SINGAPORE – Mr Sharif Akif had no problem mingling and interacting with people of all races before the riots of 1964, but found himself avoiding such encounters in the aftermath of the deadly clashes.
“When we went out after the curfews, we didn’t talk much,” said the 71-year-old.
“We all kept quiet, didn’t talk about the issue, and then we just slowly forgot about it.”
In total, more than 30 people died and hundreds were injured in riots that broke out twice in 1964.
Mr Sharif, who was born in 1954, is among about 1,400 seniors who, since April 2025, have shared their memories with the Founders’ Memorial as part of a campaign to gather stories from first-generation Singaporeans.
He was 10 when race riots broke out between the Malays and the Chinese on the other side of the island from where he was born and still lived, in Kampong Tengah, Sembawang.
But that did little to quell the fears and suspicion in his predominantly Malay kampung, which was impacted by curfews that were imposed islandwide.
The July 1964 episode began near Kampong Soo Poo – near Kampong Bugis today – when a stray bottle landed in a crowd that had gathered to celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, causing clashes to break out.
It took 17 days for peace to be restored, during which 23 people lost their lives, while another 454 were injured.
Similar hostilities were triggered by the killing of a Malay trishaw rider in Geylang Serai in September that year. Calm was established only after 12 days of violence that claimed 13 lives and left 106 injured.
Mr Sharif recalled not being able to leave his home during curfew, and that schools were closed during both periods. “All the parents stayed at home. They said they wouldn’t let us go outside, because maybe if (we went) outside, the Chinese and the Malays (would be) fighting,” said Mr Sharif.
Although he never witnessed such fights first-hand, he remembers rumours were swirling during those episodes.
“They take parang, they never ask – they saw the Malay or they saw the Chinese and they would just chop, chop, chop,” he said, referring to what he had heard about those who were fighting.
