Batang Kali Massacre in 1948 | Halek Hossain

Batang Kali Massacre in 1948 | Halek Hossain - The Batang Kali Massacre was a massacre by the British Army against Chinese people in Batang Kali for allegedly aiding communist terrorist activities. Because according to British intelligence, the Chinese people, especially in the rural areas, actively supported the subversive activities of the Communist parties. 

Not only do they help with energy, they also help in the form of food and medicine supplies. So in the view of the British at that time, to eradicate the Communists, they needed to be eradicated from their roots, and that root was the Chinese.

 Therefore, on 12 December 1948, the 7th Platoon, 2nd G Company of the Scottish Guards, led by Sergeant Charles Douglas, worked to encircle a rubber plantation at Sungai Rimoh Batang Kali in Selangor. The British Army had only 16 men who were transported using trucks. Although the number is much smaller than the local population, the weapons they use are not capable of combat by the traditional weapons of the population. So for them fighting the British at that time was like a death warrant.

 When they reached the Sungai Rimoh area, British soldiers rounded up the villagers and interrogated them. Men, women and children are segregated. Suspects involved in giving food or medicine to communists were also shot there. On December 12, a total of 24 people were massacred by the British. One of the victims survived because he was presumed dead. The survivor's name is Chong Hong, about 20 years old. Chong Hong said in a 2004 BBC interview, "I don't remember what happened. I fainted but the spirit pushed me. They (soldiers) shot at us".

 Tham Yong, who is Chong Hong's fiancee, was taken by the British in a truck from the village along with other women. During the journey, Tham Yong had time to ask one of the British soldiers about the fate of the men in his village. The British soldiers said - they have to kill the men. After 2 days, Tham Yong said he returned to the village and saw the bodies of the murdered people. Some had their heads broken, some were dismembered and some were shot in the genitals.

On December 13, 1948, the day after the massacre, news of the massacre appeared in the Straits Times newspaper stating that Scottish Guards and police had today shot dead 25 of the 26 criminals who had helped the Communists in an operation called "Broad". - scale" north of Selangor. Again, according to the British, this operation was a major success for the British since the declaration of emergency.

 In my opinion, even in a state of emergency and national security is paramount, the British should conduct a more detailed investigation before resorting to drastic measures through genocide. Although we have to admit that many Chinese people helped the Communists during the Emergency, but most of them were actually forced, even though many people in China were anti-Communist at that time. Moreover, by carrying out such indiscriminate killings, the British mistakenly chose their victims and killed innocent people. So it would be more appropriate for the British to arrest them, interrogate them and then punish them under the law.

 And even though the relatives of the victims brought forward the case after the massacre, no one is willing to "accept" the case. The PDRM itself closed the case in 1997 when it said it did not have enough evidence. The latest victim, Chong Hong, died in 2010 at the age of 78. He died without successfully seeing justice served for the victims. Even the Conservative government in London has stopped investigating the case since the 1970s.

 On November 1, 1949, the Attorney General of Malaya ordered a formal inquiry and found a nullity that the inquiry was only meant to justify the actions of the British at the time. This is because the AG is satisfied that the 24 suspects would probably have escaped from British troops had the firing not been done. But according to the surviving victims, they were all in a state of surrender and were shot from behind. So it means, the victim is not actually ready to escape from the hands of the British soldiers. The results of this investigation were never presented to the public. On 1 February 1970, The People newspaper exposed and condemned the brutal killings carried out by British soldiers.

Affidavits of the British Army involved in the massacre reveal a number of things:-

British troops involved were ordered to destroy the village. It means, everything is well planned by the superiors. b. The British soldiers involved were actually given the option not to be involved in the operation, meaning that those who killed the 24 actually volunteered. c. The victims were shot without attempting to escape even though they were actually prepared to be captured. d Inquiries conducted in 1949 revealed a conspiracy between British officers and soldiers involved in fraud.

 The Defense Secretary, Denis Healy, ordered Frank William to lead a Scottish investigative police team to set up a special task force to investigate the matter. As a result of this investigation, there is strong evidence that shows that the massacre at Batang Kali in December 1948 really took place.

 On 9 September 1992, the British came under pressure when the BBC aired a documentary about the Batang Kali massacre entitled "In Cold Blood". This documentary was broadcast in the UK and revealed some new evidence about the genocide. It's even more interesting when the documentary also includes reports from witnesses and survivors. This includes recorded confessions from ex-Scottish Guards.

  In addition to this, the documentary also interviewed the Scottish investigating police officer who investigated the case in 1970. This documentary indirectly explains that the British cheated and lied to cover up the case. Although the documentary went viral in the country of origin of the massacre, no British officers involved were arrested. This meant that the British implicitly agreed to the genocide carried out by their soldiers.

 On March 25, 2008, relatives of the genocide victims and several NGOs formed a committee known as the 'Batang Kali Genocide Condemnation Action Committee' and submitted a petition to the British High Commission. The petition demanded an official and public apology from the British for the massacre. In addition, they demanded that the British pay 30 million pounds as compensation to the 24 victims of the massacre and 50 million pounds for the development of education and culture in the Ulu Yam community. But the British still stand by their position that they are innocent of the genocide.