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.