The Emergency

The Emergency The events of the emergency period in Malaya lasted between 1948 and 1960. The communist insurgents were overwhelmingly Chinese (a minority). Therefore, it must be noted that the Malayan Communists could not canvas support in terms of their role as nationalists as well as communists. Malay politicians and Chinese Malay politicians denounced their activities. Throughout the entire Emergency steady progress was being made towards attaining independence.

The Emergency Once the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) decided to follow an armed strategy they faded into the jungle. Here they mounted raids against vulnerable targets such as police posts, district administrative offices, planter’s and miner’s bungalows.

The Emergency Casualty figures from The Emergency were relatively small. However, its impact was great. It delayed economic recovery post Japanese occupation. It also meant that the granting of independence could be delayed until stability returned.

The Emergency The colonial govt’s reaction to The Emergency involved a degree of uncertainty and confusion. This was soon replaced by carefully constructed military and political effort. Insurgents were isolated from the population. A resettlement scheme was established.

The Emergency After WWII there existed a large ‘squatter’ population that lived outside of government control. The squatters were almost all Chinese Malay. They provided recruits and supplies to the communists. These squatters were the target of the resettlement campaign. Nearly half a million squatters were resettled. The guerrilla force never numbered more than 9000.

The Emergency Once resettled the squatters became the responsibility of the police. Leaving the army to pursue the guerillas. The tide did not turn against the communists until 1954. By then there was no doubt that the insurgents would be defeated and Malaya would gain independence.

The Emergency The ethnically Chinese communist party never succeeded in presenting themselves as bearers of the nationalist banner. They were not fighting for independence as their comrades were in other SE Asian nations. The MCP was defeated in 1960.