M’sia cycles through political unrest once every decade: academic

[superadmin]

GEORGE TOWN – Malaysia has suffered from political unrest once in a cycle of every decade – starting from 1959 until 2018, says a Universiti Sains Malaysia political scientist.

Speaking in his maiden public lecture after he was conferred with a full professorship here, Prof Sivamurugan Pandian said that it began in 1959 when Umno’s ulama wing broke away from the party to form PAS.

Ten years later, in 1969, racial riots broke out when political deadlock emerged after a general election, which led to some parties displaying over-exuberance in public to an extent it provoked other communities.

This caused a clash to ensue. Officially the death toll was around 30, but a book on the bloodletting had later alleged that the casualties reached thousands, Sivamurugan said.

“It resulted in the disbandment of Parliament and the invoking of the National Security Council and the first form of a national unity government,” the academic noted.

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