UK govt expresses ‘deep regret’ over Batang Kali massacre

FMT:

 

UK govt expresses ‘deep

regret’ over Batang Kali

massacre

FMT Reporters

-04 Apr 2025, 08:30 PM

UK junior minister says the killings were a tragedy that caused deep suffering for the victims’ families and larger community.

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A total of 24 villagers in Batang Kali were murdered by British soldiers on Dec 12, 1948, on suspicion of harbouring members of the Malayan communist party, which had launched an insurgency campaign. (Wikimedia pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

The UK government has expressed “deep regret” over the massacre of 24 unarmed Malayan Chinese villagers in Batang Kali by British soldiers in 1948.

The UK response was made in a letter from Catherine West, a junior minister in the foreign office, to an action committee on the massacre. She acknowledged that the killings were a tragedy that caused deep suffering for the families of the victims and the wider community.

Catherine West.

In the letter dated March 31, West also said incorrect narratives portraying the victims as communist sympathisers had brought further harm to survivors and their descendants.

“His Majesty’s Government wishes to acknowledge the pain and harm caused by these events. The UK deeply regrets the tragic deaths and the pain suffered by many families,” said West, who is parliamentary under secretary of state (Indo-Pacific).

“We extend our sympathies to all of those affected and the wider community,” she said in the letter.

The action group welcomed the UK’s response, saying it was the first time that the British government unequivocally recognised their wrongdoing in the incident.

“While West’s response is carefully phrased, we sense a genuine sincerity and humility in her approach, which will play a crucial role in facilitating the healing process and providing closure for the affected family and community,” said the action committee’s representative, Quek Ngee Meng, in a statement today.

A total of 24 villagers in Batang Kali were murdered by British soldiers on Dec 12, 1948, on suspicion of harbouring members of the Malayan communist party, which had launched an insurgency campaign against the colonial government of Malaya.

Quek Ngee Meng (centre) with Tan Kok Wai of DAP and Chong Sin Woon of MCA at a Batang Kali commemoration on March 9.

In 2015, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the British government was legally responsible for the actions of its soldiers. The court said the overwhelming evidence indicated that the victims were “mercilessly murdered”, and it criticised the British authorities for not conducting an effective inquiry.

Quek called for West’s letter to be read aloud in the UK Parliament and for this to be recorded in Hansard, to ensure that the truth of the case was publicly acknowledged.

He also proposed that Britain fund a memorial site at Ulu Yam, the final resting place of the victims, to educate future generations on the tragedy and to honour the dead.

The action committee had previously sent a memorandum to the British government calling for acknowledgement of the massacre and a formal apology. It received a reply from the foreign, commonwealth and development office, promising a “substantive response” by March.