Malayan Communist Party

Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAL : Malayan Communist Party

Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), also known as the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) until the 1960s was founded in Singapore in 1930 with a predominantly Chinese membership, carrying out armed resistance to the Japanese during World War II. From 1948 to 1960, its military arm, the Malayan Peoples' Liberation Army, practiced guerrilla warfare in the rural areas of peninsular Malaya with the support of underground organizations in the Malaya and Singapore. In the late 1980s, an estimated 500 guerrillas maintained themselves along with the party leadership led by Chin Peng and Fong Chong Pik in the jungles of the Malaysian-Thai frontier.

It was often heavily criticised for their attacks on the civilian population during the Malayan Emergency, and they were criticised by right-wing parties in Southeast Asia because they had sympathies to the communist ideology. This also brought displeasure from many of their leftist associates because such actions meant they were not following the ethics found in the Eight Points of Attention, a code of conduct of communist soldiers that was championed by Mao Zedong.

The party was officially disbanded and gave up arms following its peace treaty with the governments of Malaysia and Thailand, signed on December 2nd 1989 at the Thai town of Haadyai.

Min Yuen

Min Yuen, which roughly means people's movement, was one of the party's arms, consisted of mainly Chinese Malayans. Its main objective was to provide the party with food and medical supplies, working silently in towns and villages located near the edge of the jungle. The Briggs' Plan introduced during the Malayan Emergency severely disrupted Min Yuen's ability to collect food and medical supplies for the party.

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