Motion on the Batang Kali Massacre

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the need to redress the historical wrongs committed as revelations detail the actions of the Foreign Office in the 1990s, wherein officials intervened to halt a Malaysian criminal investigation into the massacre of 24 unarmed villagers by British Scots Guards in Malaya in 1948;

(2) notes that these interventions were purportedly aimed at preventing the exposure of certain darker aspects of Britain’s colonial history, including war crimes committed to what is now known as the Batang Kali massacre, and the alleged subsequent cover-ups by successive governments;

(3) recognises the importance of newly disclosed documents, released by Malaysian sources which highlight the extent of these alleged interventions and cover-ups, including an aborted Metropolitan Police investigation in 1970s, as well as suppressed INTERPOL investigations in the 1990s by an incoming Conservative government;

(4) notes with concern the introduction of Regulation 27A on 20 January 1949, as revealed by documents from previously classified Foreign Office archives, which allowed for the use of lethal weapons to prevent escapes and extended this right to cover any actions taken prior to the regulation’s enactment;

(5) calls into question the motivations behind the introduction of this regulation, given its timing following the Batang Kali massacre and the conflicting accounts of the event provided by the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence, and soldiers involved;

(6) condemns the fact that the British Government has refused to hold a public inquiry into the incident, has declined to offer an apology or reparations, and has threatened four claimants with hefty legal costs should their quest for an inquiry fails;

(7) condemns the loss of critical documents detailing the actions of the British Empire during the final years of colonial rule, including those specifically related to events at Batang Kali.

The House calls on the government:

(1) to immediately reopen and fully facilitate investigations into the Batang Kali massacre, to ensure transparency and accountability for any crimes that may have been committed by British troops;

(2) to make a full and formal apology for any misconduct by British officials and troops, and to offer adequate reparations to the victims’ families and survivors which are essential to finally put to rest a tragic incident that has been covered up for more than half a century;

(3) to demonstrate accountability for past actions of the state and to ensure that justice is served for all victims and their families, irrespective of the passage of time;

(4) to ensure that the right of UK troops to use lethal force in the future is exercised within a robust legal and ethical framework, and that any allegations of misuse of this power are thoroughly investigated and addressed;

(5) to support an investigation into the lost colonial-era documents to ensure that British colonial history is accurately recorded, understood and addressed, in the interests of truth, reconciliation, and justice.

(6) to invest and support investment into the Ulu Yam community that was horribly damaged by the Batang Kali massacre.

(7) Use a more accurate and less euphemistic term than the “Malayan Emergency” to respect the sensitivities of those affected, avoid downplaying the tragedies which occurred during the event as well as to accurately describe the events of that time.

This Motion was written and submitted by the Most Hon. /u/EruditeFellow, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and sponsored by the Rt. Hon. /u/ARichTeaBiscuit, Shadow Secretary of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of His Majesty’s 37th Most Loyal Opposition.

Opening Speech:

Deputy Speaker,

I rise today not as an individual, but as the voice of many who have been silenced by the sands of time and the shadows of past administrations. I rise as a proponent of justice, bearing the weight of our shared history; to cast light on the sombre tale of Batang Kali.

The scars left by the Batang Kali massacre may have faded from the skin of our collective memory, but the hurt lingers, festering in the hearts of those who have lost loved ones, and echoing in the lives of those whose history was irrevocably altered. History is not merely the story of the victors, but also the lament of the vanquished.

In the light of revelations that outline an intervention by the Foreign Office in the 1990s to halt a Malaysian criminal investigation into the massacre, we must ask ourselves, "Can we truly move forward if we are rooted in denial?" The cloak of the past shrouds the truths of the Batang Kali massacre, truths that many seek to keep hidden. But today we pull back the veil, we open our eyes to the shadows that lie beneath and seek to right the wrongs caused in our dark past.

We stand before a wealth of evidence today, gleaned from the depths of previously classified archives, which reveal a stark discrepancy between the stories spun by a Conservative government within the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence, and the very soldiers involved in the incident. Regulation 27A has a particularly ominous resonance when viewed in conjunction with the Batang Kali massacre. One cannot help but question the motivations behind such a regulation.

Moreover, the attempt to halt INTERPOL's investigations and the suppression of the Metropolitan Police's inquiry – these are not the acts of a nation willing to face its past, but rather, of one that seeks to manipulate the narrative, and continue and engage in the dark traditions our colonial empire has marred itself with. And I ask this House, what does it say about us if we stand idly by while history is distorted?

If we are truly a nation built on principles of justice and transparency, these actions do not reflect those principles. Why has the British government refused time and again to hold a public inquiry into the incident, offer an official apology or reparations to the families affected by this tragic event? Why instead have we chosen to engage in criminal and tyrannical behaviour and resort to the threat of substantial legal costs to the four claimants seeking an inquiry? How can we learn from our history if we do not have access to it and are constantly trying to rewrite narratives?

No more, I say. We need to do something, and do something fast. We must rectify these wrongs, reopen and facilitate proper investigations into the Batang Kali massacre, offer a formal apology and reparations to the victims and survivors and their families, and ensure accountability for our past actions.

Let us no longer veil this event in euphemism. The term "Malayan Emergency" as well as our past behaviour diminishes the depth of the tragedy and fails to capture the gravity of the events that transpired, downplaying the full extent of the event for the sake of greed. Let us acknowledge the Batang Kali Massacre for what it was. Let this motion serve as a beacon of truth and justice for all. For in its shadow, we find ourselves at a crossroads, teetering on the brink of tomorrow, anchored by yesterday. As we make our choice, let us remember that the way we navigate our past determines the compass of our future.

Let me end this by invoking the timeless wisdom of Niccolo Machiavelli: “the wise man does at once what the fool does finally.” We recognise that we have, perhaps, played the part of the fool for far too long by avoiding and dancing around this issue and others of similar magnitude. The time for decisive action is upon us. We must address these injustices, rectify past wrongs, and strive to avoid repeating past mistakes again. We must act now or resign ourselves to the role of perpetual fools, needlessly inviting adverse conditions due to our lack of decisive action which will no doubt further put us in a negative light and destroy our credibility on the international stage.

This division ends Saturday 24th June at 10pm BST.