...and where were you May 13 ?

For me, today is a sad day in Malaysian history - the anniversary of the racial riots that rocked the nation in 1969.

I have nothing much to say about it except that it was one of the most traumatic experience any Malaysian could have gone through.

I remember waking up on May 13 1969 ready to go to school, but I can't. I'm not allowed to - all schools have been closed!...and hip, hip hurray!

...the radio began playing music non-stop. And so there it was, our Phillips radio doing the stuff it's supposed to do - broadcast really good music non-stop. Really nice.

Jay & The Americans came on with "This Magic Moment"...what an irony, and then "Baby, Make It Soon" by The Marmalade. But reality sank in as the announcements came...announcing the curfew hours. Gosh!..we're on a round-the-clock curfew!

A curfew being in place, and a State of Emergency declared (heck, I don't even knew what that meant then) - riot police and the army in full gear, equipment and combat vehicles were just outside our front door, ...as I peeped through tiny holes in our run-down wooden windows.

Next to us is the Kampung Mesjid Jamek in Acheen Street....and how I dread my friends and classmates who live there will get into trouble. Or my getting into trouble ending up possibly badly injured or dead.... that would leave them one mate less for our kite-flying, top-spinning or sling-shooting sessions.

Even though I was already 13, I had always thought that such kind of widespread and open violence only happen on the silver screen - to the Roman Empire in days of yore!

It was, however, very fortunate for us - the malays, chinese and indians in our neighbourhood to go through that blotched period in history peacefully without any serious or untoward incident worth mentioning. The Penang Heritage Trail was kinda peaceful, compared to the news and "rumours" we get about what's happening at other places.

We were already the 1-Malaysia then,

everyone was worried about each other. In fact, my chums in Aziz, Ahmad, Huan-choo, Thi-Looku, "Botak" Singh, Aru...we were so concerned for the safety of each other. On every break of curfew a few days later, we'd go to the backlane of Aziz's house to find out if everyone's doing OK.

Yes, that was a real bad blotch in Malaysia's history, and I think this was just about the unhappiest time of growing up besides the 1968 Penang Hartal, when all businesses closed intentionally to protest against the devaluation of the currency. Man, at that time, I couldn't even get my regular Wrigley's Chewing Gum! .....I didn't even know what currency devaluation meant!

We have learned our lesson well, and I have learned what caused it - although there are many versions of why and how it happened. Most importantly we should not let our emotions and actions be made use of by unscrupulous, vile and WIIFM (what's-in-it-for-me) people in politics.

They have 2 faces sometimes 3, and they like and unlike, friend and unfriend, quit and unquit, and then quit and unquit again, more than 30 years before we're doing it on social networking sites,  .....only that they have become better. Not all, but the ones not doing it must be angels. But angels are not people in politics.

Keep the history books open with historical facts. This will prevent us from repeating bad history.