Lim Kean Siew The 1967 Penang Hartal riot (Malay: Hartal Pulau Pinang 1967) happened on November 24, 1967 in response to the devaluation of the Malayan dollar against the British pound sterling and the newly established Malaysian dollar.
The riot began as a peaceful protest organised by the Labour Party over the devaluation of the Malayan dollar against the British pound sterling.
[2] The new Malaysian dollar was introduced on June 12, 1967 as the currency union between Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei came to an end.
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.
[1] The devaluation caused much disagreement among Malaysians who held the old currency, which led to the organisation of the hartal.