What have we learnt?

From the 8 sources stated earlier, it can be seen that if religious issues are not handled carefully, there may be a development of hostility and distrust among the people, affecting the relationships between people in the different religious groups.
The media, no doubt, played a very important role in the Maria Hertogh Riots. It was insensitive to the way it handled the religious issues in Singapore. Without the influence of the media coverage, this battle of custody would not have been known within the country or world, thus there would not have been ill-feelings created between the Malays and British, hence this tragedy might have been avoided had the people been more sensitive to those of other religious groups.
The government could also be blamed. If the government had taken some action in dissolving the riots and the misunderstandings between the Malays and the Dutch. Our sources are mainly focusing on what caused the riots to take place and the tragedy of this historical riot which took place between two different races.