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History of Malaysia
Prehistoric period Paleolithic  Lenggong Valley c. 2,000,0000 BCE  Mansuli Valley 235,000 BCE Mesolithic  Niah cultures 65,000–40,000 BCE Neolithic  Bewah man/woman 16,000 BCE  Perak man/woman 11,000–200 BCE  Neolithic Klang 500 – 200 BCE
Early kingdoms Ancient Kedah <100 BCE Chi Tu 100 BCE–642 CE Langkasuka 100 BCE–1474 CE Gangga Negara c. 100 CE–1025 Pan Pan 424–775 Old Kedah 170–1135 Old Pahang 449–1454 Srivijaya 700s–1025 Majapahit 1300s
Rise of Muslim states Kedah Sultanate 1136–present Samudera Pasai Sultanate 1267–1521 Brunei Sultanate 1368–present Malacca Sultanate 1402–1511 Sulu Sultanate 1450–1899 Pahang Sultanate 1470–1623 Aceh Sultanate 1496–1903 Pattani Sultanate 1516– 1902 Johor Sultanate 1528–present Sarawak Sultanate 1599–1641 Selangor Sultanate 1766–present Besut Kingdom 1780–1899 Setul Kingdom 1808–1916 Reman Kingdom 1810–1902 Kubang Pasu Kingdom 1839–1864
Colonial period Portuguese Malacca 1511–1641 Dutch–Portuguese War 1601–1661 Dutch Malacca 1641–1824 Pahang Kingdom 1770–1881 Straits Settlements 1786–1946 Siamese invasion of Kedah 1821–1826 Anglo-Dutch Treaty 1824 Burney Treaty 1826 Naning War 1831–1832 Kingdom of Sarawak 1841–1946 Separation of Perlis from Kedah 1843 Crown Colony of Labuan 1848–1946 Pahang Civil War 1857–1863 Larut Wars 1861–1874 Klang War 1867–1874 Pangkor Treaty 1874 Perak War 1875–1876 British Malaya / Borneo 1874–1946 Jementah Civil War 1879 North Borneo 1882–1946 Pahang Uprising 1891–1895 Mat Salleh Rebellion 1894–1905 Federated Malay States 1895–1946 Anglo-Siamese Treaty 1909 Unfederated Malay States 1909–1946 Battle of Penang 1914 Kelantan rebellion 1915
World War II Japanese occupation of Malaya / Borneo 1941–1945 Malayan campaign 1941–1942 Bornean Campaign 1941–1942 Battle of Muar 1942 Parit Sulong Massacre 1942 Battle of Singapore 1942 Sook Ching 1942 Syburi 1942 Sandakan Death Marches 1942–1945 Si Rat Malai 1943–1945 Jesselton revolt 1943–1944
Formative period BMA of Malaya/Borneo 1945–1946 Crown Colony of N. Borneo/Sarawak 1946–1963 Anti-cession movement 1946–1963 Malayan Union 1946–1948 Federation of Malaya 1948–1963 Malayan Emergency 1948–1960 Baling Talks 1955
Independence period Malayan Independence 1957 Singapore self-governance 1959 ISA 1960 1960–2012 Sarawak Insurgency 1962–1990 North Borneo self-governance 1963 Konfrontasi 1963–1966 Sarawak self-governance 1963 Formation of Malaysia 1963 Singapore in Malaysia 1963–1965 ASEAN Declaration 1967 Second communist insurgency 1968–1989
Modern period 13 May incident 1969 National Operations Council 1969–1971 Declaration of Rukun Negara 1970 New Economic Policy 1971–1990 Federal Territory of KL 1974 1977 Kelantan Emergency 1977 Pedra Branca dispute 1979–2008 South China Sea dispute (Spratly) 1980–present Dawn Raid 1981 Federal Territory of Labuan 1984 Memali incident 1985 Operation Lalang 1987 Constitutional crisis 1987–1988 Peace Agreement of Hat Yai 1989 Royal Immunity Amendments 1993 Asian financial crisis 1997–1998 Reformasi Movement 1998–2022 2008 Malaysian Opposition Wave 2008 H1N1 flu pandemic 2009–2010 Sedition Dragnet 2014 1MDB scandal 2015–present Pakatan Harapan takeover 2018 COVID-19 pandemic 2020–2022 Political crisis 2020–2022 Bornean Amendment 2021–2023 Green Wave 2022–present
Incidents Brunei revolt 1962–1966 North Borneo dispute (Philippine militant attacks) 1962–present Singapore race riots 1964 Brunei's Limbang claim 1967–2009 Penang Hartal riot 1967 13 May Incident 1969 Ligitan and Sipadan dispute 1969–2002 Kuala Lumpur flash floods 1971 Malaysian haze crisis 1972–present AIA building hostage crisis 1975 National Monument bombing 1975 Campbell Shopping Complex fire 1976 Sabah Air GAF Nomad crash 1976 Japan Airlines Flight 715 incident 1977 MH653 incident 1977 1985 Lahad Datu ambush 1985 Memali Incident 1985 Sabah Emergency 1986 Ming Court Affair 1987 Penang terminal bridge collapse 1988 Taufiqiah Al-Khairiah madrasa fire 1989 Bright Sparklers disaster 1991 Highland Towers collapse 1993 Genting landslide 1995 MH2133 incident 1995 Pos Dipang mudflow 1996 Tropical Storm Greg 1996 1998–1999 Malaysia Nipah virus outbreak 1998–1999 2000 Sipadan kidnappings 2000 Al-Ma'unah incident 2000 Sauk Siege 2000 2001 Kampung Medan riots 2001 2002 Taman Hillview landslide 2002 Indian Ocean tsunami 2004 2006–2007 Southeast Asian floods 2006–2007 Bukit Gantang bus crash 2007 Bukit Antarabangsa landslide 2008 H1N1 flu pandemic 2009 Attacks against places of worship 2010 Cameron Highlands bus crash 2010 Hulu Langat landslide 2011 Genting Highlands bus crash 2013 MH370 incident 2014 MH17 incident 2014 2014–15 Malaysia floods 2014–2015 Sabah earthquake 2015 2015 Plaza Low Yat riot 2015 Movida Bar grenade attack 2016 Kim Jong-nam's Assassination 2017 Darul Quran madrasa fire 2017 2018 Subang Temple riot 2018 2020-21 Malaysia floods 2021 LRT train collision 2021 2021-22 Malaysia floods 2021–2022 2022 Batang Kali landslide 2022 2023 Elmina plane crash 2023 2024 Lumut helicopters crash 2024 2024 Ulu Tiram police station attack 2024
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This article is part of a series aboutMahathir Mohamad
Political positions Awards and honours Prime Minister of Malaysia First term (1981–2003) North-South Expressway MSC Malaysia Proton Holdings Wawasan 2020 National Development Policy 1993 constitutional amendment Bangsa Malaysia Operation Haze IMT-GT Reformasi "Asian values" Putrajaya Petronas Towers Second term (2018–2020) Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 International trips THM fund Borneo states bill 2020 political crisis Cabinets I II III IV V VI VII Political parties UMNO (1964–2016) BERSATU (2016–2020) PEJUANG (2020–2023) PUTRA (2023–present) Coalitions Alliance Party (1964–1974) Barisan Nasional (1974–2016) Pakatan Harapan (2017–2020) Gerakan Tanah Air (2022–2023) Family Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali Mukhriz Mahathir Mokhzani Mahathir Marina Mahathir Related KL War Crimes Commission The Malay Dilemma Citizens' Declaration Asian values Teater Tun Siti Hasmah Mahathir, the Musical Mahathir Science Award Gallery Quotes
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Operation Lalang (Malay: Operasi Lalang, also called Ops Lalang and taken to mean "Operation Weeding") was a major crackdown undertaken by the Royal Malaysian Police from 27 October to 20 November 1987, ostensibly to prevent the occurrence of racial riots in Malaysia. The operation saw the arrest of 106 to 119 people—political activists, opposition politicians, intellectuals, students, artists, scientists and others—who were detained without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA). It was the second largest mass arrest in Malaysian history involving the ISA since the 13 May riots 18 years earlier. It also involved the revoking of the publishing licenses of two dailies, The Star and the Sin Chew Jit Poh and two weeklies, The Sunday Star and Watan.

The Malaysian government argued that racial tensions had reached a dangerous level within the country, forcing the government to arrest those responsible for stoking the tension. The notion that racial riots were imminent however is contested, and it is widely believed that the operation was designed to control the political opponents of the Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The event marked the beginning of a period of Mahathir's authoritarian rule.

Causes

A number of political developments and issues preceding the operation had caused mounting political and racial tensions in the country. According to the Malaysian government's white paper explaining the arrests, various groups had exploited the government's "liberal" and "tolerant" attitude and played up "sensitive issues", thereby creating racial tension in the country. This racial tension, the government said, forced the government to act "swiftly and firmly" to contain the situation.

Background issues

The crackdown happened against a backdrop in late 1986 and 1987 of a split within UMNO into two opposing groups, commonly referred to as Team A led by Mahathir, and Team B led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Musa Hitam. Mahathir was challenged for the leadership and narrowly won, but faced a subsequent legal challenge on his win.

There were also attacks by the government on several non-governmental organizations (NGO) which were critical of various government policies. Mahathir called these "intellectual elites" as "tools of foreign powers" and saboteurs of democracy.

In addition, a number of race and religion-related issues had arisen which had a cumulative effect in raising ethnic tension. These included the switch to Malay language as a medium of instruction for optional courses in the departments of Chinese and Tamil studies at the University of Malaya, the use of Chinese characters in certain signboards, the deputy president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Lee Kim Sai questioning use of the term pendatang (immigrants) that was seen as challenging Malay's bumiputra status, as well as rumours of forced conversion to or from Islam.

Vernacular Chinese school personnel controversy

The immediate cause, however, was the Ministry of Education's decision to appoint some 100 senior assistants and supervisors to Chinese-medium primary schools. Concerns were raised by Chinese politicians and organizations that those appointed were Chinese who were not Chinese-educated, implying that students and parents might be forced to use English or Malay to communicate with the school personnel. Chinese educationalist groups contended that the move would limit the usage of Chinese in these schools.

On 11 October 1987, a 2,000-strong gathering was held by the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (UCSCAM, the association of Chinese school teachers and trustees, also known as Dong Jiao Zong) at the Hainanese Association Building beside the Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur. It was joined by prominent politicians from Chinese-based parties such as the MCA's Deputy President and Labour Minister Lee Kim Sai, the leader of Democratic Action Party (DAP) Lim Kit Siang, as well as representatives from GERAKAN and other parties. The meeting resolved to call a three-day boycott in Chinese schools if the government did not settle the appointments issue. The boycott was called off at the eleventh hour to allow time for the government to resolve the issue, nevertheless 57 schools went ahead with the strike on 15 October, either because they did not receive the notice of postponement, or they disagreed with the decision.

Response by UMNO Youth

Even though the boycott was officially postponed, the stage was set for a response from the Malays led by UMNO Youth. A mass rally of 10,000 was held at the TPCA Stadium on Jalan Raja Muda in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur on 17 October. UMNO politicians condemned MCA leaders (both UMNO and the MCA are component parties of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition) for their collusion with the Dong Jiao Zong and the opposition DAP. The UMNO protesters called for the resignations of MCA's Lee Kim Sai that mirrored the call for the resignation of UMNO Education Minister Anwar Ibrahim by the Chinese protesters. Najib Razak, then chairman of the UMNO Youth wing, led the Malay rally in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur. During the rally, Najib was alleged to have threatened to soak a keris in Chinese blood, evoking fears of repeating the 13 May incident within the Chinese community. Many Chinese businesses around the city were closed for a few days for fear of any potential attacks from the Malay ultra-nationalists.

Prebet Adam amok incident

To make matters worse, a tinder box situation was created by an unrelated event on 18 October – the rampage of a Malay soldier, widely known as 'Prebet Adam', who killed a Malay and injuring two other persons with an M16 rifle in the Chow Kit area, which straddles two large Chinese and Malay communities.

Proposed UMNO rally

While Prime Minister Mahathir was away abroad, Sanusi Junid, the UMNO party secretary-general, and other UMNO leaders called for the holding of a large rally in Kuala Lumpur on 1 November to celebrate its 41st Anniversary. The rally was originally to be held in Johor Bahru but later changed to Kuala Lumpur, where UMNO leaders claimed would see the attendance of half a million members. The rally was cancelled after the Prime Minister returned and Operation Lalang was launched.

Launch of Operation Lalang

On 27 October 1987, Mahathir together with the police launched an operation he said was necessary to defuse racial tension that had reached "dangerous proportions". He said that the country was facing an economic recession and high unemployment, and could not afford racial riots. The operation was codenamed lalang after a type of weed found in Malaysia. According to Mahathir the decision for the operation was taken by the police, and that he, as the Minister of Home Affairs, had to go along with it. The Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Mohammed Hanif Omar said the police operation was for the sake of national security, and had nothing to do with politics.

The proposed UMNO rally was given as one of the reasons by the Inspector General of Police for the 27 October crackdown under the Internal Security Act. It was argued that had the rally been held, it could have sparked off racial riots given the likely incendiary nature of the speeches of UMNO politicians. It has also been argued that the Prime Minister had to have a quid pro quo for cancelling the UMNO rally, therefore opposition leaders and civil libertarians were arrested in order to placate the disappointed would-be rally participants.

Effects

The immediate effect of the operation was the arrest of a number of prominent political leaders, social activists and others, for incitement of racial sentiments and for showing Marxist tendencies. The publication licences of three newspapers were revoked. Mahathir also announced a nationwide ban on any gathering or rally, including those previously approved. Later in December 1987, Dr Mahathir introduced two pieces of legislation to impose additional restrictions on publications and grant police greater powers to curb public gatherings.

Arrests

The Prime Minister gave the approval for the arrest of 106 people, later increased to 119, under the Internal Security Act. The first 19 people were detained on 27 October 1987, rising to 54 by 10pm the next day, and later the night, the number grew to 63. By 20 November 1987, 106 had been arrested. Among the more prominent detainees were opposition leader and DAP Secretary-General Lim Kit Siang, DAP Deputy chairman Karpal Singh, MCA Vice-President and Perak Chief Chan Kit Chee, Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) Youth Chief Halim Arshat, UMNO MP for Pasir Mas Ibrahim Ali, and UMNO Youth Education chairman Mohamed Fahmi Ibrahim. Other prominent non-political detainees included Dong Jiao Zong Chairman Lim Fong Seng, Publicity Chief of the Civil Rights Committee Kua Kia Soong, and Women's Aid Organisation member Irene Xavier. The MCA deputy president Lee Kim Sai had apparently been warned beforehand and he left for Australia for a few months the day the arrests began.

Of the politicians arrested, three were UMNO members, eight MCA, five Gerakan, fifteen PAS, sixteen DAP, and two PSRM. The three UMNO members arrested were closely associated with Mahathir's rivals, even though the UMNO's rallies were supported and initiated by Mahathir's allies (a further UMNO member who was a Mahathir ally was said to have been detained for an unrelated reason). The UMNO, MCA and Gerakan detainees were released within two months, while most of those from the opposition parties and NGOs were detained much longer.

The majority of the detainees had no connection with the events in Kuala Lumpur, for example, several Baptist Church members in Petaling Jaya were arrested for allegedly converting seven Malays, and at least nine PAS members were arrested for making claims about Christians converting Malays. Many of those detained were also not involved in creating racial tensions; for example, Chandra Muzaffar, chairman of Aliran whose philosophy involves intercommunal cooperation, and members of Insan, a social reformist group that campaigned against exploitation of the poor, and Environment Protection Society of Malaysia, were also arrested.

Although most of the detainees were released either conditionally or unconditionally, 49 were served with two-year detention orders, with the last one being freed in April 1989. The detainees were first interrogated and kept at various police stations, those retained longer were sent to the Kamunting Detention Center, the usual place used for ISA detainees. Those who were detained longer included Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh plus five other party colleagues, a number of PAS members including Mohamad Sabu, and many social activists such as Tuang Pik King and Mohd Nasir Hashim.

Some of the prisoners detained during Operation Lalang were alleged to have been tortured during their captivity.

Curtailment of press freedom

In the afternoon the day following the first arrests, the Home Ministry withdrew the licences of the English language newspapers The Star and Sunday Star, the Chinese language Sin Chew Jit Poh, and the Malay language Watan. The Star was claimed to have being targeted as it had served as an outlet for alternative views from non-established groups as well as dissident opinions from Mahathir's rival Team B, and it and the other two were also the only domestic newspapers that regularly covered the activities of public interest groups. Former Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, who wrote a column for The Star, said that "we are on the road to dictatorship", a comment which wasn't reported by the other newspapers.

The Star, Sin Chew Jit Poh and Watan regained their licences on 22 March 1988 and soon resumed publication, however Watan never fully recovered and shut down permanently in 1996. In the aftermath of the crackdown on newspapers and a subsequent legislation on press activity, editorials of newspaper started to self-censor and became cautious about the stories they ran. According to journalists working during that period, newspapers were also advised by the Home Ministry to avoid certain issues, and editors were called for briefings with various ministries on the way a subject should be covered. The Star itself, after its return, never regained its previous 'liberal flavour'.

The Printing Presses and Publications Act was amended to make printers and publishers re-apply for their licences annually, and established an ouster clause preventing any revocation of license by the Home Affairs Minister from being called into question by the courts. A new criminal offence of "maliciously publishing false news" which carries a three-year jail sentence and/or fines was also added. The Act was subsequently amended in 2012 to remove the requirement for annual licence application and the government's 'absolute discretion' over permits, and reinstated judicial overview.

Amendments to the Police Act

Amendments were also made to the Police Act to restrict right to free assembly by making a police permit mandatory for public gatherings. It required that any assembly of more than five people in a public area to obtain a police permit 14 days before the assembly. The law also prohibited public rallies for electoral campaigns, and only allowed ceramah (public lecture) by the political parties which would also require a permit. It made it practically impossible to hold any political meeting, including a party's annual general meeting, without a police permit. A conviction could mean a fine of RM10,000 and a jail term of one year.

According to Mahathir, the amendments to the Police Act and the Printing Presses and Publications Act were aimed at individuals and groups who abused the government's liberal attitudes: "Being liberal to them is like offering a flower to a monkey. The monkey would rather tear the flower apart than appreciate its beauty".

Significance and assessment

Operation Lalang is a major event in Mahathir's administration that had a strong impact on civil liberties in Malaysia, and it was seen as an excuse by the Mahathir government to tighten the executive hold by restricting fundamental liberties. To the opposition parties, Operation Lalang came to symbolise 'injustice' and government 'oppression'. The first prime minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, commenting on Operation Lalang, said: "We are on the road to dictatorship. I cannot see any other way... This is no democracy." The operation is seen as the beginning of Mahathir's authoritarian rule which continued with the sacking of Supreme Court judges in the 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis the following year.

Although Operation Lalang was ostensibly undertaken for reason of national security, it is also widely seen by commentators as a show of force by Mahathir against his political challengers. The operation created considerable fear inside and outside UMNO. Lim Kit Siang, one of the detainees, similarly argued that the ISA arrests were more directed against UMNO rather than the racial crisis, and that Mahathir allowed the situation to escalate so he could then crack down and consolidate his position against his internal rivals.

Dr Mahathir later expressed regret in his memoir about the severity of Operation Lalang, but suggested that it was the result of a recommendation of strong action by the police. He said that the government response had probably been "excessive and disproportionate", and that the operation was a "permanent blot on my time in office" and "a black mark in the administrative history of Malaysia". But, he added, "I had to suppress my own personal doubts and feelings. I had to recognize the role and expertise of the police and defer to their exercising their appointed role in our system of government."

Notable detainees

• Ibrahim Ali (UMNO MP for Pasir Mas)
• Halim Arshat (PAS youth chief)
• Chan Kit Chee (MCA Perak chief)
• Chee Heng Leng (Rights activist)
• Mohd Nasir Hashim (INSAN chairman)
• Mohammad Fahmi Ibrahim (UMNO youth education chairman)
• Hu Sepang (DAP MP for Rasah)
• Kua Kia Soong (Rights activist)
• Lau Dak Kee (DAP MP for Pasir Pinji)
• Lim Fong Seng (Dong Jiao Zong chairman)
• Lim Guan Eng (DAP MP for Kota Melaka)
• Lim Kit Siang (DAP secretary general)
• Chandra Muzaffar (Aliran chairman)
• Cecelia Ng (INSAN co-founder)
• Harrison Ngau (Friends of the Earth Malaysia representative)
• P. Patto (DAP MP for Ipoh)
• Mohamad Sabu (PAS youth chief)
• Karpal Singh (DAP deputy chairman)
• Tan Chai Ho (MCA)
• Tang See Hang (MCA, Rawang)
• Tan Seng Giaw (DAP MP for Kepong)
• Tuang Pik King (Rights activist)
• Meenakshi Raman (Social activist)
• V. David (DAP MP for Puchong)
• Irene Xavier (Rights activist)
• Yap Pian Hon (MCA youth chairman)

See also

• 2014 Malaysian sedition dragnet
• Operation Coldstore

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• 1987 in Malaysia
• October 1987 events in Asia
• November 1987 events in Asia
• Human rights abuses in Malaysia
• Political repression in Malaysia
• Protests in Malaysia