CTL202 Oral History Assignment Norashikin Bte Hambali
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CTL202 Oral History Assignment Norashikin Bte Hambali
Sentiment…Rage…The Innocent Compromised?
The Maria Hertogh incident sparked off what initially was a dispute involving two families into a gory racial nightmare between the Malays and the Europeans in multi-racial Singapore. My uncle Yunnos at ten years was testimony to the brutalities that took place. He was never physically affected during the incident but memories of its aftermath did leave an emotional and possibly psychological impact on him. The incident may have taken place almost 54 years ago but his recount of it was so real that it was obvious he was still living in its memory.
Gashing wounds and cut lips, swollen eyes and uniforms tainted with
blood. ¹Young and old were waling at the gruesome sight, women especially. The men were raged and crying out words of unhappiness such as “Foul play! Foul play! We are innocent! What have we done to deserve this? Why would they hurt their own kind?”
For the purpose of this assignment, I am grateful to my uncle for having given me the opportunity to interview him. His accounts of the tension that was brewing though brief gave me an inkling of the events that led to the rioting, and how innocent victims were affected through no fault of theirs as reported in The Straits Times dated December 12, 1950. ²
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¹ Refer to Transcript. Uncle Yunnos’ account provides the horrifying details of the wounded fire-
fighters.
² The Straits Times. Tuesday December 12, 1950
Background of Uncle Yunnos
Uncle Yunnos is the fourth child in a family of fourteen siblings. He was raised on the fire-station grounds as his father, Shariff Bin Kastor, who was my late grandfather had been a fireman all his life. That was the name they were called by then…firemen. Now they are known as civil defence officers instead. In fact, Uncle Yunnos too became a fireman and he was one till the day he retired at the age of 60. Uncle Yunnos would be the best candidate I guess to answer any queries related to the firefighting history considering he was working at the Civil Defence Heritage Gallery befittingly situated on the grounds he was raised on, Hill Street Central Fire-Station.
A fireman’s job is not an easy one. One might think based on the account given by my uncle that all they do on a daily basis is to march on the parade grounds, clean their fire-engines and polish them to ensure that they gleam with redness. ³(Transcript) Contrary to that, theirs is a dangerous job, one that involves risking their lives to safe others’. Putting fires out is no easy feat. Ask Uncle Yunnos and he would tell you the number of times he had scraped through being burnt. In this line, he says, safety is important but one can never tell the circumstances one is in. A few of his friends have however, gotten themselves burnt on a number of occasions. Their scars are proof of this! Any job has risks but the degree of risk involved where putting fires out are concerned can only be envisioned. This brings us to that fateful day of 11th December 1950.
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³ Refer to Transcript
The Incident that Sparked off the Riots
The Maria Hertogh story had been gaining much publicity ever since the trials began on November 21st of that year. By a twist of fate, Maria or as she was known by her Malay name, Nadra was in the midst of a custody battle between her foster mother Cik Aminah who had raised her since she was 5 and her biological parents, the Hertoghs. Cik Aminah’s stance was that Mrs Hertogh had asked her to take care of Maria for Cik Aminah “had no children and she had too many” 4. Furthermore she was uncertain if her husband were alive. Cik Aminah claimed that Mrs Hertogh said that she would be answerable if her husband were to ask regarding Maria’s whereabouts. Maria had at no point been claimed by Mrs Hertogh during the first three years in Cik Aminah’s care.
Mrs Hertogh counter claim was that she only allowed Maria to stay with Cik Aminah for three days but since she was arrested by the Japanese during its occupation in Singapore, she had no knowledge of Maria’s whereabouts. In fact, she claimed that neither she nor her husband had authorized Cik Aminah to adopt Maria. 5
“Islamic consciousness and awareness were at their peak in 1950.” 6 The Muslim community’s sentiments were raised because a couple of incidents instigated this. Firstly, before the court ruled on May 20th that Maria was to be sent back to her native homeland, she had been sent to the Girls’ Homecraft Centre at York Hill. She was placed among children between the ages of six and eighteen who had social problems such as immoral activities, abandoned or runaways, etc.
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4 “Torn Between Two Worlds”, http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/independence/lifelilne/maria.html
5 Ibid
6 Haja Maideen. (The Nadra Tragedy: The Maria Hertogh Controversy, 2000), pg 77
(3rd Edition) Malaysia. Pelanduk Publications
She did not fit into any of these categories and it was “feared that she would attempt to run away”. 7 Secondly, it did not help that the Straits Times had published the news of Maria’s marriage to Mansoor Adabi on August 1st .
The Dutch media on knowing this sensationalized the fact that Maria by Dutch law was not of marriageable age as she was below sixteen. The Dutch media succeeded in making the Dutch authorities fume with rage and condemning the marriage as “scandalous”. 8
With all the media attention the case was receiving, the fire had already been
ignited, the Malay newspaper Majlis aggravated matters further by writing an article which cited the case between the two families as one which “had become a religious and national matter”. 9 Further media frenzy did not make matters better. Different groups of Muslims, one fronted by Karim Gani, the President of the Muslim League and editor of Malaya Namban and the other by Dr Burhanuddin Al-Helmy, the editor of Melayu Raya were busy discussing the issue of the interference of the Dutch and the English governments in a matter that they considered to be one of religious interest.
The verdict for the custody of Maria was read out on December 2nd. The judge decided that Maria’s marriage was nullified and that Maria would be taken into custody by her biological parents. The Muslim community was outraged by this piece of news. Cik Aminah made an appeal and while this was being processed, Maria was sent to the Girls’ Home of the Convent of the Good Shepherd.
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7 Ibid
8 Ibid
9 Ibid
They could not believe that Maria, being a Muslim would be taken to a place manned by Christians. “It was reported that the newspapers showed a photo of her praying before the Virgin Mary.” 10 Cik Aminah was devastated and made an appeal but as history would have it, it was not to be.
December 11th 1950…Bloodshed
All seemed calm around the area of Hill Street. It was around 5pm. The firemen had been despatched to the Sultan Mosque area in response to a fire involving a couple of vehicles. Then Uncle Yunnos heard the “loud and long waling sound”³ of the siren indicating that the firemen had returned. The extent of the casualty rate was uncertain but soon all would be revealed.
The appeal for the Maria to be given custody to Cik Aminah was refused. The huge crowd that had waited outside the Supreme Court was left disappointed and outraged. The Muslim demonstrators shouted anti European slogans outside the courts. Riot squads were sent to quell the tension but to no avail. What sparked off the first blow was not quite known but all hell broke loose soon after.
At the Sultan Mosque, at about 2.15pm, the Deputy Commissioner of the Uniform Branch, Livett, received information of the mosque being a storage space for crowbars, wooden poles, bottles and an assortment of paraphernalia”. 11
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10 Refer to Transcript
11 Maideen, H. (The Nadra Tragedy, pg 254)
(3rd Edition) Malaysia. Pelanduk Publications
Thirty Gurkhas and thirty Malay policemen coupled with Livett’s four police constables who were probably English had made their way around the area which was supposedly where the riots had been most severe. “The most densely affected areas were Victoria Street, Jalan Sultan, Jalan Kubor and North Bridge Road.” 12 Cars belonging to Europeans were overturned and put on fire and that was where the firemen were called to task.
The firemen who were answering the call of duty and were just doing their jobs were seen as supporters of the British. They were caught in the rage though they were innocent. In the midst of putting out the fire they were trapped and inevitably got hit by whatever the rioters threw towards them. The saying that blood is thicker than water obviously does not always apply where one’s pride is wounded. Most of the firemen were Malays and obviously the rioters could not care less for that. They were seen as the enemy anyway as they were not part of the supporters.
This is what happens racial and religious sensitivities are not regarded. Innocent victims caught in the cross-fire and the media playing the devil’s advocate. The newspapers were so caught up in reporting the news that sensationalize that they fail to see the repercussions that follow. Ironically on December 12th,, the Straits Times only reported on the status of the “two Europeans, tow Chinese and a Eurasian were fatally injured and more than 100 people- Europeans, Eurasians, Chinese and Indians were wounded”. 13
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12 Refer to Transcript
13 The Straits Times. Tuesday December 12, 1950
They did not bother with the likes of Pakcik Jaabar who had risked their lives and in the midst had gotten hurt. “Where is the justice?” I ask. It seems clear what the media’s standpoint then was.
Point to Ponder
“…unfettered, sensationalized coverage of racially and religiously sensitive issues in the mass media.”14 had heightened the tension felt by the Malays and it seems logical that the media should not be allowed free reign to print anything they liked even though it seems ‘print-worthy’.
At the end of the interview my uncle had refused to give me further details of the rioting which took place. I am uncertain if his request to keep mum was due to his anger at the lopsided verdict given by the judge, with the media who blatantly left out bits of relevant information or with the rioters who had caused innocent lives to be lost. His vehement shaking of his head caught my eye and he winced when he mentioned Pakcik Jaabar’s name. In his eyes I saw hurt and a deep pain, something I hope with the fervour of Nationalistic pride and racial and religious tolerance, would never happen again.
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14 Lee Geok Boi. (Journey into Nationhood, 1998) Singapore Landmark Books Refer to Transcript
References
Book
1) Haja Maideen. (The Nadra Tragedy: The Maria Hertogh Controversy, 2000).
(3rd Edition) Malaysia. Pelanduk Publications
2) Lee Geok Boi. (Journey into Nationhood, 1998) Singapore Landmark Books
Newspaper Article
The Straits Times. Tuesday December 12, 1950
Internet Articles
1) Selvarajah, “Maria Hertogh Riots”,
http://groups.msn.com/MALAYSIANMEMORIES/mariahertogh1.msnw
2) Singapore Press Holdings 1998,
http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/independence/headline/race50.html
3) “Torn Between Two Worlds”,
http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/independence/lifelilne/maria.html
4) Leow Kai Chun, Koh Zi Chun & Kenneth Lum, “Maria Hertogh Riots”,
http://www.chs.edu.sg/~teocm/projects/timeline/riots.html
5) http://www.knowledgenet.com.sg/singapore/Chronicle/July/issue4(2)/Racial_Stereotypes.htm
6) National Education Branch (MOE), “Maria Hertogh Riots”, http://www1.moe.edu.sg/ne/Archives/Episodes%20from%20the%20Singapore%20Story/Maria_Hertogh/Maria_Hertogh.htm
Name of Interviewee: Yunnos Bin Shariff
Age: 64 years old
Occupation: Retired Firemen
Duration of Interview: 1 ½ hours
TRANSCRIPT
1) Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
My name is Yunnos Bin Shariff. I come from a family of fire-fighters. I am the fourth child in a family of fourteen children. My father, brother and I were fire-fighters. Currently my 3 nephews are in this profession too.
2) What was your childhood like?
I spent my entire childhood till I was 20 or so years old at the fire-station headquarters. Initially I lived at the Geylang fire-station. Then we moved to the Central fire-station situated on Hill Street as my father was posted there to assume his officer duties.
Life on the fire-station grounds was usually a routine. My father was strict with my siblings and I probably because of the nature of his job. My elder brother, two elder sisters and I had it the hardest because we were supposed to set an example to our younger siblings. From young, we were made to wake up early for morning prayers, trained to tidy our one room apartment and look after the younger ones. It was not that hard considering the space we had to clean! It was quite problematic though keeping check on the younger ones! My elder brother, Haron, was the one who usually kept a tight rein on us while I went around doing things young boys like me usually do…create mischief!