What these men had in common was their perceived support of "ketuanan Melayu", or Malay supremacy (although these exact phrases were then not in vogue). Syed Jaafar Albar had campaigned strongly for the Singaporean branch of UMNO in the 1963 Singaporean general election, and made heated statements condemning Malay PAP politicians as un-Islamic, anti-Malays, and traitors to their community. Othman Wok, a senior Malay PAP politician, later insinuated Syed Jaafar's rhetoric had set the stage for the 1964 Race Riots in Singapore. Syed Nasir Ismail had insisted on closing down all Chinese schools in Malaysia as soon as possible, making Malay the sole official language.