No Cover Up

It was 1948, the year the Malayan Emergency was declared. Just five months into the conflict, in December, British soldiers of the 7th Platoon of the G Company, 2nd Scots Guards stormed a rubber plantation and hauled the villagers from their homes. Families were torn apart – men were separated from their wives and children put through harsh interrogation. When the work was done, a total of 24 unarmed civilians were shot to death.

The incident, occurring during the counter-insurgency operations, became known as the Batang Kali Massacre, due to its location at Sungai Rimoh near Batang Kali in Selangor, or is described as Britain’s My Lai. Despite investigation carried out by the British Government and the Royal Malaysia Police, efforts were futile as the case was later closed on account of insufficient evidence. As if to add salt to the wound, the authorities failed to make amends, never offering words of apology or any form of compensation to the survivors and the victims’ next of kin.

Fast forward six decades: Family members of the victims have decided to take matters into their own hands. Enlisting the help of voluntary lawyers, journalists and social activists, they pursue redress in court and seek justice against the British government. This documentary-drama theatre about the historical event of Batang Kali Massacre is the first adaption from a book of the same title, ‘No Cover Up’, which details the indiscriminate killings of innocent people by the British troops on December 11 and 12, 1948.

This play is in Mandarin with English surtitles.