COMMUNISM IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE

COMMUNISM IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE

COMMUNISM IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE A CONTEMPORARY SURVEY BY JUSTUS M. VAN DER KROEF University of Bridgeport THE HAGUE MARTINUS NIJHOFF 1967

Communism in Malaysia and Singapore appears in a series of studies sponsored by the Research Institute on Communist Affairs of Columbia University, New York City. The Institute promotes studies on international Communism and on various aspects of Marxist theory and practice. While the Institute does not assume responsibility for the views of the authors, it feels that these studies contribute to a better understanding of the role of Communism in the world today. ISBN 978-94-015-0032-6 ISBN 978-94-015-0499-7 (ebook) DOl 10.1007/978-94-015-0499-7 Copyright 1967 by Martinus N!JhofJ, The Hague, Netherlands. AI/ rights reserved, including the right to translate or to reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form.

PREFACE Although in the past few years occasional brief monographs on selected aspects of the Communist movement in some parts of the Singapore-Malaysian area have been published, a comprehensive booklength study has not appeared thus far. The present volume is an initial step in that direction. It is, in the main, a political survey which has taken account of social and economic factors only when the particular focus of the book demanded it. Since most of what has been written up till now about Communism in Singapore and Malaysia has concerned itself with the Malayan guerilla insurgency and its various ramifications in the late forties and fifties, the following pages have placed primary emphasis on events in the last five years, especially on the period since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on September 16, 1963. The absence, moreover, ofa formal "above ground" Malaysian Communist Party today has of necessity structured this inquiry in terms of the operations of various shifting Communist fronts and their relationship to the problems of the present Singapore and Malaysian political environment upon which they feed. Communism in Malaysia today, as Malaysian security officials whom this writer interviewed, repeatedly emphasized, is a matter of scattered eruptions and comparatively isolated front activity with few if any inter-organizational linkages. Research certainly confirms a picture of a rather fragmented movement. Along with Malaysia's geographic peculiarities this circumstance has dictated a region by region approach in the following pages. Since Sarawak and Singapore presently appear to be the areas of greatest Communist activity they have received major attention. Grammatical consistency has not as yet triumphed in the use of the Malay national language, - not even in official documents, let alone in the press - especially not in the writing of names and titles. I have preferred to use Party Rakyat (rather than Parti Rakyat or Ra'ayat), Barisan Sosialis (instead of Barisan Socialis), Tunku (in place of Tuangku, Tengku, or Tungku), and so on. Standard Anglicization of

VI PREFACE Chinese names and terms has been followed, except where repeated printed usage in a non-standard fashion seemed to warrant otherwise. Initial research for this book began in 1963-64, during the author's tenure as Visiting Professor of Asian Studies in Nanyang University, Singapore, and extended to all the principal areas of Malaysia. A particular effort was made to get something of a focus on Singapore Malaysian opinion: the author talked with students and fellow academicians, party leaders and government officials, merchants and taxidrivers, and many others. An appointment as Visiting Professor in the University of the Philippines, Quezon City, during the summer of 1966, afforded opportunity for another research excursion into the Singapore-Malaysian region in order to take account of recent events. In between, during 1965-66, a Senior Fellowship in the Research Institute on Communist Affairs of Columbia University, New York, allowed for collation of materials and the writing of most of the manuscript. In this connection I particularly want to thank Professor Zbigniew Brzezinski, Director of the Research Institute on Communist Affairs for his kind assistance and encouragement. In the writing of these pages, I have drawn on some previously published articles, specifically on my "The Sino-Indonesian Partnership," Orbis (quarterly journal of world affairs published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute of the University of Pennsylvania), vol. 8 (summer 1964), no. 2, pp. 332-356; "Communism and Chinese Communalism in Sarawak," The China Quarterly, October-December 1964, no. 20, pp. 38-66; and "Indonesian Communism's Expansionist Role in Southeast Asia," International Journal (Canadian Institute of International Affairs), vol. 20 (spring 1965), no. 2, pp. 190-205. I am grateful to the editors concerned for permission to reproduce materials which originally appeared in their pages. This book is for J. 0., isteri dan sahabat tutus. University of Bridgeport April 1967 JUSTUS M. VAN DER KROEF

CONTENTS PREFACE..... v CHAPTER I. COMMUNISM IN ITS MALAYSIAN SETTING. 1 Historical and Social Background... 1 Constitutional Contrasts....... 4 The Chinese and Communal Problems. 7 The Nationalist Movement. 15 The Rise of Communism. 20 CHAPTER II. SINGAPORE... 33 Post-War Communist Policy 33 The Question of "Merger". 42 The Communist Front Complex 56 The Anti-Communist Drive 65 New Communist Initiatives. 74 The Effect of Secession 80 CHAPTER III. MALAYA.... 89 The Socialist Front and its Allies 89 The Border Rebels...... 99 The "Malayan National Liberation League" 108 The Clash between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and its Effects....................... 114 CHAPTER IV. SARAWAK..... 129 The "Clandestine Communist Organization" 130 The Sarawak United Peoples Party.... 134 The Chinese Community: its Problems and Aspirations 140 The CCO-SUPP Axis................ 144 The Problem of Chinese Education.......... 147 The New Communist Offensive and Government Counter Measures..................... 158

VIII CONTENTS The Strains in SUPP and the Pattern of Communal Politics 164 The Effect of Singapore's Secession and Continuing Confrontation..................... 172 CHAPTER V. SABAH AND BRUNEI 176 Communal and Political Patterns in Sabah. 176 Indonesian Subversion..... 182 Sabah's Future........ 184 Brunei and Azahari's Rebellion 185 Communism in Brunei Today. 190 CHAPTER VI. BETWEEN DJAKARTA AND PEKING 193 "Confrontation": its Origins and Influence. 193 The Dynamics of Indonesian Expansionism. 203 "Gestapu" and the Shift to Peking.. 221 CHAPTER VII. CONCLUSION: A LOOK AHEAD.. 232 Malaysian Communism: Appeals and Obstacles. 232 The Pattern of Recent Events........ 249