a local newspaper, the Warta Negara were assulted in their attempt to snap pictures of the incident.
Barricades were launched, curfews were implemented and the holiday island seemed like a deserted, old cowboy town.
A racial riot instigated by the Labour Party?
Towards the end of the hartal, the island was at its bloodiest – eight deaths and 137 people injured. Extra police personnel and members of the armed forces were also sent from Kuala Lumpur to guard the tension. Lim, together with other 23 leaders were arrested at the height of the protest. The code-launched 'Operation X' by the home affairs ministry witnessed the closure of the party's headquarters followed by its other eight branch offices around Penang.
Weapons were ceased and several hundred of youths (unfortunately, sources do not state whether these youths stemmed from the party itself or street gangs but it is believed that there is still the possibility of dual-affiliation) were rounded up for investigations on the grounds of suspected subversive activities.
Clearly, as someone deserved the blame, the Labour Party was held responsible for all the chaos, deaths and injuries caused.
Even the Tunku expressed his shock in the papers over the "outbreaks of violence in Penang over such a 'small thing' as the devaluation of the old dollar". Regarding the hartal, he noted that "All hell broke loose. Malays retaliated with violence and what originally was a communist resistance against the government and the people, turned into a Sino-Malay conflict".
However, in the light of the island's troubles during that period, it is res ipsa loquitur that the hartal was not a racial riot instigated by the Labour Party but a mere one-off accident. By stating this, I also beg to differ in relation to the claims that the hartal is one of the incidents which led to the 1969 racial riots.
While it is true that the hartal was inspired by Lim as Chairman of the Labour Party, there is, as highlighted earlier, no intention for the protest to be racially-tainted.
Taking into account the island's woes then, majority of the masses, regardless of race, did not favour the devaluation as their livelihoods would prove more onerous as a result of it. Such dilemma simply aroused the idea of a peaceful protest to demonstrate their non-acceptance of the decision which is a commonplace in growing democracies.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, even Lim himself made it clear that the hartal was in no way a communist-inspired act to boycott the government's decision. Again, given the circumstances of which the said decision was made, the hartal was a protest against the particular decision made at that point of time and not part of a deliberate communist battle against the government.
Racial elements perpetuated the atmosphere of the hartal only when gangs, thugs and extremists decided to intervene at their cause and such intervention was unforeseeable by the organisers of the hartal in order to assert control over the situation.
In fact, Lim was arrested and detained at the height of the hartal even before the chaos took place in the hands of these groups.
Certainly, it was most unfortunate that the entire party was held responsible for the anarchy incensed towards the later stages of the protest. It is equally interesting to note that even Tun Razak, the then home minister was later quoted in the Straits Times as "happy to say that there was no evidence to show that the clashes were racial".
Perhaps, despite all the disorders caused, the hartal served as a blessing in disguise for the island to be thoroughly prepared for the unanticipated in the future which led the island to be relatively calm in 1969 (thanks in part to the diligent leadership of the police force led by Albert Mah).
Today, 46 years have passed. The Hartal 1967 remains generally unknown and largely forgotten to most Penangites.
Yet however, to those who have lived, witnessed and struggled-through those painful times, the hartal is much alive as a constant reminder to all, not only to anticipate the unexpected but also to appreciate and treasure the peace and fortune we all often take for granted in modern times like today.
Koay Su Lyn is a research analyst with the history and heritage department of the Penang Institute. A lawyer by training, she believes that one cannot truly comprehend the present without a proper reference to the past.
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