During the Konfrontasi, where Indonesia openly opposed the formation of Malaysia, Indonesian saboteurs mounted a campaign of terror in Singapore. There were a total of 37 bombings from 1963 to 1966. They were trained to attack military installations and public utilities. However, when the saboteurs failed in their attempts to attack these installations that were heavily guarded, they set off bombs indiscriminately to create panic and disrupt life on the island. By 1964, bomb explosions became frequent. To help the police and army defend Singapore from these attacks, a volunteer force was set up. More than 10,000 people signed up as volunteers. Community Centers served as bases for the volunteers to patrol their neighbourhoods. In schools, students underwent bomb drills. The government also warned Singaporeans not to handle any suspicious-looking parcels in the buildings or along streets. Despite the efforts of the British, small groups of saboteurs managed to infiltrate the island and plant bombs. By March 1965, a total of 29 bombs had been set off in Singapore.
Attack
The 10 March 1965 bombing of the MacDonald House was the most serious of the spate of bombings in Singapore, when a bomb exploded at 3:07pm at the 10-story building. The bomb killed three people; two women who were employees of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, Elizabeth Suzie Choo, 36, a secretary and Juliet Goh, 23, a clerk. The third victim, a Malay man Mohammed Yasin Kesit, 45, a driver, slipped into a coma after the blast, and later died. Thirty-three other people were injured. At the time of the bombing, the building had also housed the Australian High Commission and the Japanese Consulate, and was located just 1.4 km from the Istana, now the official residence of the President of Singapore.
Arrests and sentencing
Within four days, Singaporean police arrested two marines, Harun Said and Osman bin Haji Mohamed Ali for the bombing. The three Indonesian saboteurs had arrived in Singapore from Java at 11:00 a.m., wearing civilian clothes. They had been instructed to bomb an electric power house but instead headed to MacDonald House. The two saboteurs were unable to escape due to their motorboat breakdown, one saboteur, Gani bin Arup, managed to flee due to him taking a different route. Later examination of the building showed that about 20 to 25 lb of nitroglycerine explosives were used for the bomb. As they were in civilian clothes and had targeted a civilian building, the two men were tried in Singapore for the murder of the three people who died in the blast. They were convicted and hanged in Changi Prison on 17 October 1968.
Aftermath and effects on Indonesia-Singapore bilateral relations
In the meantime, Singapore gained independence and left the Malaysian Federation on 9 August 1965, just five months after the bombing. In March 1967, the then President of Indonesia, Sukarno, who had initiated the Konfrontasi, was removed from power. A clemency plea by Suharto, who assumed the position of President, was rejected. The Singapore Embassy in Jakarta was ransacked on the day of the saboteurs' hanging. Bilateral-relations between Singapore and Indonesia remained tense. Bilateral relations improved after 1973, when the then Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, in a visit to Indonesia, visited the graves of the two marines and scattered flowers on them, followed by Suharto's visit to Singapore in 1974.
Warship-naming controversy
In 2014, Indonesia named a Bung Tomo-class corvette warship as :id:KRI Usman-Harun |KRI Usman-Harun, after the two hanged commandos, worsening bilateral ties between Indonesia and Singapore. In response, Singapore cancelled a series of planned inter-military activities and banned the warship from its ports and naval bases and also withdrew its delegation from an international defence meeting, after two Indonesian men at the event were seen dressed in uniform. General Moeldoko, Indonesia's military chief, apologised for the naming of the ship, which was accepted by Singapore in a statement by Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, which he later clarified that the "apology" was that the naming of the ship was irreversible.
Memorial
On 10 March 2015, 50 years after the bombing, a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Konfrontasi as well as soldiers who died during that period, was unveiled at Dhoby Ghaut Green, situated across MacDonald House. It was built at the recommendation of the Singapore Armed Forces Veterans League with the objective as a remembrance of the victims, as well as to educate younger generations about the tragedy. The unveiling was officiated by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong, as "a lasting reminder of the victims of Konfrontasi, and those who risked their lives defending our country". Religious leaders from the Inter-Religious Organisation also prayed at the site, before laying a wreath on the monument.
