to defuse racial tension that had reached "dangerous proportions"
Date
27 October 1987 (1987-10-27)- 20 November 1987 (1987-11-20)
Executed by
Malaysian Special Branch Royal Malaysian Police
Outcome
119 people arrested, suspension of four newspapers
Casualties
None
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Operation Lalang (Malay: Operasi Lalang, also called Ops Lalang and taken to mean "Operation Weeding") was a major crackdown undertaken by the Royal Malaysian Police from 27 October to 20 November 1987, ostensibly to prevent the occurrence of racial riots in Malaysia. 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). It was the second largest swoop in Malaysian history involving the ISA since the 13 May riots 18 years earlier. It also involved the revoking of the publishing licenses of two dailies, The Star and the Sin Chew Jit Poh and two weeklies, The Sunday Star and Watan.
The Malaysian government argued that racial tensions had reached a dangerous level within the country, forcing the government to arrest those responsible for stoking the tension. 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 through draconian measures. The event marked the beginning of a period of Mahathir's authoritarian rule on the country.
OperationLalang (Malay: Operasi Lalang, also called Ops Lalang and taken to mean "Operation Weeding") was a major crackdown undertaken by the Royal Malaysian...
Look up lalang in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Lalang may refer to: OperationLalang, Malaysian police action Imperata cylindrica, a species of grass...
in extremist movements, and from 1987 to 1989 as a result of OperationLalang, an operation that remains controversial in Malaysian politics. He was detained...
1960 (ISA) for 15 months at the Kamunting Detention Centre during OperationLalang, a government-sponsored crackdown that saw the arrest of many people...
In 1987, he detained various activists and religious figures under OperationLalang, and in 1998 had his deputy Anwar Ibrahim arrested. His record of authoritarianism...
1998 riots of Indonesia, a similar incident National Operations Council (NOC) OperationLalang Snow in Midsummer, a 2023 historical drama film evoking...
Perak who was detained in the Kamunting Detention Centre Prison during OperationLalang in the late 1980s along with Mohamad Sabu, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan...
the Memali Incident in Baling, Kedah. 27 October 1987 - Involved in OperationLalang which resulted in the arrest of 106 people under the Internal Security...
was fined. National Arts Council (Singapore) § Operation Spectrum Operation Coldstore OperationLalang From "Grounds for Detention (Vincent Cheng)". and...
and promote women’s rights". On 27 October 1987, OperationLalang was carried out. In this operation, two daily newspapers, The Star and Sin Chew Daily...
Secretary formed the operations sub-committee responsible for the day-to-day direction of emergency operations. The operations subcommittees as a whole...
1328, Jayanegara was murdered by his physician, Tanca, during a surgical operation. In complete mayhem and rage, Gajah Mada immediately killed Tanca. The...
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