It was the Prophet's 1,394th year to
heaven, and the Malay Silat of Singapore were bursting with birthday
fervor. The Silat are Moslem warriors who wear black sarongs and
practice a karate-like form of combat. About 100 of them brought up the
rear of a procession as it made its way last week from Singapore's
rambling old cricket field through the center of town, when a Chinese
traffic cop ordered them to tighten their ranks so as not to obstruct
traffic. A few of the Silat knocked him flat, and in an instant the
rest of the Malay crowd reminded everyone that amok is a Malay word. Quick Retaliation. Screaming “Pukul China!” , the
Malays descended thousands strong into Singapore's Chinese
neighborhoods, burning cars, hurling motor scooters into drainage
ditches, smashing shop windows, and trying the keen edges of their
parangs on Chinese throats. The Chinese were quick to retaliate. Abetted by members of the Triad
Society, an illegal but ill-contained gang of Chinese extortionists,
pimps, gunmen and gamblers, they took advantage of a break in the
hastily imposed curfew to murder a few Malays. One had his head
shattered by a hammer, another was scalped by the ragged edge of a
broken bottle, and an Indian photographer was found with a cargo hook
in his forehead. Before the week was out, 21 Chinese and Malays were
dead, 454 injured, and the handsome, prosperous city itself had
temporarily become a ghost town. Armored cars carrying cops and troops
whispered through Singapore's old colonial arcades over streets covered
by a snowfall of broken glass. Rumahs Were Rife. Singapore's violence has its roots in old racial
antagonisms. When Sir Stamford Raffles founded the colony in 1819,
there were virtually no Chinese on the sultry island. But since the
native Malays were indolent, the British encouraged diligent,
apolitical Chinese to come aboard, and today the city-state's
population is 74% Chinese. The Malays kept to themselves in their
rustic kampongs , jammed into smelly, unlighted thatch-roofed
rumahs, which were rife with disease. Wealthy Chinese, on the other hand, built villas, staffed them with
servants and concubines, and took charge of Singapore's economy with
little opposition. With an annual per capita income of $450, Singapore
today is the wealthiest city in Southeast Asia. But the Malays simply
said “Tida apa” , and rationalized their lowly
condition with the help of the Koran, which they interpret as
condemning commercial endeavor. As a result, the Malays are largely
chauffeurs, street cleaners, firemen and cops, while the bulk of the
Chinese are shopkeepers or larger entrepreneurs.
