History of Penang

Four Years Before the Storm · Chronicle · 8 min read

What Was the 1967 Penang Hartal?

Two notes that both read "one dollar" suddenly were no longer equal; how economic protest turned into street violence in a single day

In November 1967, Britain devalued the pound sterling. Malaysia maintained the value of its new dollar, but allowed the old notes still pegged to sterling to depreciate. The Labour Party of Penang launched a Hartal on November 24, and many shops in George Town shut down. The strike initially targeted currency losses, but was subsequently marred by forced closures, assaults, and ethnic retaliation. The government and opposition parties left behind conflicting narratives of responsibility, and casualty figures also varied due to different statistical timelines and geographical boundaries. This was not a simple dress rehearsal for May 13, but a warning alarm the nation failed to understand.