Returning to Malaya: the strategy and significance of the communist party of Malaya's southward advance

Abstract

In 1948, the British colonial authorities promulgated the Emergency Ordinance, banning Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) activities and arresting its members, forcing the CPM to launch its armed struggle earlier than expected. Under British colonial authorities’ formidable encirclement strategy, the CPM gradually retreated to southern Thailand in 1950 to set up new bases. The CPM in its retreat began to scale down military force and personnel. With the evolvement of international affairs in mid 1950s, the CPM further suspended its military activities. In the early 1960s, the issue of the Malaysia Project and the change of international circumstances prompted the CPM to declare the New Directive in which it redefined its direction of struggle and persisted in the path of armed struggle. While the New Directive enabled CPM to gradually revitalize its military strength, Malaysia's internal political conflicts were also worsening, which allowed the CPM to take further action. In 1963, in preparation for its southward advance, the CPM identified clearly “neo-colonialism” and its agent, the “Malaysian” regime, as its new targets of struggle. In mid 1960s, the Struggle against the Counter-revolution incidents broke out within CPM, triggering a political and military crisis in the party, which split into three factions. When the first Struggle against Counterrevolution ended, the CPM issued “Raise High the Great Red Flag and March on with Courage” on 1 June 1968, an important statement announcing officially its readiness to send troops southward. It took the CPM seven years (1961–1968) to adjust and prepare itself before officially launching its assault teams southward on 29 March 1968, which marked a new milestone in CPM's historical development. This article is of the view that the CPM's southward advance strategy is significant and impactful for the CPM in three aspects: (1) it extended the history of the CPM's armed struggle; (2) it provided the CPM's armed struggle with momentum; and (3) it reinforced the authoritarian regime in Malaysia.