Malayan Communist Party
The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), officially the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was a Marxist–Leninist and anti-imperialist communist party which was active in British Malaya and later, the modern states of Malaysia and Singapore from 1930 to 1989. It was responsible for the creation of both the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army and the Malayan National Liberation Army.
Communist Party of Malaya
Parti Komunis Malaya
ڤرتي کومونيس ملايا
馬來亞共產黨
马来亚共产党
Má-lâi-a Kiōng-sán-tóng
Maa5 Loi4 Aa3 Gung6 Caan2 Dong2
Mǎláiyǎ Gòngchǎndǎng
மலாயா பொதுவுடைமை கட்சி
Malāyā Potuvuṭaimai Kaṭci
MCP, CPM, PKM
- Lei Kuang-juan
- Wu Ching
- Wei Ching-chow
- Lin Ching-chung
- Chen Shao-chang
April 1930
2 December 1989
Min Sheng Pau
40,000
"Kaum buruh semua negeri, bersatulah!"
("Workers of the world, unite!")
The party led resistance efforts against the Japanese occupation of Malaya and Singapore during World War II, and later fought a war of national liberation against the British Empire during the Malayan Emergency. After the departure of British colonial forces from the Federation of Malaya, the party fought in a third guerrilla campaign against both the Malaysian and Singaporean governments in an attempt to create a communist state in the region, before disbanding in 1989.[2] Today, due to historical connotations surrounding the MCP, communism as an ideology remains a taboo political topic in both countries.
History[edit]
Early Influences[edit]
The communist movement actually appeared in Pahang earlier around the middle of the 1920s. At that time, the Communist Youth League was formed in the Chinese settlement centers such as in Raub, Bentong, Mentakab and Manchis. The followers of this movement are mostly made up of Chinese students who are in their teens and early twenties. They have been taught the ideals of communism by some of their teachers and are usually encouraged to show opposition to capitalism, colonial oppression and western imperialism in their public meetings and discussion groups.[3]
Formation[edit]
In April 1930 the South Seas Communist Party was dissolved and was replaced by the Communist Party of Malaya.[4] While its primary responsibility was Malaya and Singapore, the party was also active in Thailand and the Dutch East Indies, which did not then have their own Communist parties.
Growth[edit]
The party operated as an illegal organisation under British colonial rule. On 29 April 1930, a raid conducted by the Singapore Special Branch on a vacant house at 24 Nassim Road in Singapore almost ended the MCP as eight of its original founding members were arrested before being imprisoned or deported back to China.[5] In June 1931, after a Comintern courier was intercepted by the police, about six raids were conducted from June to December saw several party members were arrested and documents seized, sending the party into disarray. Information extracted from the courier indicated at this point there were 1,500 members and 10,000 sympathisers.[6]
Despite this setback, the MCP gained influence in the trade union movement and organised several strikes, most notably at the Batu Arang coal mine in 1935. They also set up workers' committees at some workplaces. These committees, and the strikes, were promptly crushed by troops and police. Many ethnic Chinese strikers were deported to China, where they were often executed by the Chinese Nationalist government as Communists.[7]
After Japan invaded China in 1937, there was a rapprochement between the Malayan Kuomintang and Communists, paralleling that in China. Under the wing of the Kuomintang, the MCP was able to operate more easily. Anti-Japanese sentiment among Malayan Chinese gave the party a great opportunity to recruit members and raise funds under the banner of defence of China.[8]
At this time, the party was infiltrated by an apparent British agent, Lai Teck, who became its Secretary-General in April 1939. Despite this severe security breach, the Party continued to operate effectively. By mid-1939 it claimed about 40,000 members, about half in Singapore.
Structure[edit]
The MCP was headed by a Central Executive Committee of twelve to fifteen members. About six of these were appointed to the Political Bureau (Politburo) which ran the party when the C.E.C was not in session. Each State had State Central Executive Committee and was in turn subdivided into several Districts. The smallest unit of organisation was the Party cell, which typically consisted of the members from one workplace or village. Large Party Congresses were held on an occasional basis.
World War II[edit]
On 8 December 1941, the Japanese Empire invaded Malaya. The British colonial authorities now accepted the MCP's standing offer of military co-operation. On 15 December, all left-wing political prisoners were released.
From 20 December the British military began to train party members in guerilla warfare at the hastily established 101st Special Training School (101st STS) in Singapore. About 165 MCP members were trained before the British defences collapsed. These fighters, scantily armed and equipped by the hard-pressed British, hurriedly dispersed and attempted to harass the occupying army.
Just before Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, the party began organising armed resistance in the state of Johore. Soon four armed groups, which became known as 'Regiments', were formed, with 101st STS trainees serving as nuclei. In March this force was dubbed the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) and began sabotage and ambushes against the Japanese. The Japanese responded with reprisals against Chinese civilians. These reprisals, coupled with increasing economic hardship, caused large numbers of Malayan Chinese to flee the cities. They became squatters at the forest margins, where they became the main source of recruits, food, and other assistance for the MPAJA. The MPAJA consolidated this support by providing protection.
O'Ballance estimates that in mid-1942 the regimental strengths were about 100 in the first Regiment, 160 in the 2nd, 360 in the 3rd, and 250 in the 4th.[9] At this time a 5th, 6th, and 7th Regiment were formed. This army, which included women, was conceived as both a military and political force, along Maoist lines.
When Singapore fell, Lai Teck was arrested by the Japanese and became their agent. On 1 September 1942, acting on his information, the Japanese launched a dawn raid on a secret conference of more than 100 MCP and MPAJA leaders at the Batu Caves just north of Kuala Lumpur, killing most. The loss of personnel forced the MPAJA to abandon its political commissar system, and the military commanders became the heads of the regiments.[10] Following this setback the MPAJA avoided engagements and concentrated on consolidation, amassing 4,500 soldiers by Spring 1943.[11]
From May 1943, British commandos from Force 136 infiltrated Malaya and made contact with the guerillas. Early in 1944 an agreement was reached whereby the MPAJA would accept some direction from the Allied South East Asia Command (SEAC) and the Allies would give the MPAJA weapons and supplies. It was not until the spring of 1945, however, that significant amounts of material began to arrive by air drop.[12]
The war's aftermath[edit]
Japan's surrender on 15 August 1945 caught the combatants in Malaya by surprise. The first British contingent of reoccupation troops did not arrive until 3 September; Singapore was reoccupied only on the 8th. The Japanese garrison withdrew from the countryside, leaving a power vacuum that was filled by the MPAJA. In many places, especially Chinese areas, they were greeted as heroes as they emerged from the forest.
The British recognised the MPAJA's authority, paying its soldiers for the role in the reoccupation. The guerillas, meanwhile, seized Japanese arms and recruited freely, forming an 8th Regiment and lifting their armed strength over 6,000.[13] At the same time they launched reprisals against collaborators in the Malay police force and the civilian population[13] and began to forcibly raise funds.[14]
Many in the rank and file advocated revolution.[15] The cautious approach which was favoured by Lai Teck and a majority of the leadership prevailed—a decision which was later viewed as a major missed opportunity.[16]
On 12 September the British Military Administration (BMA) was installed at Kuala Lumpur.[16] Later that year MPAJA reluctantly agreed to disband. Weapons were handed in at ceremonies where the wartime role of the army was praised.[17] Six thousand eight-hundred soldiers were officially disbanded, but a proportion of weapons were withheld, particularly handguns.[18] The party was still not legal but able to operate without repression.
The MCP adopted a 'National Front' policy, building a broad coalition to work for national independence within legal means. Due to bad economic conditions, the BMA was immediately faced with strikes and demonstrations in which the Communists played an active part. Several were put down by armed force and leaders banished. The MCP also exerted influence through parliamentary parties such as the Malayan Democratic Union (MDU) and the Malay Nationalist Party (MNP).[19]
In 1946, amid a discontent with the leadership's cautious line, an investigation commenced into rumours of Lai Teck's treachery.[20] Before he could be questioned in March 1947, Lai Teck fled the country with party funds.[20] Badly shaken, the Central Executive Committee kept the defection secret for a year while they struggled to come to terms with it.[21] The 26-year-old Chin Peng was chosen as the new Secretary General. A senior officer in the MPAJA 5th Regiment in Perak, he had been the party's principal liaison with Force 136. The party's stance became more resolutely anti-British.
From time to time the MCP released policy statements or manifestos to the public.