Samplings of Malay reactions to the Emergency in 1948
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- Category: British Colony
- Posted by Abdul Rahman Ismail
The preoccupations of the Malays during the immediate post-WWII period were nationalism and the concomitant effort to gain independence. In particular, they wanted to safeguard the Malay political privileges and had been anxious that the Malays were not robbed of custodianship over the land.
Read more: Samplings of Malay reactions to the Emergency in 1948
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Chin Peng explained that the Communist Party of Malaya’s change from ‘open front’ policy to armed confrontation was brought about by the British colonial government’s pressure in tightening control over the trade unions, which placed the CPM in an intolerable position with only one way out.
“So what is the verdict of professional historians on the communist insurgency and its contribution to the movement for independence from which a real debate and the historical truth can have its starting point?”
The communist insurgency was a bold and daring confrontation against hostile British repression and a determined action manifesting a just war against colonial rule. It was the most significant shot fired in the history of the liberation of Malaya.
The greatest threat to Britain’s continued presence in Malaya was the rising Malay nationalism during the several decades prior to Merdeka. To neutralize this threat, the British rulers chose to appease Malays with pro-Malay policies.....