1967 Penang Hartal riot

July 2026 1967 Penang Hartal riot 1967 Penang Hartal smashing bus.jpg Group of rioters smashing on a bus during the riot. 24 November – 13 December 1967 Penang Protest against the devaluation of the old currency by the administration of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first prime minister. Protest, general strike, riot Penang Labour Party Government of Malaysia Lim Kean Siew 27 killed137 injured The 1967 Penang Hartal riot (ms Hartal Pulau Pinang 1967) occurred on 24 November 1967 in response to the devaluation of the Malayan dollar against the British pound sterling and the newly established Malaysian dollar. Cause of the riot The riot began as a peaceful protest organised by the Labour Party over the devaluation of the Malayan dollar against the British pound sterling.https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19671125.2.9 25 November 1967 Curfew in Penang after 5 hartal riot deaths The Straits Times 1 2015-10-03 Malaysian at that time had two currencies in circulation. One was the old Malayan dollar and the other was the new Malaysian dollar. Both were trading at par and valued at 8.57 dollars per pound. The pegging of the local currency to the pound was part of Malaysia's membership in the Sterling area.http://penanginstitute.org/v3/resources/articles/opinion/483-penangs-untold-story-hartal-1967 Penang's untold story: Hartal 1967 | FZ.com 2015-10-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20170425015339/http://penanginstitute.org/v3/resources/articles/opinion/483-penangs-untold-story-hartal-1967 2017-04-25 dead Fz.com Su Lyn Koay 11 September 2013 Penang Institute The new Malaysian dollar was introduced on 12 June 1967 as the currency union between Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei came to an end.http://www.mas.gov.sg/currency/currency_info/Heritage_Collection.html The Currency History of Singapore 21 November 2010 9 April 2007 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100202075742/http://www.mas.gov.sg/currency/currency_info/Heritage_Collection.html 2 February 2010 Monetary Authority of Singapore Five months after the introduction of the new Malaysian dollar, the United Kingdom government which was already struggling from the burden of post-World War II rebuilding decided to devalue the pound sterling by 14.3% against the US dollar as part of effort to improve its national competitiveness. Then Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman took the opportunity to devalue the old Malayan dollar by 15% against the pound by and the new Malaysian dollar. The devaluation caused much disagreement among Malaysians who held the old currency, which led to the organisation of the hartal. The riot However, the protest turned violent with 27 died and 137 people injured. Conflicts emerged as some shops refused to participate in the hartal and were forced to shut down by protesters. Several cafes serving breakfast were attacked by protesters. The federal government declared a 24-hour curfew beginning 8PM on the same day to overcome the riot. Aftermath The federal government launched an operation codenamed "Operation X", which closed down the Labour Party. During the raid, the police discovered communist documents at the party headquarters, which suggested that the Communist Party of Malaya might have played a role in the hartal.Dennis Bloodworth The Tiger and the Trojan Horse https://books.google.com/books?id=z_HGAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT221 15 October 2010 Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd 978-981-4561-74-7 221– The old Malayan dollar itself continued to be used until January 16, 1969, albeit at a lower value. June 2017 References 30em Category:Riots and civil disorder in Malaysia Category:1967 in Malaysia Category:1967 protests Category:Protests in Malaysia