INTRODUCTION
After the end of
the first emergency on July 31, 1960, the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) has
retreated to the border areas of Thailand - Thailand's Songkhla, Yala, Narathiwat
and Pattani. This situation does not mean CPM laid down arms and stop fighting
them, but they have to take this opportunity to strengthen and improve the
weaknesses while waiting for the next opportunity to continue the fight.
Despite their defeat, is believed to MCP still has strength between 500 to 600
people were trained communist guerrillas and communist guerrilla 1,000 existing
savings for by regular when needed (GoM, 1966). MCP has restructured their
organization and has recruited new members. They've learned the techniques of
guerrilla warfare a new one based on guerrilla tactics used by the Vietcong in
the Vietnam War.
On June 1, 1968, the
CPM Central Committee has declared to continue their struggle by issuing the
directive "Hold High the Great Red Banner of Armed Struggle and valiantly
March Forward". On June 17, 1968, while celebrating the 20th anniversary
of the armed movement CPM against the Malaysian government, they have initiated
the first attack in Peninsular Malaysia from the border of Thailand and launch
ambushes on security forces (PK) Malaysia in Kroh. The ambush killed 17 members
of the Justice Party of Malaysia (Headquarters of the Army, 2000). This
incident was the beginning of the Insurgent movement by the CPM.
Following the
events of May 13, 1969 racial riots, the CPM has urged the public to wake up to
act implement the so-called "People's War" and a member of the
Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA). Events May 13, 1969 has also been used
as an issue by the CPM propaganda by spreading propaganda that the Alliance
Government has committed atrocities and oppression of the Chinese in Malaysia.
The propaganda has been disseminated through brochures communism as Awakening
News and Mao's Quotation. Activities infiltration and MCP Combat units to
Peninsular Malaysia have been implemented according to planning. Malaysian
Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak has stated that the main task of the armed
forces of Malaysia is to destroy the communist terrorists and help the
government in implementing the national development plan. Tun Abdul Razak has
made it clear that security and development are inter-related and security
forces, particularly the army and police, remain necessary to ensure the safety
of all time to ensure smooth development process.
THE CONCEPT OF KESBAN
KESBAN concept
was introduced by Tun Abdul Razak, the Malaysian prime minister in 1971. At
that time, Tun Razak was trying to find a method that can maintain the security
of a multi-racial Malaysia. At the same time, the security situation in world
politics when it is not so good due to the cold war between the west block and
east bloc. KESBAN concept introduced based on the experience during the first
emergency and the American experience in Vietnam War. The main basis for this
concept is 'winning hearts and minds' of the population. According to David
Petraues, successful counter insurgensy must focus on population in terms of
their needs and security, isolation of insurgents and population, emphasis on
intelligence and amnesty of insurgents (Kaplan, 2013).
Security and development or in malay “KESELAMATAN DAN PEMBANGUNAN” (KESBAN)
was a two pronged approach strategy to defeat the insurgent movement as well as
to develop the country. Kesban strategy comprised two most important facts,
internal security and internal development. The strategy involve of security
forces (military and police) in safeguarding internal security and other civil
government agencies taking role in the internal development.
There are three objective of kesban includes closing the linkage between
the insurgent and population, gaining the trust of the people not only the
malays but also other minority ethnic groups and enhancing the twining program
of security and development.
IMPLEMENTATION OF KESBAN
The Federal Land Development Authority Scheme (FELDA)
The FELDA land scheme formulated in early 1960s was with the aim of
providing land to the landless rural population where the government had a
direct involvement in the selection of settlers, providing the necessary
infrastructure and financial aid as a form of loan to be repaid on a long term
basis. The programme had been implemented nationwide in all the nine Malay
states in the Malay Peninsula. The indirect or latent aim was to win the heart
and mind of the people so as not to be attracted to communist ideology.
Without doubt, FELDA settlement scheme has been one of the success
stories of Malaysian style ‘land reform’ with the main aim of improving the
living standard of landless peasants and workers by transforming them into
middle peasant’s smallholders, each owning some 10 acres of rubber land or palm
oil. Surely, these rural ‘middle peasants’ would never be attracted to any
propaganda or attempts to convert them as followers of communism. In fact, they
became as bastion or protector of democratic form of government and
liberal-capitalist socio-economic system.
East - West Highway between Gerik and Jeli
Before the completion of a federal highway in middle of 1970s that
linked Gerik in Upper Perak with Jeli in Kelantan, people from the east-coast
states of Kelantan and Terengganu who wished to travel to the west coast states
of Peninsular Malaysia like Perak, Kedah, Pahang and Perlis had to travel via
southern Thailand or through Kuala Lumpur in the south and proceed north making
a travelling distance of more than 600km. After the completion of the East West
highway, the distance had been reduced to only one-third or approximately
200km. Facilitating the movement of population between the east coast and west
coast states was only a part of its wider programme. More important was to
transfer people into this undeveloped jungle area to became a developed region
with settled population. This would end the remoteness and isolation of this
thickly covered jungle area.
In other words, it was a direct encroachment of the government and the
civilian population into the ‘safe haven’ of the communist guerrilla fighters. The
construction of this highway did not undergo smoothly without incident and harassment
by the militant communist guerrillas. Workers travelling daily into and out of
the area under construction had to be escorted by military personnel and vehicles.
There were several military outposts being formed at a certain distance along
the highway. Clearly, the CPM had realised that the presence of the East-West highway
would affect their freedom of movement in the area and the Upper Perak equatorial
forest was no more ‘a safe haven’ to them.
The Temenggor Dam Project
The third KESBAN program that saw a direct encroachment of government development
project into the ‘safe haven’ of CPM communist insurgents was the Temenggor
hydro-electric dam project which started construction in 1970s. It was also a
two pronged approaches, that was to provide electric power supply nationwide and at the same time to flood the river valleys in the surrounding areas
of Perak river with a huge man-made lake such that a relatively large land-mass
in the area between the states of Perak and Pahang would be covered with water.
While the dam under construction, there was a process of resettlement of Malay
and the aboriginal or Orang Asli (original people) villages into areas uphill
not affected by the formation of man-made lake in the area.
The creation of Temenggor Lake had achieved its intended consequences of
encroaching and destroying the ‘safe haven’ of the communist guerrillas and cutting
its entire jungle path that connected southern Thailand with north and central Perak.
After the completion of the Temenggor dam in late 1970s, communist guerrilla activities
was greatly reduce. But from the view point of development, the construction of
Temenggor dam had a long-term consequences that the area had since became a
tourist attraction not because of the natural beauty of the surrounding environment,
but also because the area which has been gazetted as ‘The Royal Belum’ appear
to be one of the oldest and well preserved rain-forest in the country.
CONCLUSION
The fight against the CTs in Malaysia was not purely focussed on
military operations alone. Learning from the historical lessons from the First
Emergency and other counter-insurgency operations conducted around the world,
Malaysia adopted a mixed strategy which comprised of civil, police, military
and psyops in accordance with the laws of the country and nation building. The concept of KESBAN
was directed towards elimination of the Communist threat through IS and IDEV
measures. Essentially, the two governmental agencies, namely the Security
Forces (who were generally orientated towards the management of crisis and
conflict) and the civil governmental sector was oriented towards the management
of development in the country. Both the functions of these two governmental
agencies are inter-related since development thrives on a secure environment
that has to be guaranteed by the Security Forces.
The overall objective of the two KESBAN programmes was directed towards the
protection and strengthening of the multi-racial Malaysian society from being intimidated
or threatened by the Communist presence. The KESBAN concept was, therefore,
designed to meet the needs and aspirations of the people. Once the people were
convinced on the sincerity of the Government towards this end, then the Communists could not find a serious audience to listen to their
ideology. It paid dividends in winning over the population towards the
government and subsequently brought about the surrender of the MCP’s armed
struggle in Malaysia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ruhanas, H. (2009). The Evolution and Development of
Malaysia’s National Security.
Malaysia Defence and Security. Malaysian Strategic Research Centre.
Shamsul Bahari & Parera (1977). FELDA – 21 Years Land
Development. Kuala
Lumpur
Jawhar, H. (2011). Security For Development. Malaysian
Policies and Issues.
ISIS
Malaysia.
Kaplan, F. (2013). The Insurgents David Petraeus
And The Plot To Change
The American Way of War. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
Kerajaan Malaysia.
(1966). The Militant Communist Threat to Malaysia. Laporan Kertas Putih
Kerajaan , 16.
Markas Tentera Darat.
(2000). Tentera Darat Menentang Insurgensi Komunis 1968-1989. Kuala
Lumpur.
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