Operation Lalang

The operation saw the arrest of 106 to 119 people—political activists, opposition politicians, intellectuals, students, artists, scientists and others—who were detained without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

The notion that racial riots were imminent however is contested, and it is widely believed that the operation was designed to control the political opponents of the Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

[8] The boycott was called off at the eleventh hour to allow time for the government to resolve the issue, nevertheless 57 schools went ahead with the strike on 15 October, either because they did not receive the notice of postponement, or they disagreed with the decision.

A mass rally of 10,000 was held at the TPCA Stadium on Jalan Raja Muda in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur on 17 October.

[10] Najib Razak, then chairman of the UMNO Youth wing, led the Malay rally in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur.

The rally was originally to be held in Johor Bahru but later changed to Kuala Lumpur, where UMNO leaders claimed would see the attendance of half a million members.

[10] The immediate effect of the operation was the arrest of a number of prominent political leaders, social activists and others, for incitement of racial sentiments and for showing Marxist tendencies.

[21] Among the more prominent detainees were opposition leader and DAP Secretary-General Lim Kit Siang, DAP Deputy chairman Karpal Singh, MCA Vice-President and Perak Chief Chan Kit Chee, Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) Youth Chief Halim Arshat, UMNO MP for Pasir Mas Ibrahim Ali, and UMNO Youth Education chairman Mohamed Fahmi Ibrahim.

Other prominent non-political detainees included Dong Jiao Zong Chairman Lim Fong Seng, Publicity Chief of the Civil Rights Committee Kua Kia Soong, and Women's Aid Organisation member Irene Xavier.

[22][23] The MCA deputy president Lee Kim Sai had apparently been warned beforehand and he left for Australia for a few months the day the arrests began.

[34] Former Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, who wrote a column for The Star, said that "we are on the road to dictatorship", a comment which wasn't reported by the other newspapers.

[36] The Printing Presses and Publications Act was amended to make printers and publishers re-apply for their licences annually, and established an ouster clause preventing any revocation of license by the Home Affairs Minister from being called into question by the courts.

[38][39] The Act was subsequently amended in 2012 to remove the requirement for annual licence application and the government's 'absolute discretion' over permits, and reinstated judicial overview.

"[43] The operation is seen as the beginning of Mahathir's authoritarian rule which continued with the sacking of Supreme Court judges in the 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis the following year.

[44] Although Operation Lalang was ostensibly undertaken for reason of national security, it is also widely seen by commentators as a show of force by Mahathir against his political challengers.

[46] Lim Kit Siang, one of the detainees, similarly argued that the ISA arrests were more directed against UMNO rather than the racial crisis, and that Mahathir allowed the situation to escalate so he could then crack down and consolidate his position against his internal rivals.

[46] Dr Mahathir later expressed regret in his memoir about the severity of Operation Lalang, but suggested that it was the result of a recommendation of strong action by the police.

He said that the government response had probably been "excessive and disproportionate", and that the operation was a "permanent blot on my time in office" and "a black mark in the administrative history of Malaysia".