In a recent video, we discussed the Malayan Emergency, an oft-forgotten conflict fought
in British Malaya between 1948 and 1960. While the British, largely by means of the infamous Briggs
Plan, may have come out on top in that war, the Malayan Communist Party wasn't yet ready to give
up its gloves. In 1968, after an eight-year lull, they took up arms once again, sparking
what was known as the Communist insurgency in Malaysia or the Second Malayan Emergency.
Without repeating everything we covered in our video on the First Malayan Emergency,
this is roughly what happened.
During the Second World War, the Japanese invaded Malaya via a beach in the state of
Kelantan and smashed through the British defensive lines. Losing ground fast,
the British struck a deal with the Malayan Communist Party, or MCP, freeing ethnic
Chinese communists from prison so they could help staunch the Japanese advance by means of guerrilla
operations. These guerrillas were together the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army, or MPAJA,
and by the time they were ready to rumble, it was too late: the Japanese had already taken Malaya.
Throughout the war, the MPAJA grew to include some 7,000 guerrillas. After
America nuked Japan and Japan surrendered, the British returned to Malaya, but now
the Malayans knew the British could bleed. In 1948, the remnants of the demobilised MPAJA
reunited under the Malayan National Liberation Front, or MNLA, and fought a second guerrilla war,
this time against the British, the pro-British Malayans, and the Commonwealth.
Under the Briggs Plan, the British forcefully relocated or detained much of Malaya's ethnic
Chinese population, denying the MNLA its support system. They also burned their crops.
In the end, coupled with the 6,700 casualties inflicted upon the guerrillas,
the Briggs Plan wore the MNLA down, and its remnants fled across the Thai border to regroup.
In 1963, Malaya federated with Singapore, Sarawak, and North Borneo, and Malaysia was born. While
Peninsular Malaysia was no longer under the yoke of the British, things were far from chill. Racial
tensions between Malays and Chinese soared; communist insurgents were causing a ruckus in
Sarawak; Malaysia and Indonesia were fighting an undeclared war in Borneo; Singapore was soon to
be expelled from the federation; and Moro pirates from the Philippines were sacking the Malaysian
state of Sabah. To top it off, the MCP was totally not in power, and that simply wouldn't do.
Along the Malaysian-Southern Thailand border, the MNLA guerrillas stirred.
After its defeat in the First Malayan Emergency, the MCP—headed by Secretary-General
Chin Peng—retrained its guerrillas and shoved its ideology even further down their throats. By 1968,
there were just 600 nine-to-five guerrillas and 1,000 reservists in bases along the Thai border.
But these men were willing to fight and die for what they believed in, and many were experienced
veterans. Most were ethnic Chinese, though the MNLA recruited non-Chinese Malays and Thais as
well. They even established what they called the Islamic Brotherhood Party to coax Muslims into
their ranks. Back in 1961, Chin had met with Deng Xiaoping of the People's Republic of China, or
PRC, in secret, and Deng had convinced Chin that Peninsular Malaysia was screaming for a revolt.
He had even promised Chin a cheeky 100,000 US dollars if he launched a second insurgency.
By June 1968, Chin's guerrillas were ready to roll. On the 17th, they ambushed the security
forces of the Malaysian Government in Kroh in the Peninsular's north, killing 17 men.
In May the following year, there was a general election. In the lead-up to the event, the MNLA
spread throughout the Peninsular, encouraging Chinese youths to boycott the ruling multi-ethnic
coalition known as the Alliance Party. The Alliance lost seats to the Chinese-dominated
parties the Democratic Action Party and Parti Gerakan, and a few days later, race riots broke
out in Kuala Lumpur, with Malays, Chinese, and Indians murdering each other in the streets.
Security forces were deployed, and the government suspended the Parliament, declaring a state of
emergency. All in all, more conservative estimates claim that 196 people were killed in the riots.
Most of the dead were Chinese, and some 6,000 Chinese homes and businesses went up in flames.
It's unclear how much the MNLA contributed to the election result and the subsequent riots,
though its numbers had swelled in the process. To facilitate further growth, they set up a secret
radio station known as the Voice of the People's Revolution to spread Maoist propaganda throughout
Peninsular Malaysia. The Malaysian government responded as the British had in the First Malayan
Emergency: with special forces. In October 1969, the spec ops unit Very Able Troopers 69, or VAT
69, was created. Some 1,600 officers from the Royal Malaysia Police applied for the unit, but
only 60 passed the basic commando training tests and went on to be trained by the British SAS.
By 1972, the SAS had trained 104 men, making a full squadron. After the SAS left,
the New Zealand Special Air Service flew in and trained a further 208.
A fourth squadron was later readied by VAT officers themselves. The Special Branch of
the Royal Malaysia Police also set out to wage a war of counterintelligence against the guerrillas.
With VAT 69 and the Special Branch conducting counter-insurgency operations against the MNLA,
the communist organisation started to crumble from the inside out.
Rumours spread that the MCP and MNLA had been compromised. The dude to your
left could easily be a government spy. The MCP Central Committee investigated these rumours,
deeming that as many as 90% of the ethnic Chinese Thai MNLA recruits were, in fact,
spies [Text: Chin, however, was suspicious of this incredibly high percentage.]. Some believed,
however, that the Central Committee itself had been infiltrated. The VAT and Special Branch
had made an absolute mess of things, which was exactly what they wanted, and in 1970, the MCP
split into two breakaway factions: the Communist Party of Malaya–Marxist-Leninist, or CPM–ML,
and the Communist Party of Malaya Revolutionary Faction, or CPM–RF, [Text: The Communist Party of
Malaya was the official title of the MCP; hence the acronyms CPM–ML and CPM–RF.] if you weren't
sick of all the acronyms yet. The MNLA guerrillas split up as well, creating three distinct groups:
one based in Thailand's East Betong (which remained with Chin and the MCP Central Committee),
one in West Betong, and one in Sadao. These organisations continued to fight for their
shared goals throughout the early 1970s, and the Malaysian government continued to wear them down.
One of the ways the government did this was through the Security and Development Programme,
or KESBAN. Essentially, the KESBAN program introduced to the Peninsula improved security
and development. We're talking better policing, including the creation of the volunteer corps and
neighbourhood watches; the censorship of insurgent propaganda; improved governmental coordination;
rural development, including the construction of public utilities, roads, schools, and hospitals;
and the relocation of villagers from areas prone to communist indoctrination. Throughout this time,
the West Betong and Sadao groups disintegrated, ultimately surrendering to the Thai government in
1987. Those still fighting for the splintered MCP now understood that they were fighting a
losing battle. In fact, the aforementioned Deng Xiao Peng had been encouraging his old friend
Chin to throw in the towel since 1981; he also pulled support of the MNLA's secret radio station.
In 1988, the Malaysian government delivered a relatively cordial knockout blow,
inviting the MCP leadership to attend a negotiation for peace.
At this point, Malaysia's economy was going strong, and—with reference to the overarching
climate of the Cold War—the Eastern Bloc was falling apart. There was less poverty and racism,
and no one was screaming for a communist revolt anymore; the times had changed. The
MCP signed the so-named Peace Agreement of Hat Yai in Thailand on the 2nd of December 1989.
Some former guerrillas, inspired by government financial incentives, returned to Malaysia, while
others chose to stay behind and live in villages on the Thai border. As for Chin, he wanted to go
home, but the Malaysian government kept denying the poor bloke. He died in Bangkok in 2013.
As for the Second Malayan Emergency, that ended with the peace agreement; the MNLA was no more.
But what do you think? Had you heard about the Second Malayan Emergency or Communist
insurgency in Malaysia before today? Do you know anything about it we didn't cover in this video?
Do you know what happened to Chin's promised 100 grand? Do you think he should have been
allowed to return to Malaysia? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.