Communist insurgency in Sarawak
Communist insurgency in Sarawak | |||||||
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Part of Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–89) and Cold War | |||||||
Armed soldiers guarding a group of Chinese villagers who were taking a communal bath in 1965 to prevent them from collaborating with the Communist guerillas and to protect the area from Indonesian infiltrators. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Anti-communist forces:
Supported by: Indonesia (after 1965)[2] (Indo-Malay border) |
Communist forces: Indonesia (1962–65) (military aid)[2]
China[4] North Vietnam (until 1975) North Korea[5][6] | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Walter Walker (1962–1965) A.J. Witono |
Wen Ming Chyuan Sukarno (until 1965) A. M. Azahari Yassin Affandi Chin Peng | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1,500+ armed police and soldiers[10][11] 10,000 (1968) 3,000+ Indonesian soldiers[12] |
600–1,000+ guerilla fighters[10][13] Unknown numbers of Indonesian infiltrators[4][10] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
99 killed ≈2,000 Indonesian soldiers killed or wounded[4] (Communists claims & Approximates by Anonymous) |
400–500 killed Hundreds Indonesian infiltrators killed | ||||||
≈19 civilians killed[10][14] | |||||||
Statistics source:[15] |
The communist insurgency in Sarawak was an insurgency in
The Sarawak Communist insurgents were also supported by
The North Kalimantan Communist Party was formally established in March 1970 through the merger of several Communist and left-wing groups in Sarawak including the Sarawak Liberation League (SLL), the Sarawak Advanced Youths' Association (SAYA), and the NKPA.
History
Background
Apart from the
Communist objectives in Sarawak were to achieve self-government and independence for the colony, and to establish a Communist society. The Communist Organisation operated through both legitimate and secret organisations to propagate Communist ideology. Their tactic was to establish a "united front" with other left-wing and anti-colonial groups in Sarawak to achieve their goal of independence of the colony from British rule. According to the Australian historian
The Brunei Revolt
According to the historians
Following the Brunei Revolt, the British authorities in British Borneo, in co-operation with the
The Indonesian confrontation
History of Malaysia |
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Malaysia portal |
Due to the Sukarno government's hostility to Britain and Malaysia, the Sarawak Communist Organisation used Indonesian Kalimantan as a base for building up a guerrilla force.[26] These Communist exiles in Indonesia would form the core of the North Kalimantan Communist Party's two guerrilla formations: the Sarawak People's Guerilla Force (SPGF—Pasukan Gerilya Rakyat Sarawak (PGRS)) and the North Kalimantan People's Army (PARAKU). The Sarawak People's Guerilla Force was formed on 30 March 1964 at Mount Asuansang in West Kalimantan with the assistance of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The SPGF's leaders included Bong Kee Chok, Yang Chu Chung, and Wen Ming Chyuan.[4][27] According to Conboy, the PGRS numbered about 800 and was based in West Kalimantan at Batu Hitam, with a contingent of 120 from the Indonesian intelligence agency and a small cadre trained in China. The Indonesian Communist Party was also present and was led by an ethnic Arab revolutionary, Sofyan. The PGRS ran some raids into Sarawak but spent more time developing their supporters in Sarawak. The Indonesian armed forces did not approve of the leftist nature of the PGRS and generally avoided them.[28]
Meanwhile, the North Kalimantan People's Army was formed by Bong Kee Chok near
The Indonesians had planned to use the Sarawak Communists as an indigenous front for their operations during the
Counter-insurgency efforts
In response to the Sarawak Communist Organisation's activities, the Sarawak and Malaysian Federal resorted to various counter-insurgency operations. On 30 June 1965, the Sarawak government's Operations Sub-Committee of the State Security Executive Council (Ops SSEC) implemented the Goodsir Plan. This plan involved the resettlement of 7,500 people in five "temporary settlements" along the
By 22 July 1966, the Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman estimated that there were approximately 700 Communists in Indonesian Kalimantan and about 2,000 sympathisers. The Tunku also offered amnesty and safe-conduct passes to SCO guerrillas under Operation Harapan, but only 41 guerrillas accepted this offer. The end of the Indonesian-Malaysian Confrontation also enabled the establishment of military co-operation between the Indonesian and Malaysian armed forces against SCO guerrillas in Borneo. In October 1966, both governments allowed their military forces to cross the border in "hot pursuit" operations. Between 1967 and 1968, Indonesian and Malaysian military forces took part in joint operations against the Sarawak Communists, which took an increasingly heavy toll on both the Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force and the North Kalimantan Liberation Army. Due to a decline in manpower, resources and increased isolation from their support base, the SCO shifted from guerrilla warfare towards reestablishing the movement's link with the masses, including the Natives, to preserve the 'Armed Struggle'.[35]
In February 1969, the Sarawak United People's Party's leadership reversed the party's anti-Malaysia policy following a meeting between the party's leader Stephen Yong and Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman. Prior to that, the SUPP had been the main left-wing opposition party in Sarawak and enjoyed the support of Sarawak's ethnic Chinese community. Several members of the party were also members of Communist-affiliated organisations like the Sarawak Advanced Youths' Association (SAYA), the Sarawak Farmers' Organisation, and the Brunei People Party's guerrilla wing, the North Kalimantan National Army. The SUPP's Communist elements were decimated as a result of a statewide crackdown by the authorities between 1968 and 1969. Following state elections in July 1970, the SUPP then entered into a coalition with the Alliance Party's Sarawak partners, the Bumiputera Party and the Parti Pesaka Anak Sarawak, in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly. This enabled the Malaysian Federal government to consolidate its control over Sarawak. In exchange, Stephen Yong was appointed to the State Operation's Committee, the state's security committee, which enabled the party to influence counter-insurgency operations and to look after the welfare of SUPP detainees and Chinese settlers in the resettlement centres[2][36]
On 25 March 1969, Indonesian forces eliminated the Third Branch of the SPGF at Songkong in West Kalimantan following a two-day battle, wiping out the Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force's largest corps. To replace the decimated SPGF, the Sarawak Communist Organisation created the North Kalimantan People's Guerrilla Force at Nonok on 13 July 1969.[37]
The North Kalimantan Communist Party
On 30 March 1970, Wen Ming Chyuan, the Head of the Sarawak People's Guerrillas in Sarawak's First Division, formed the North Kalimantan Communist Party.
Rajang Area Security Command (RASCOM)
The Rajang Area Security Command or simply known as RASCOM is a Malaysian security area that covers the area of
Defections and decline
The
After this defection, only 121 guerilla fighters led by Hung Chu Ting and Wong Lian Kui remained. By 1974, the Communist insurgency had become confined to the Rejang Delta. Both sides sustained casualties and many civilians were also killed and wounded in the cross-fire.[2]
Following the successful Hat Yai peace accords between the MCP and the Malaysian government in 1989, the remaining NKCP guerillas decided to end their insurgency after one of their Chinese contacts Weng Min Chyuan convinced them to negotiate with the Sarawak state government. In July 1990, a series of negotiations between the NKCP and the Sarawak government took place at the town of Bintulu. By 17 October 1990, a peace agreement formally ending the insurgency was ratified at Wisma Bapa Malaysia in the state capital Kuching. Shortly afterwards, the last remaining NKCP operatives led by Ang Cho Teng surrendered. These developments ended the communist insurgency in Sarawak.[7][2]
See also
- Malayan Emergency (1948–1960)
- Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–89)
- Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
- North Kalimantan Communist Party
Further reading
Primary sources
- Central Intelligence Agency, OPI 122 (National Intelligence Council), Job 91R00884R, Box 5, NIE 54–1–76, Folder 17. Secret. Reproduced at "Doc. 302: National Intelligence Estimate 54–1–76: The Outlook for Malaysia". US Department of State: Office of the Historian. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
Secondary Sources
- Chan, Francis; Wong, Phyllis (16 September 2011). "Saga of communist insurgency in Sarawak". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
- Pilo, Wilfred (5 August 2014). "Former enemies meet as friends 40 years later". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
- Corbett, Robin (1986). Guerilla Warfare: from 1939 to the present day. London: Orbis Book Publishing Corporation. ISBN 978-0-85613-469-2.
- Cheah Boon Kheng (2009). "The Communist Insurgency in Malaysia, 1948–90: Contesting the Nation-State and Social Change" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies. 11 (1): 132–52. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- Fowler, Will (2006). Britain's Secret War: The Indonesian Confrontation 1962–66. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-048-2.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84603-048-2.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Francis Chan; Phyllis Wong (16 September 2011). "Saga of communist insurgency in Sarawak". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
- ^ Cheah Boon Kheng, p.149
- ^ S2CID 153955103.
- ISBN 978-0-520-02393-2.
- ISBN 978-0-8015-6978-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cheah Boon Kheng pp. 132–52
- ^ Wilfred Pilo (3 November 2013). "The day the insurgency ended". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ Wilfred Pilo (5 August 2014). "Former enemies meet as friends 40 years later". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Communist Guerrillas Push Government Into Campaign in Borneo's Town, Jungles". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Herald-Journal. 2 September 1971. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Doreena Naeg (10 October 2010). "The forgotten warriors". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Hugh Mabbett (18 March 1971). "Quit homes, 17,000 told". The Age. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Michael Richardson (28 March 1972). "Sarawak Reds kill 13 soldiers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Conny Banji (21 February 2012). "The night communists killed hero of Ulu Oya". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Peter O'loughlin (20 February 1974). "Malaya rebels on move again". The Age. Associated Press. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ National Intelligence Estimate 54–1–76: The Outlook for Malaysia (Report). Central Intelligence Agency. 1 April 1976.
- ^ JSTOR 40393581. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
- ^ ISBN 9781442667976. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- S2CID 248456126.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Robin Corbett, 124
- ^ Robin Corbett, 124
- ^ Vernon Porritt, Rise and Fall of Communism in Sarawak, Chapters 1–4
- ^ Vernon Porritt, pp.81–83
- ^ Vernon Porritt, pp.85–86
- ^ Vernon Porritt, pp.84–87
- ^ Vernon Porritt, p.87
- ^ Vernon Porritt lists the date of the Sarawak People's Gueriella Force's establishment as 20 March 1964.
- ^ Conboy p. 156
- ^ Conboy p. 93-95
- ^ Vernon Porritt, pp. 135–139, 143–47.
- ^ Vernon Porritt, pp. 157–60
- ^ Vernon Porritt, p.121
- ^ "Sarawak Chinese Put in Relocation Camps". St. Petersburg Times. 10 July 1965. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
- ^ Vernon Porritt, pp. 129–30, 141
- ^ Vernon Porritt, pp.153–66
- ^ Vernon Porritt, pp.169–75
- ^ Vernon Porritt, p. 176
- ^ a b Fong, Hong-Kah (2005). "Book Review: Vernon L. Porritt "The Rise and Fall of Communism in Sarawak 1940–1990"" (PDF). Taiwan Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 2 (1): 183–192. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ^ "ESSCOM: Learning from Sarawak's experience". Sin Chew Jit Poh. 17 March 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- ^ Genta, Florence (13 June 2013). "Recognising Rascom's roles". New Sarawak Tribune. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
Bibliography
- Cheah Boon Kheng (2009). "The Communist Insurgency in Malaysia, 1948–90: Contesting the Nation-State and Social Change" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies. 11 (1): 132–52. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- Conboy, Ken (2003). KOPASSUS Inside Indonesia's Special Forces. ISBN 978-979-95898-8-0.
- Ghosh, S. K. "Insurgent Movements in Southeast Asia." India Quarterly 34.3 (1978): 290-312.
- Porritt, Vernon L. (2004). The Rise and Fall of Communism in Sarawak, 1940-1990. Monash Asia Institute. ISBN 9781876924270.