513 Declassified Documents (50th Anniversary Edition)

By popular demand, the author has republished this bestseller in a commemorative edition to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the May 13 Incident. The new preface offers insightful commentary on the current political drama in Malaysia. This book offers the first compelling account of the 1969 "May 13 Clan Riots." The author waited until the 30-year statute of limitations on the archives in London had expired before he was able to access declassified documents from the National Archives in London. These documents provide covert observations and memoranda made by intelligence officers in British and other foreign embassies. Their work is based on intelligence gathered and contacts with local officials and politicians, including dispatches and messages sent by correspondents.

At the time, these dispatches or messages were censored. Kua Kah Sun, a social scientist, offers a fresh and unique political analysis of the "May 13 Incident," which triggered the most serious political and social crisis in Malaysia's history. The author argues that the riots were not, as the official version portrays them, a sudden and spontaneous outbreak of violence between Malays and Chinese. Rather, they were a carefully orchestrated coup by the emerging bureaucratic bourgeoisie within UMNO against the aristocratic class led by Tunku Abdul Rahman.

He delves into the internal contradictions arising from the Alliance's racial agenda after independence, while also tracing the rise of the new Malay bourgeoisie that has governed Malaysia since 1969. Sadly, the book remains as relevant today as it was in 2007.

Ke Jiaxun

A social scientist offers a fresh and unique political analysis of the May 13 incident, which triggered the most serious political and social crisis in Malaysia's history. The author argues that the riots were far from being a sudden, spontaneous outbreak of violence between Malays and Chinese, as portrayed in the official version of events.

This was a carefully planned coup launched by the emerging bureaucratic bourgeoisie within UMNO against the aristocratic class led by Tunku.