May 13 tragedy: A sister's agonising search for her brother's grave
Published: May 18, 2024 5:33 PM
Mouldy tombstones atop a small hill in Sungai Buloh were bathed in sunlight as a woman in black pants and a colourful blouse, her grey hair a mark of her advanced age, hunched from one grave marker to another.
Ignoring the scorching heat, Wong Sau Pong, 72, squinted, trying hard to make out the carved names of May 13 victims who were laid to rest after the 1969 tragedy.
Then her shoulders dropped. None of the over 100 graves had what she and her family had tried searching for for the past 55 years: the name of her brother.
According to Sau Pong, she last saw Wong Kan when the young mechanic left their family house in Ampang on the morning of the fateful day.
Kan, who was 21, had gone to his small workshop in Kuala Lumpur when the riots broke out, she said, terrifying the small family as they waited for her brother and hoped that he would return home safely.
However, when the waiting became too agonising, Sau Pong’s father then set out to search for Kan, at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital and the mortuary.
Wong Sau Pong (right) and her sister.
“My parents were crying. We were so scared, especially for my brother as he did not return from work (like usual).
“Every day (during the racial tension) my parents cried. My brother was still very young, he had just started his small business when this happened.
“My father had tried searching for him, but to no avail. He went to the hospital to check at the mortuary in case they had my brother’s body, but the hospital staff said there were too many bodies that they had to send to other facilities to handle.
“We have been searching until today with no success,” she told Malaysiakini when met at the cemetery this morning.
READ MORE: May 13, never again: The 1969 riots that changed Malaysia
“Every day (during the racial tension) my parents cried. My brother was still very young, he had just started his small business when this happened.
“My father had tried searching for him, but to no avail. He went to the hospital to check at the mortuary in case they had my brother’s body, but the hospital staff said there were too many bodies that they had to send to other facilities to handle.
“We have been searching until today with no success,” she told Malaysiakini when met at the cemetery this morning.
READ MORE: May 13, never again: The 1969 riots that changed Malaysia
Sau Pong was among the family members of the May 13 tragedy victims who converged at the special burial area today to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the bloodshed.
The event was organised by Persatuan Sahabat Warisan Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor, formerly known as the May 13 Victims Commemoration Committee.
‘Terrifying times’
According to the National Operations Council report, a total of 196 people died in the racial riots. However, the number was suspected to be much higher, with foreign diplomats believing it was closer to 800.
For Pun Chee Sing, 83, it had been an annual affair for him to visit his brother’s grave.
Chee Cheong was among those whose remains were identified, unlike some cases where victims were buried in graves that had to be marked with “unidentified” headstones.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Chee Sing said his brother, then in his early 20s, had gone out to stand guard in their neighbourhood in Setapak during the evening of May 13.
The event was organised by Persatuan Sahabat Warisan Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor, formerly known as the May 13 Victims Commemoration Committee.
‘Terrifying times’
According to the National Operations Council report, a total of 196 people died in the racial riots. However, the number was suspected to be much higher, with foreign diplomats believing it was closer to 800.
For Pun Chee Sing, 83, it had been an annual affair for him to visit his brother’s grave.
Chee Cheong was among those whose remains were identified, unlike some cases where victims were buried in graves that had to be marked with “unidentified” headstones.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Chee Sing said his brother, then in his early 20s, had gone out to stand guard in their neighbourhood in Setapak during the evening of May 13.
Pun Chee Sing
Chee Sing recalled it was then that his brother was shot and killed, allegedly by soldiers.
“Since then I have come here every year to pray. It has been 55 years, so long ago,” he said.
When asked for their views on the country’s current situation, where racial tension is at risk of flaring, both Sau Pong and Chee Sing responded firmly against disunity.
“The 13 May incident was a long time ago. I hope such riots won’t happen again, ever.
“It was very terrifying,” Chee Sing added.
“Since then I have come here every year to pray. It has been 55 years, so long ago,” he said.
When asked for their views on the country’s current situation, where racial tension is at risk of flaring, both Sau Pong and Chee Sing responded firmly against disunity.
“The 13 May incident was a long time ago. I hope such riots won’t happen again, ever.
“It was very terrifying,” Chee Sing added.
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