A Doctor in The House: A Memoir of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad Page A
Authors: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad
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openly-declared intention to rule Malaya.
After disarming and shedding their uniforms, the MCP went about organising trade unions. Soon every town had English and Chinese signboards with yellow characters on a red background proclaiming workers’ unions of every kind. Suspecting the intentions of the MCP, the Police Special Branch watched the activities of these unions closely. Among the most dedicated Special Branch officers were the anti-communist Chinese. These officers were naturally better able to penetrate the communist organisations and their guerrilla units, and they provided valuable background information on the activities and plans of the armed insurgency which soon followed.
All this took place against the backdrop of the British Malayan Union proposal, about which the communists appeared singularly unconcerned. When the Malayan Union was inaugurated, they continued organising their trade unions. But when the Malays forced a review of the Malayan Union Constitution, the communists joined the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action, a group of political organisations and NGOs created to take part in developing a constitution in preparation for Independence. The Malayan Union would have given the communists citizenship and the right to participate in the country’s politics. After the British abandoned the Malayan Union, the Federation of Malaya that took its place denied non-Malays the right to automatic and unrestricted citizenship. Only certain specific categories of non-Malays would qualify. No longer eligible to become citizens, most Chinese would be barred from participating in politics, so they opposed the Federation.
Meanwhile, the communist-led unions organised strikes and used physical intimidation on a large scale. Unemployment then was very high and small businesses were struggling in the immediate post-war years. Lacking confidence in the Government’s ability to deal with the communists, many Chinese allowed themselves to be intimidated into joining them, thinking that at least they would have food and safety. Except for a rare few, the Malays resolutely refused to join the communists, even though they had become increasingly disenchanted with the British.
Had there been elections, most Chinese would not have been able to stand as candidates or to vote. As non-citizens they could not organise or lead trade unions. Many activists were deported to China where the communists, after defeating Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT, had set up their government. Their scope for open and legitimate political action severely limited, the Malayan communists felt increasingly pressured to resort to different options. Whatever the immediate trigger, the Chinese communists in Malaya decided to abandon civil action and take on the British Colonial Government in open armed confrontation. They were prepared to fight tooth and nail to make Malaya a communist state. Doubtless, they were in no small way encouraged by the success of the communists in China.
In 1948, I followed these developments in the newspapers as I was studying my medical texts. The former guerrillas, I read, had slipped back into the jungle to begin their armed struggle against the British Colonial Government of the new Federation of Malaya. Bent on proving that they meant business, and to signal the beginning of the armed insurrection, they killed three British planters in Perak. From then on, British estate managers would become their principal targets. The British authorities reacted by arresting and detaining suspected communists.
A few Chinese medical and arts students in my batch at my college were also interrogated and detained. Upon their release two of them, presumably with strong communist sympathies, decided to leave the country for China. More left-leaning than politically committed, the others who decided to continue with their studies at the Medical College and Raffles College were harassed by the police in Singapore. Every now and then the
After disarming and shedding their uniforms, the MCP went about organising trade unions. Soon every town had English and Chinese signboards with yellow characters on a red background proclaiming workers’ unions of every kind. Suspecting the intentions of the MCP, the Police Special Branch watched the activities of these unions closely. Among the most dedicated Special Branch officers were the anti-communist Chinese. These officers were naturally better able to penetrate the communist organisations and their guerrilla units, and they provided valuable background information on the activities and plans of the armed insurgency which soon followed.
All this took place against the backdrop of the British Malayan Union proposal, about which the communists appeared singularly unconcerned. When the Malayan Union was inaugurated, they continued organising their trade unions. But when the Malays forced a review of the Malayan Union Constitution, the communists joined the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action, a group of political organisations and NGOs created to take part in developing a constitution in preparation for Independence. The Malayan Union would have given the communists citizenship and the right to participate in the country’s politics. After the British abandoned the Malayan Union, the Federation of Malaya that took its place denied non-Malays the right to automatic and unrestricted citizenship. Only certain specific categories of non-Malays would qualify. No longer eligible to become citizens, most Chinese would be barred from participating in politics, so they opposed the Federation.
Meanwhile, the communist-led unions organised strikes and used physical intimidation on a large scale. Unemployment then was very high and small businesses were struggling in the immediate post-war years. Lacking confidence in the Government’s ability to deal with the communists, many Chinese allowed themselves to be intimidated into joining them, thinking that at least they would have food and safety. Except for a rare few, the Malays resolutely refused to join the communists, even though they had become increasingly disenchanted with the British.
Had there been elections, most Chinese would not have been able to stand as candidates or to vote. As non-citizens they could not organise or lead trade unions. Many activists were deported to China where the communists, after defeating Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT, had set up their government. Their scope for open and legitimate political action severely limited, the Malayan communists felt increasingly pressured to resort to different options. Whatever the immediate trigger, the Chinese communists in Malaya decided to abandon civil action and take on the British Colonial Government in open armed confrontation. They were prepared to fight tooth and nail to make Malaya a communist state. Doubtless, they were in no small way encouraged by the success of the communists in China.
In 1948, I followed these developments in the newspapers as I was studying my medical texts. The former guerrillas, I read, had slipped back into the jungle to begin their armed struggle against the British Colonial Government of the new Federation of Malaya. Bent on proving that they meant business, and to signal the beginning of the armed insurrection, they killed three British planters in Perak. From then on, British estate managers would become their principal targets. The British authorities reacted by arresting and detaining suspected communists.
A few Chinese medical and arts students in my batch at my college were also interrogated and detained. Upon their release two of them, presumably with strong communist sympathies, decided to leave the country for China. More left-leaning than politically committed, the others who decided to continue with their studies at the Medical College and Raffles College were harassed by the police in Singapore. Every now and then the
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