Lim Yew Hock[10] was ruthless and was keen to show the British that he could control any disruptive influences in Singapore. On 18 September 1956, Yew Hock used the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance (PPSO), which allowed him extraordinary police powers, to dissolve seven organisations and detain seven people, mainly from Chinese middle schools.[11] As public anger became so strong over the arrests, Chin Siong and others launched a Civil Rights Convention, which was Singapore’s first civil rights movement.[12] This alarmed the British and Yew Hock, as the Convention was supported by locals of all backgrounds and ideologies at the time and was on the verge of becoming a real force.[11]
On 25 October 1956, Chin Siong gave a speech at Beauty World in Hokkien to an angry audience, urging them to calm down and that their enemy was not the police, but Yew Hock and the colonial masters. Among those who attended the rally were Lee Kuan Yew, Toh Chin Chye and Devan Nair.[11]
Later that night, a riot began after police and protesters clashed outside Chinese High, and escalated into an islandwide riot, with 13 deaths.[7]:88–89 After the riots, Chin Siong and close to 300 others were arrested, apparently because Chin Siong had incited the audience in his speech to “pah mata” (“beat the police” in Hokkien).[13]
At the Legislative Assembly, then-Minister of Education Chew Swee Kee said:
It is significant to note that the Member for Bukit Timah (Lim Chin Siong) at that meeting said that instead of shouting “Merdeka” the people should now shout, “Pah Mata”, which means “Beat the Police”. Is there any doubt whatsoever as to who sparked off the riots?
Lee, who was present at Chin Siong’s speech, did not refute this.
A transcript of the speech by the Special Branch, recently declassified, revealed that Chin Siong had said:[11]
A lot of people don’t want to shout Merdeka! They want to shout “pah mata”. This is wrong. We want to ask them to cooperate with us because they are also wage-earners and so that in the time of crisis they will take their guns and run away. (Laughter and cheers).