Web Report: A cover-up of historical injustice: The Batang Kali Massacre

Contributed by Seira Sacha Binti Abu Bakar

“We will not accept closure of this case until a satisfactory inquiry”, said Datuk Dominic Puthucheary.

On 12 December 1948, in a military operation against the communist insurgencies in then Malaya, a group of Scots Guardsmen shot dead 24 unarmed Chinese labourers in a rubber tapping village of Batang Kali. The village was then set on fire.

To justify the killing, the British Government argued that the 24 Chinese civilians were communists attempting to escape and military force was necessary to stop them. 2 superficial investigations were conducted in 1949 and 1970 to look into the incident, but nothing came out of it.

In Malaysia, a campaigning group who called themselves the Action Committee Condemning the Batang Kali Massacre (“ACCBKM”) was formed to press the case for the victim’s families. In March 2008, the group presented a petition to the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur calling for acceptance of responsibility and reparation for the victim’s families. In January 2009, the group received a reply in which the British Government stated that, “… there was insufficient evidence to pursue a prosecution in this case …”. Unhappy with the decision, lawyers representing the group met with British officials in July 2009 to push for an inquiry into the massacre. In August 2009, the official reply from the British Government was, “minded not to establish a public inquiry”.

In a press conference held on 29 August 2009 at Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, members of the ACCBKM expressed their disappointment with the UK Government’s decision not to pursue an inquiry into the incident. Amongst those in attendance were Tan Kai Hee (Advisor), Quek Ngee Mee (Co-ordinator), lawyers Datuk Dominic Puthucheary and Firoz Hussein, and Tian Chua (Members of Parliament for Batu). Representatives from the KL Bar Young Lawyers Committee comprised of Lai Chee Hoe, Seira Sacha Abu Bakar and Chan Kit Kheong.

During the conference, Datuk Dominic Puthucheary said that the Committee will not give up in their pursuit to probe for an inquiry into the massacre, despite the refusal by the British Government to hold an inquiry. When asked for the reason for the refusal, he said that the reason given was due to “passage of time” and an inquiry into this matter would be “resource intensive”. Quek then introduced the book, ‘Slaughter and Deception at Batang Kali’ by Ian Ward and Norma Miraflor, which detailed their investigation into the massacre.

While some felt that the incident should be laid to rest (after all it has been more than 50 years since the incident took place), there are others who felt that the killing of the 24 civilians were unjustified and should not be forgotten.

To keep yourself abreast on the movement to press the case for the Batang Kali Massacre, click to http://batangkalimassacre.wordpress.com. A 20-minute documentary on the Batang Kali Massacre entitled ‘In Cold Blood’ can also be viewed here: http://batangkalimassacre.wordpress.com/bbc-video-in-cold-blood/