What this lesson teaches
I can explain how fear of communism during the Cold War shaped the path to independence in Malaya.
Syllabus K227, Decolonisation and establishment of newly independent nations in Southeast Asia, Learning Outcomes. Explain how the Cold War politics affected the struggle for independence in Southeast Asia.
Make a guess
From 1948 Britain was fighting communist guerrillas in Malaya. How do you think this affected plans for self-government?
- Britain paused political change until the fighting was over.
- Britain began sharing power to undercut the rebels' anti-colonial claim.
- Britain handed power to the communists to end the war quickly.
Show the answer
Britain began sharing power to undercut the rebels' anti-colonial claim.
An elected, non-communist government friendly to Britain weakened the guerrillas' claim to be fighting foreign rule.
While fighting communist rebels, Britain decided that handing power to an elected non-communist government would help beat them.
The Emergency began in June 1948. On 16 June, communist guerrillas killed three European estate managers at Sungai Siput in Perak, and Britain declared a state of emergency. The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), led by Chin Peng, was fighting an armed revolt. It wanted to end British rule and set up a communist state. British and Commonwealth troops and police fought back with arrests, curfews and information about the rebels' movements.
In 1950, Lieutenant-General Sir Harold Briggs became Director of Operations. His Briggs Plan put the army, the police and the civil government into one joint campaign. Its key step was resettlement. Many rural Chinese squatters lived at the jungle edge, and the guerrillas relied on them for food, money, recruits and news. The plan moved these people into guarded New Villages, fenced in and under curfew. By the end of the Emergency, about half a million people lived in some 480 New Villages. Some villages gained schools or clinics. But residents lost freedom of movement, and many resented being moved.
The guerrillas struck back. On 6 October 1951 they ambushed and killed the British High Commissioner, Sir Henry Gurney. In February 1952, Britain sent General Sir Gerald Templer to be both High Commissioner and Director of Operations. Templer kept up the military pressure. But he said the war would be won in the "hearts and minds" of the people. That meant winning people's trust, not only killing guerrillas. He improved life in the New Villages, built up the Home Guard and the Malay battalions, and lifted controls in areas cleared of guerrillas. He also promised that Malaya would move to self-government. When he left in 1954, the government had the upper hand.
All this happened during the Cold War, the rivalry between communist and Western powers. Britain feared a communist government. But British rule also helped the rebels, who said they were fighting foreign rulers. An elected local government that stayed friendly to Britain would take that argument away. So Britain began to share power with Malayans while the fighting went on. After independence, the Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement of 1957 let British forces stay and help defend Malaya. The Emergency ended on 31 July 1960.
- 1948 to 1960
- The Emergency against the MCP, led by Chin Peng. It began after the Sungai Siput killings on 16 June 1948.
- Briggs Plan, 1950
- Resettle rural squatters into guarded New Villages to cut the guerrillas off from food and help. About half a million people were moved.
- Templer, 1952 to 1954
- High Commissioner after Gurney was killed in 1951. Won "hearts and minds" and promised self-government.
Worked example: Why hand over power during a war?
An elected local government offers to keep working with Britain on security.
- The rebels claim they are fighting foreign rule.
- If Malayans govern themselves, that claim loses force.
- Britain keeps defence ties with the new government, so independence helps its security aims.
Watch out for this
Britain gave independence only after all the fighting ended.
Malaya became independent in 1957, while the Emergency was still going. It ended in 1960.
Check your understanding
How could independence help Britain fight the communist rebels?
- It came after the rebels surrendered, so it rewarded the people who beat them.
- It weakened the rebels' claim that they were fighting foreign rule.
- It meant British troops left Malaya in 1957, so the rebels had no target.
Show the answer
It weakened the rebels' claim that they were fighting foreign rule.
Yes. An elected Malayan government made the rebels' main argument weaker.
Check your understanding
How did the Briggs Plan aim to defeat the communist guerrillas in Malaya?
- By negotiating a peace deal with the Malayan Communist Party.
- By promising independence by 1952 so that the guerrillas would lose their cause.
- By moving rural people into guarded New Villages, cutting guerrillas off from food.
Show the answer
By moving rural people into guarded New Villages, cutting guerrillas off from food.
Yes. About half a million people were resettled, so the guerrillas lost the squatters who had fed and hidden them.
Check your understanding
What did General Templer mean by winning "hearts and minds"?
- Ending military action so that the guerrillas would agree to talk about a ceasefire instead.
- Winning people's trust with better lives and a promise of self-government, while fighting on.
- Handing power to the Malayan Communist Party so the fighting would stop.
Show the answer
Winning people's trust with better lives and a promise of self-government, while fighting on.
Yes. Templer believed fighting alone would not win. People who trusted the government would stop helping the guerrillas.