SUMMARY

The conflict over government in Malaysia dates back to 1948, when CPM (Communist Party of Malaya) took up arms against the British colonial regime. Upon independence in 1957, CPM stated its aim to fight also the new, independent, government and the fighting continued until 1960. CPM appeared defeated but continued with low-scale operations in the 1970s and the 1980s. The conflict was terminated by a ceasefire agreement signed by CPM and the Malaysian government in 1989.

IN DEPTH

Background to the conflict

CPM (Communist Party of Malaya) was formed in April 1930, with the stated goal to form an independent communist state. CPM mainly consisted of ethnic Chinese living in Malaysia. Following the end of World War II, several British territories were unified into the Federation of Malaya and a British colonial government was set to rule the country. These developments were opposed by CPM and in February 1948, it decided to resort to active warfare in order to turn the country into a communist state. Shortly afterwards, CPM began to form an army, MPABA (Malayan People’s Anti-British Army). A few months later, they had assembled about 3000 troops, reportedly considerably less than what CPM had planned for. In June, CPM began its campaign to force Europeans, government officials and police out of remote areas in order to establish so called “liberated areas”. On 16 June, CPM rebels killed three European planters near the small town of Sungei Siput in Perak. This prompted the High Commissioner, Sir Edward Gent, to declare an emergency in Perak and Johore, and on the following day, in the whole country. This has been described as the beginning of the war against CPM, or of the so called “Malayan Emergency”. The conflict between CPM and the colonial regime continued until August 1957, when Malaysia became an independent state.

Continued low-scale activities by CPM in the 1970s and the 1980s

Following the end of the so called “Malayan Emergency” in 1960, when the government declared the 12 year long armed conflict with CPM (Communist Party of Malaya) to be over, CPM was considered to have been defeated. However, in the summer of 1960, it was estimated that about 500 CPM troops remained at large. In the late 1960s, there were a few reports about CPM activity and in April 1970, blasts of booby traps connected to communist flags were linked to the group. Once again, CPM was considered as a threat to stability in Malaysia and several arrests were made. In 1971, communist rebels were reported to have increased their activity in western Malaysia. In an attempt to prevent the rebels from receiving supplies from Malaysian supporters, the government began to fence off ethnic Chinese villages that were suspected of supporting the rebels. In the beginning of the 1970s, it was also reported that communist rebels had sanctuaries in southern Thailand and that they were regrouping there.

In 1975, there were several attacks in which CPM were claimed to be involved. On 26 August, four communist rebels reportedly clashed with the police in Kuala Lumpur. A few days later, communist rebels were reported to have ambushed a police supply boat on Perak River, killing two policemen. One month later, communist rebels were accused of throwing four hand grenades into the headquarters of a paramilitary police unit in Kuala Lumpur, killing two policemen and wounding 52 others. In July 1976, the rebels’ troop size was estimated to about 300-500. However, according to the government, another 2000-3000 troops were being trained in Thailand. In 1981, eight communist guerrillas were claimed to have surrendered under the government declared amnesty.

Ceasefire agreement in 1989

The conflict between CPM (Communist Party of Malaya) and the Malaysian government formally ended on 2 December 1989 with the signing of a ceasefire agreement in Haadyai, Thailand. The ceasefire agreement included a cessation of all armed activities, full disarmament of all CPM troops, including the removal of booby traps and a guarantee that CPM members of Malaysian origin would be allowed to settle down in Malaysia and receive government support to do so. The agreement was signed by the Secretary-General of CPM, Chin Peng, the Malaysian Foreign Minister and representatives from the defence forces and the police. The agreement was witnessed by the Thai government. Following this agreement, there have been no further reports of violence.