THE ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: THE CASE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF MALAYA (1948–1960) – A SPECIAL BRANCH PERSPECTIVE

• Main Author: Leon Comber
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Sains Malaysia 2009-01-01
• Series: Kajian Malaysia
• Subjects: Malayan Special Branch; 1948 Malayan Emergency; Cold War in Asia; Communist Party of Malaya; 1948 Calcutta Conferences; Australian Communist Party
• Online Access: http://web.usm.my/km/27(1&2),2009/KM%20SE-%20XXVI%20NO%201%20&%202%20ART%202%20(39-59).pdf

The origins of the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) have been debated over the years in both the academic world and in the intelligence community. This paper incorporates the contemporaneous views of the Malayan Special Branch that have not been recorded previously. It also examines the role of Lawrence (Lance) Sharkey, the acting Secretary-General of the Australian Communist Party, who was in Singapore en route back to Australia after attending the February 1948 Conferences in Singapore, in allegedly passing instructions to the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) to revolt against the British colonial government in Malaya. The essay will conclude that there is little evidence of any direct Soviet intervention in the decision made by the CPM to revolt, and it will argue that the decision to resort to armed conflict was made after its failure to establish a Communist People’s Democratic Republic by “open front” activities.