On sorting through some old photographs, Uncle Dicko recounts a meeting with with Mansor Adabi – a name not immediately familiar – but a person who played a key role in one “unforgettable chapter of Singapore history”. Here he is, the man in blue, third from the right in a photo taken in 1998:

Who is Mansor Adabi? Remember the Maria Hertogh Riots in 1950? Mansor Adabi was the husband of Maria Hertogh aka Nadra. Uncle Dicko writes:

On 17 May 1950, the High Court ruled that Maria must be returned to her Dutch parents. Che Aminah’s side lodged an appeal and the court ordered a stay of execution pending the outcome for a period of 2 months. Maria was taken to the Social Welfare quarters of York Hill for temporary safekeeping. It was here that Al Mansor Adabi, a young school teacher then, first met Maria in person. He was engaged to tutor her in English as Maria only spoke Malay, Javanese and a little Chinese but no Dutch. It was “love at first sight” according to the young Mansor. He proposed, she accepted and the very public marriage was held on August 1 1950.

The marriage was regarded as controversial, and the eventual return of Maria Hertogh to her natural Dutch parents sparked off riots between the Malay and the European community, resulting in 18 deaths and 173 injuries. You can read about Uncle Dicko’s memory of Mansor Adabi here, or about the riots here.