Templer and the Road to Malayan Independence

Templer and the Road to Malayan Independence
Author: Leon Comber
Publisher: Flipside Digital Content Company Inc.
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2016-05-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9814620998

Dr Comber's account of General Templer's administration in Malaya as High Commissioner and Director of Operations (1952-54) during the Malayan Emergency departs from the usually accepted orthodox assessment of his time in Malaya by focusing on the political and socioeconomic aspects of his governance rather than the military. In doing so, Dr Comber has relied mainly on primary and other first-hand sources, including the confidential reports sent from Malaya by the Australian Commission to the Australian government in Canberra, and the private papers of some of the leading Malayan politicians of the time with whom Templer had dealings which have been deposited in the ISEAS Library, Singapore, many of which have not been used before.The evidence and facts that Dr Comber marshals in this study reflect well the reservations that were often felt about General Templer's authoritarian form of government. While he was a good general and had an impressive military record, his administration in Malaya was marred by a lack of understanding of the background to Malaya's history and the subtleties that are inherent in its culture and way of life which would have enabled him to come to terms more easily with the aspirations of the Malayan people for self-government and independence.

The Malayan Emergency

The Malayan Emergency
Author: Karl Hack
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 529
Release: 2021-12-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 1009234145

The Malayan Emergency of 1948–1960 has been scrutinised for 'lessons' about how to win counterinsurgencies from the Vietnam War to twenty-first century Afghanistan. This book brings our understanding of the conflict up to date by interweaving government and insurgent accounts and looking at how they played out at local level. Drawing on oral history, recent memoirs and declassified archival material from the UK and Asia, Karl Hack offers a comprehensive, multi-perspective account of the Malayan Emergency and its impact on Malaysia. He sheds new light on questions about terror and violence against civilians, how insurgency and decolonisation interacted and how revolution was defeated. He considers how government policies such as pressurising villagers, resettlement and winning 'hearts and minds' can be judged from the perspective of insurgents and civilians. This timely book is the first truly multi-perspective and in-depth study of anti-colonial resistance and counterinsurgency in the Malayan Emergency.

Malaya's Secret Police 1945-60

Malaya's Secret Police 1945-60
Author: Leon Comber
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN: 9812308296

The Malayan Emergency lasted from 1948 to 1960. During these tumultuous years, following so soon after the Japanese surrender at the end of the Second World War, the whole country was once more turned upside down and the lives of the people changed. The war against the Communist Party of Malaya's determined efforts to overthrow the Malayan government involved the whole population in one form or another. Dr Comber analyses the pivotal role of the Malayan Police's Special Branch, the government's supreme intelligence agency, in defeating the communist uprising and safeguarding the security of the country. He shows for the first time how the Special Branch was organised and how it worked in providing the security forces with political and operational intelligence. His book represents a major contribution to our understanding of the Emergency and will be of great interest to all students of Malay(si)a's recent history as well as counter-guerrilla operations. It can profitably be mined, too, to see what lessons can be learned for counterinsurgency operations in other parts of the world.

Dalley and the Malayan Security Service, 1945–48

Dalley and the Malayan Security Service, 1945–48
Author: Leon Comber
Publisher: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2018-09-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 9814818739

This book fills an important gap in the history and intelligence canvas of Singapore and Malaya immediately after the surrender of the Japanese in August 1945. It deals with the establishment of the domestic intelligence service known as the Malayan Security Service (MSS), which was pan-Malayan covering both Singapore and Malaya, and the colourful and controversial career of Lieutenant Colonel John Dalley, the Commander of Dalforce in the WWII battle for Singapore and the post-war Director of MSS. It also documents the little-known rivalry between MI5 in London and MSS in Singapore, which led to the demise of the MSS and Dalley’s retirement.

A History of Malaysia

A History of Malaysia
Author: Barbara Watson Andaya
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 456
Release: 2017-09-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 1137605154

First published in 1982, this text is widely regarded as a leading general history of the country. This new and revised edition brings the story of this fascinating country up to date, incorporating the latest scholarship on every period of Malaysian history, including recent research into pre-modern times. This text thus provides a historical framework that helps explain the roots of the issues dominating Malaysian life today, and the difficulties of creating a multicultural state where resources are equitably shared and the rights of all citizens are acknowledged. This book is a key text for courses on Southeast Asian history and politics. Covering a range of disciplinary subjects in the humanities and social sciences, it is also useful for anyone interested in the assessment of young, modernizing nations. New to this Edition: - A new chapter provides insights into Malaysian history of the last 15 years, including the growing influence of the internet and social media in the political sphere - Greater attention is paid to the strengthening of civil society movements that have arisen in light of perceived government failures - Fresh analysis of Islam's historical role in the Malay world and how it links with the growing Islamization of Malaysia today

The Alliance Road to Independence (UM Press)

The Alliance Road to Independence (UM Press)
Author: Joseph M. Fernando
Publisher: The University of Malaya Press
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2009
Genre: History
ISBN: 983100907X

This book provides the first detailed historical account of the struggle for independence in Malaysia. Using mainly primary archival sources from London and Malaysia, including recently declassified official documents from the Colonial Office, the author traces the central role of the Alliance Party in Malaya’s struggle for independence in the 1950s. The Alliance Road to Independence describes how a group of leaders from diverse ethnic and political backgrounds forge a common political platform to demand independence from the British. When the British administration refused to meet their demands, the Alliance launched a campaign of non-violent protest and actions which led to British acceptance of their demands. This book reveals that the country’s independence was not given on a silver platter by the British as some earlier writings suggest but rather it was the result of a concerted and sustained political struggle pursued by the Alliance Party which represented all the main races in the country. Independence was indeed the fruit of the shared efforts of all the communities. This book is essential reading for anyone who wishes to have a deeper understanding of the history of the independence struggle in Malaysia.

"Original Sin"?

Author: Kumar Ramakrishna
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2015-02-17
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9814620432

“Revisionist” or “alternative” historians have increasingly questioned elements of the Singapore Story — the master narrative of the nation’s political and socioeconomic development since its founding by the British in 1819. Much criticism focuses especially on one defining episode of the Story: the internal security dragnet mounted on 2 February 1963 against Communist United Front elements on the island, known to posterity as Operation Coldstore. The revisionists claim that Coldstore was mounted for political rather than security reasons and actually destroyed a legitimate Progressive Left opposition — personalized by the charismatic figure of Lim Chin Siong — rather than a dangerous Communist network as the conventional wisdom holds. Relying on both declassified and some previously unseen classified sources, this book challenges revisionist claims, reiterating the historic importance of Coldstore in helping pave the way for Singapore’s remarkable journey from Third World status to First in a single generation.

Regime Resilience In Malaysia And Singapore

Regime Resilience In Malaysia And Singapore
Author: Greg Lopez
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2022-11-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9811268673

Prominent scholars across the political divide and academic disciplines analyse how the dominant political parties in Malaysia and Singapore, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and the People's Action Party (PAP), have stayed in power. With a focus on developments in the last decade and the tenures of Prime Ministers Najib Tun Razak and Lee Hsien Loong, the authors offer a range of explanations for how these regimes have remained politically resilient.