The Confrontation that Devastated Singapore

ON March 10, 1965, at 3:07 p.m., a bomb exploded in the MacDonald House building on Orchard Road, Singapore. The building, which was used then by HSBC, shattered by the bomb only seven minutes after its closing time. Many office workers who were inside the building, including Rosie Heng, an employee of the Malaya Borneo Building Society on the fourth floor, mistook the blast for a lightning in heavy rain.

Instead of a lightning, the deafening sound came from a nitroglycerine bomb placed near the building’s lift, where the bomb tore through the door and destroyed the walls around it. Not far from the lift was the bank's correspondence office, where Suzie Choo, 36, personal secretary to the bank manager, and Juliet Goh, 23, a bank clerk, worked. Both died instantly and were buried under the rubble. The third victim, Mohamed Yasin bin Kesit, driver for the Malaya Borneo Building Society, died a few days later after slipping into a coma. At least 33 other people were injured.

The explosion was so massive that it destroyed the windows of office buildings within a hundred meters and damaged the cars outside.

Three days after the bombing of the MacDonald House building, the saboteurs were caught at sea while fleeing Singapore. The two marines captured, Usman or Janatin and Harun or Tohir, were revealed to be members of the Indonesian Navy's Command Corps (KKO).

The One That Suffered the Most

The MacDonald House bombing occurred during the period of the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation (also known as Konfrontasi in Indonesian and Malay). It started after President Sukarno opposed the formation of the Federation of Malaysia as he deemed it as a form of neocolonialism.

Linda Sunarti, history lecturer at the University of Indonesia, said that the Federation of Malaysia was the idea of the British, which was announced by Tunku Abdul Rahman on May 27, 1961, to solve the decolonization problem in the British's former colonies in Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei Darussalam. The British thought that granting independence individually to those countries would be dangerous.

“They were considered powerless to external threats, especially from the communists. Aside from that, the countries' merger would definitely strengthen its economy," said Linda.

According to Kevin Y.L Tan in "International Law, History & Policy: Singapore in the Early Years", published in Monograph No. 1, 2011, true to his word, President Sukarno was prepared to use force to destroy the new federation. Even though there was no all-out war, Indonesia launched various attacks on Malaysia and Singapore.

“Singapore suffered the most. It came under a lot of attacks and infiltrations because the territory is closer (to Indonesia),” said Linda.

The infiltrations into Singapore took place after Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. Shortly thereafter, the saboteurs detonated bombs in Katong Park across from the Ambassador Hotel, and 36 other explosions were detonated at various locations. "By the end of the Confrontation in 1966, approximately 60 people were killed or injured," wrote Kevin.

Six months after the MacDonald House bombing, Singapore left the Federation of Malaysia on 9 August 1965.

According to Linda, from the start, Malaysia was not pleased with Singapore joining in due to Singapore's majority of Chinese ethnicity who could not get along with the Malay ethnicity. On May 9, 1965, Lee Kuan Yew founded the Malaysian Solidarity Convention, a confederation of non-Malay and non-communist parties in Singapore that carried the slogan "Malaysian Malaysia" to show that the Federation of Malaysia was not only for Malays but for all citizens. The slogan also criticized the "privileges of the Malays" which was firmly held by the ethnic Malays in Malaysia.

“Tunku thought Lee Kuan Yew challenged him with the slogan 'Malaysian Malaysia'. There were even race riots. The statue of Lee Kuan Yew was burned by the Malays, while the Chinese despised Tunku," said Linda.

Without informing the British, on August 9, 1965 Tunku addressed the parliament in a tense atmosphere: “We have to remove Singapore from Malaysia – which is a very historical moment. Although we are saddened that the state had to be removed, we are delighted that we are able to remove the thorn from our flesh.”

Singapore suffered the most from the attacks and intrusions due to its closer proximity to Indonesia.

In his state address commemorating the anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia on August 17, 1965, President Sukarno said, "I once joked that 'the conflict between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore is sharper than the controversy between Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.' Of course, this is just a joke, but, whatever the reason, the fact is that Singapore has separated from Malaysia. Yes, Malaysia is starting to break from within! And they will really be divided into parts. No power in the world will be able to maintain Malaysia's existence! Not Tunku, not England, not America, and not even a thousand gods from the sky."

Indonesia then offered friendship to Singapore. However, Britain reminded Singapore not to establish any diplomatic relations with countries that were enemies of Malaysia.

“Lee Kuan Yew warmly welcomed Sukarno's offer, but he was given an ultimatum by Tunku: either having good relations with Indonesia or creating problems with Malaysia. Singapore, a newly-born country whose water supply even has to depend on Malaysia, of course didn't dare to go against them," said Linda.

Apart from both being members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Singapore and Malaysia are also economically interdependent.

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Death Penalty

After being captured, Usman and Harun spent eight months in Changi Prison in Singapore. They were brought before the High Court of Singapore on October 4, 1965.

Judge J Chua charged them with sabotage and bombing that killed three civilians. Usman and Harun rejected the accusations and asked to be treated as prisoners of war, but the request was refused because both of them were not wearing military clothing when they were arrested.

The trial lasted for about two weeks, and on October 20, 1965 the High Court sentenced Usman and Harun to death. They appealed to the Privy Council in Singapore, but the advisory body to the head of state subsequently issued a rejection letter on May 21, 1968. The last attempt to ask for clemency from the President of Singapore Yusuf bin Ishak on June 1, 1968, was also not granted.

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President Soeharto's last request that the execution be postponed for a week to let Usman and Harun meet their parents was also not fulfilled.

In the final moments before the execution, President Soeharto's personal envoy, Military Secretary Major General Tjokropranolo, came to Singapore to request that Usman and Harun be sentenced to life imprisonment, but to no avail.

In fact, President Soeharto's last request that the execution be postponed for a week to let Usman and Harun meet their parents, was also not fulfilled. The end of the Confrontation and the restoration of relations between Indonesia with Singapore and Malaysia didn't call Usman and Harun's death sentences off.

On October 17, 1968, at 06:00 a.m., the Singaporean government executed Usman and Harun. That same day, the bodies of the two Indonesian marines were returned to their home country.

Along the way from Kemayoran airport to the Headquarters of the Department of Defense and Security in Merdeka Barat, Jakarta, thousands of people gathered and welcomed them with sorrow. The crowd was no less huge the next day when the bodies were departed from the Ministry of Defense and Security Headquarters to the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery, South Jakarta.

The Indonesian government promoted the two marines to their next higher rank: Posthumous KKO Sergeant Usman and Posthumous KKO Corporal Harun. They were also bestowed the Bintang Sakti awards and declared as National Heroes. In 2014, the Indonesian Navy named a warship after them: KRI Usman Harun.

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