1925-1989 Malaysian Communist Party

Ho Chi Minh

The Malayan Communist party originated as an overseas branch of the Chinese Communist party in Malaysia in 1925. In 1930 a Vietnamese communist known by the name of Ho Chi Minh directed the Malaysian Communist Party to become an independent organization. He attempted to completely change the way the organization was run- it originally was only beneficial to a Chinese communist movement. His ideals were a party that represented not only the Chinese but the Malayans and Indians creating a more multiracial party. However, the idea was never completely recognized by all and he was arrested in 1930. In 1941, when the Japanese invaded Malaysia, it became an opportunity for the party to not only build up strength in numbers but also in popularity, especially by the Chinese who were receiving the most of the Japanese hostility in the war. This was the only time that the Malayan Communist Party was secured official recognition by the British. MCP member volunteers were trained by British officials as guerillas that were left behind enemy lines in World War II. These trained volunteers later became the center of the resistance force, the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA).

Dialogues with Chin Peng:
 New Light on the Malaysian Communist Party

After the war ended, the MPAJA broke apart and the MCP was legally allowed to operate for the first and last time in history. However countless of the leaders of the MCP had either become homeless, jobless or both, and many had several difficulties in the mental transitions between war and peace. They frequented the streets for demonstrations and Labor Strikes. The secretary-general (Lai Tek) was exposed as a British secret agent, and he managed to escape along with all of the party’s funds. Any feelings of good will established by Lai Tek towards the British were shattered when Lai Tek’s old assistant Chin Peng became the leader and favored a more military based way of acting. After hearing about Chin Peng the British officials returned to Malaysia with an offer of a constitutional unitary Malaysian state as well as rights for the multiracial community and the ability to self rule. The Malaysian Communist Party held no interest for this offer and social unrest continued to spread as the Chinese rallied to refuse the offer and Malayans rallied to accept it. The MCP used the time of unrest to their advantage and used it to prepare for a revolution known as the Malayan Emergency. The MCP was defeated in 1960 due to lack of support, military reserves, and the collapse of universal communism. However until 1989, they continued to keep their present felt by assassinations as well as armed attacks on public development projects.

1948-1960 The Malayan Emergency

The Malayan Emergency is the war between the British Army and the Malayan Communist Party between 1948 and 1960. Post World War II, the Malayan Communist Party held a large part of the popularity vote from the Malayans and the Chinese as well as influenced many of the trade unions. When the British offered Malaysia a federation with many provinces and some autonomy, the Malaysian people were willing to accept. However, the Chinese, who made up about 38% of the population, would receive fewer rights than the Malaysians so they were more inclined to reject the offer. In a rebuttal to the offer, the MCP publicized the grievances that the half a million Chinese had gone through. Any weapons still possessed by those who fought in WWII for the MPAJA were passed down to the Malayan Races Liberation Army (MRLA). Violence and general public unrest escalated until a state of emergency was declared on June 17, 1948. The British did not fully comprehend the strong political strategy that was being followed by the MPAJ, declaring it as just criminal activity. The MCP were following a Maoist strategy and deployed about 7000 men to fight.

"The Domino That Stood"

However hard the MPAJ fought and however many men they could send out, they were inexperienced compared to the British in terms of strategy, as well as in leadership. When the British were looking for an opening, the MPAJ made the extremely foolish idea of retreating into the jungle to reorganize. While most of the party was hiding in the jungle, the British were able to completely destroy the mass political support organization, the Min Yuen. They also were extremely unpopular and since Britain still held so much power, Britain was able to offer more independence than the MCP could ever dream of. Britain also created an elaborate was committee that included everyone ranging from the army and civil agencies to ethnic communities and parts of village committees. Through this, the British were also able to adopt a more efficient manner of fighting a Maoist-style rebellion. Bit by bit, the British was able to section off small areas of land and clear them of the Emergency Status until the state of emergency was ended on July 31, 1960. While the MCP continued small attacks until 1989 when they were forced to surrender, the MCP was never able to recover enough to really start another rebellion.

1948-1957 Struggle for Independence Post-WWII

As a multi-racial and cultural nation, Malaysia’s long struggle for independence following World War II depended on multiple factors. During the war, Malaysia, along with the Philippines, was occupied by the Japanese Army. Following the war, Britain took control of the territory, but was amidst the struggle for independence by the local communist groups. The hegemonic country declared a State of Emergency following the struggle for independence, which also continued when the independence was granted.

 Right after the Federation of Malaysia was established in 1948 with a British supervisor, there was a widespread guerilla warfare against the government. These guerilla fighting groups were mostly made up of Chinese and North Vietnamese communist irregulars. When the Malaysian government successfully fought back, the guerilla fighters attempted to sabotage the society economically, by targeting one of their major items of trade. Rubber plantations were destroyed, and workers were killed. Although they were slightly demurred by Sir Herald Briggs who controlled the supply of food to the guerilla areas, the groups of communist fighters increased under the leadership of Marxist Chin Peng. He organized the fighters into the Malayan Race Liberation Army (MRLA), which reached the size of 7,000 at one point. Although small compared to the 5.5 million population, MRLA fought against British and Malaysian forces for many years. The fighting and activity eventually died down, and the Malay federation gained autonomy.

Another leading factor for Malaysia included the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), their largest political party. The UMNO’s negotiations with the British significantly helped Malaysia gain independence in 1957. While later on, the UMNO representation declined in government, new parties and representatives were introduced to the newly independent government system.

1957-1970 Abdul Rahman

Abdul Rahman on the cover of a 1963
TIME magazine

Like many other strong rulers, Abdul Rahman seeked Western ideas and education, attending an English-run school in Alor Star and then a Siamese school in Bangkok. In 1915 he returned to Malay to complete his secondary education. Then in 1920 he sailed to England furthering his education, and after private tutoring enrolled in St. Catherine’s College at Cambridge University. After much education he returned to Malaysia with a degree in law, and knowledge from the Western World. Abdul Rahman was the Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaysia in 1955, and was the country’s first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He was known as “Tunku”, or “The Tunku”. During World War II, Rahman remained at his government post even though the Japanese occupied Malaysia. After the war, Britain tried to regain its control over Malaysia, however finding that Malaysia had been damaged. Nationalism was beginning to unravel because of the damage the Japanese had left behind. Britain planned to centralize the power, and opposing their plans, Dato Onn formed the United Malay Nationalist Organization in 1946. In 1949, Abdul left the Kedah and went on to become Deputy Prosecutor in Kuala Lumpur.

As leader, Rahman’s first priority was to insure communist based riots however British and Australian forces dismissed this idea in 1960. After this, he proposed regional stability, resulting in the new nation of Malaysia in 1963. Despite his intentions, ethnic tensions continued, and the new Prime Minister formally evicted Singapore from the federation. Opposing the Union, he also weathered a political argument with Indonesia, however the quarrel concluded peacefully. 

Abdul Rahman giving a speech at an
UMNO assembly 

Malaysia had soon became a uniting, industrious combination of many ethnic groups and religions, however May 1969, the continuing resistance between the Malays and Chinese shattered violently in the streets. Before Rahman could declare a state of emergency, many lives were taken and much damage had been done. However once the riots concluded, Malays accused Rahman of playing for the Chinese under his rule of Malaysia. He resigned after thirteen years in office in 1970, later serving as a respected elder and wrote a column for the newspapers. Now, Abdul Rahman is remembered as the father of his country as well as an agent of ethnic and religious tolerance. 

1963-1966 Malaysian-Indonesian Confrontation

General Suharto on the cover of a 1966 TIME magazine
titled "Vengeance With a Smile"

In 1963, Achmed Sukarno, president of Indonesia, refused to recognize the new Republic of Malaysia. Therefore stirring a war between his nation against Malaysia. This undeclared war had no set battles, but low leveled guerrilla wars using paratroopers behind Malaysian lines, as well as underwater demolition teams to mine the harbor of Singapore. As the war was taking place, difference of opinions broke out in villages and homes, as the communists staged an overthrow of the current power (which failed). Most of the action took place on the divided island of Borne. 
General Suharto, Sukarno's general in chief, led the Indonesian forces against the communist rebels, leading them nationwide to wipe out all communists and leftists. This purge turned into a slaughter, estimating about 150,000 to about 500,000 communists dead. The leader of the leftists, Dipoa Nusuntara Aidit was killed, and the communists that had not yet been executed were thrown in prison cells in untold numbers. By 1976, it was recorded that there were still 70,000 political prisoners from this period held in prison. While the attempt at a communist takeover failed, the efforts dominated Indonesian military resources, and Sukarno agreed to reevaluate peace negotiations with Malaysia. A truce was declared on June 1, 1966 followed by a formal treaty signed August 11, 1966.

1964-1999 Prime Minister Mohamad Mahathir

Mohamad Mahathir (born in 1925) was born into a family of two school teachers in Malaysia. He attended local Islamic schools Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor Setar, and graduated from University of Singapore. He studied medicine and politics eventually became the prime minister of Malaysia from 1982 to 2003 which is the record for a prime minister to be reelected. His entrance to the political world was in 1964 when he was elected into a seat in the lower house in Malaysia. From there he went on to be elected into the Supreme Council of United Malays, only to be briefly kicked out after the publication of his debate sparking book, “The Malay Dilemma” in 1969. The book showed his true thoughts and ideas on race, and managed to spark many anti-Chinese riots around Malaysia, for it was a well known fact that he used the Chinese to advocate better rights for the Malaysian people.  Unable to deal with the civil unrest, the SCoUM used many of Mahathir’s plans and eventually allowed the renowned politician back onto the council. Once he was elected to the head of state, he took no time in changing the way Malaysia was directed. He started giving more jobs and political opportunities to the majority of the people in Malaysia at that point, those who lived in poverty. Mohamad took up the slogan of, “Look to the East” and began to model Malaysia after Japan and South Korea, as well as telling people to reject their colonial past and look toward the future.

Some of Mohamad’s ideas were shocking to other countries around the world. A number of his thoughts on human rights were alarming to past US leaders but Mohamad has proved many times that he supported Americas war against terror even with his Islamic background. He even threw a large amount of Islamic fundamentalists, Chinese nationalists into jail in 1987. While Mohamad outwardly rejected all western ideas such as democracy or the ability to speak freely, most of his ideas reflected on his upbringing when he was able to rise through the social classes which is more of a western idea. While there is a king elected every five years who theoretically holds all of the power, the prime minister is actually the one in charge of most of the decision making. Mohamad Mahathir had no problems with challenging the royalty on the King’s ability to veto in 1983. While he lost the challenge, he managed to obtain more rights for the legislatures to override the King’s veto. He also took the weak Malaysian economy and set up debt reduction guidelines of the International Monetary Fund and the World bank, and was able to declare the Malaysian recession over by 1999.However, Mahathir's popularity severely declined over the years due to allegations of abusal of human rights as well as suppression of dissent

1956 to Present Day Economic Plans

The Malayan Government launched the first five year plan in 1956, called the first Malaya plan, which was to increase economic development to expand per capita income and living standards. This plan focused more on the low-income earners that lived in rural areas and needed help in projects such as building and improving basic facilities. Then, the government launched an official first Malaysian plan when the formation of Malaysia took place. This plan aimed to encompass Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak, working towards cultivating social integration amongst the people of various states in Malaysia, thus improving economic growth and the welfare of the people. 

Najib Abdul Razak unveiling a new economic plan in 2010

             The New Economic Plan was created to create national unity through the elimination of poverty regardless of race. Following this five year plan were eight more plans, including goals such as new economic policies, inflation, development, strengthening production capacity, transforming the nations growth strategy, accelerate changes in the structure of agriculture and manufacturing, as well as strengthening socio-economic stability through equitable distribution of income and the countries wealth. The ninth five year plan is set from 2006-2010, aiming to create wealth and opulence. It is said to be the most important plan in the country’s history, as the country is at its half way point towards the year 2020. This plan brings together a mixture of government initiatives, trying to create a nation with a developed economy, a balanced social development, a united citizenry. 

Early 2000s to Present Day Protests and Violence Present Day

The Bersih walk in Malaysia was one of the most recent significant events in Malaysian history. Bersih (meaning “clean”), is an organization that started off in the early 2000s, aiming for electoral reforms. The group grew to a larger extent reaching multiple factors hopeful for change. Just last year, thousands of Malays planned a large protest called “A Walk for Democracy”. The government outlawed the group and declared the wearing of yellow (the color of protest) to be illegal the week before the planned walk. All of Malaysia was very much aware of the approaching protestests, yet rather than preventing it from happening, the government simply set up barricades and established further protests as illegal. 

Last month, protesters once again demanding for electoral reforms were tear-gassed by the police after disregarding their warnings. This lead to a great upset, and the violence once again continued in Malaysia with members of Bersih against police and government forces. 

Bersih is now a global organization, countries such as Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, and The United States have joined in attempt to gain fair and free elections for Malaysia. neighboring and supporting countries have assembled all over the world, making Bersih a stronger and more powerful organization. Their main goal is for fair elections, but they additionally aim for the end of corruption and dirty politics, and  free and fair access to media. initially they just wanted to give malaysia an electoral system that delivers a fundamental democratic right to its citizens. Bersih wants to gain these goals before the 13th general election which is undecided in terms of the date. 


Below is a video from April 28th, 2012 of a Bersih organization in San Francisco assembling to support free and fair elections