13 May incident

The 13 May incident was a period of violent racial conflict that erupted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 13 May 1969, following that year's general election. The clashes primarily involved the Malay and Chinese communities and were triggered by political and ethnic tensions after opposition parties such as the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Gerakan made substantial electoral gains, challenging the ruling Alliance Party's dominance. Processions by opposition supporters, mainly Chinese, were perceived by segments of the Malay community as provocative, exacerbating long-standing grievances and igniting the violence.

In response, the king, on the government's advice, declared a state of emergency, suspended parliament, and entrusted civilian administration to the National Operations Council (NOC) under Deputy Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. While official sources cited 196 fatalities, some academics suggest the toll was much higher—closer to 600. Thousands were injured or displaced, and curfews were enforced to restore order.

The event was significant in Malaysian politics, as it forced the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, to step down from office and hand power to Abdul Razak Hussein. It was also a pivotal moment that reshaped Malaysia's socioeconomic policies, as Abdul Razak's government shifted their domestic policies to favour Malays with the implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP), and the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) restructured the political system to advance Malay dominance through affirmative action in accordance with the ideology of Ketuanan Melayu (lit. "Malay supremacy").

Analysts characterised the 13 May incident as more than spontaneous communal unrest, arguing that it reflected deeper structural inequalities and manipulation that was exploited by political elites to justify a consolidation of Malay political ascendancy. Shamsul Amri Baharuddin has critiqued essentialist narratives of Malay identity and highlighted how the incident helped propagate constructed notions of "Malayness" that reinforced state policies and public discourse. The incident has remained a sensitive and, at times, taboo topic in Malaysian society, with open discussion often avoided by prevailing political sensitivities. Ethnic relations between the Malay and Chinese communities have stabilised since the incident but remain fragile, occasionally strained by political rhetoric and socioeconomic disparities.