The communist insurgency in Sarawak was an insurgency in Malaysia from 1962 to 1990, and involved the North Kalimantan Communist Party (NKCP) and the Malaysian Government. It was one of the two communist insurgencies to challenge the former British colony of Malaysia during the Cold War. As with the earlier Malayan Emergency (1948–1960), the communist insurgents in Sarawak were predominantly ethnic Chinese, who opposed British rule over Sarawak and later opposed the merger of the state into the newly created Federation of Malaysia. The insurgency was triggered by the 1962 Brunei revolt, which had been instigated by the left-wing Brunei People's Party in opposition to the proposed formation of Malaysia.
The communist insurgents in Sarawak were also supported by Indonesia until 1965, when the pro-Western president Suharto assumed power in a coup and ended the confrontation with Malaysia. During that period, the NKCP's two main military formations were created: the Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force (SPGF) or Pasukan Gerilya Rakyat Sarawak (PGRS), and the North Kalimantan People's Army (NKPA) or the Pasukan Rakyat Kalimantan Utara (PARAKU). Following the end of the confrontation, Indonesian military forces would co-operate with the Malaysians in counter-insurgency operations against their former allies.
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. In response to the insurgency, the Malaysian federal government created several "controlled areas" along the Kuching-Serian road in Sarawak's First and Third Divisions in 1965. In addition, the Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Rahman Ya'kub also managed to convince many of the NKCP insurgents, to enter into peace negotiations and lay down their arms between 1973 and 1974. Following the successful peace talks between the Malaysian government and the Malayan Communist Party in 1989, the remaining NKCP insurgents signed a peace agreement on 17 October 1990, which formally ended the insurgency.
History Background
The roots of communist movements in Sarawak can be traced its back to a loose movement named the "Sarawak Anti-Fascist League" during Japanese occupation of Sarawak.
In the 1940s, Maoism had spread among Chinese vernacular schools in Sarawak. After the establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, the Sarawak leftist newspaper "China Gazette" (中华公报) (established on 1 November 1945) reported on news of the PRC, which inspired the leftist movement in Sarawak. However, on 1 May 1951, the newspaper was banned by the British colonial government. On the other hand, Kuching Overseas Chinese Youth Association (古晋华侨青年社), headquartered at Padungan road, Kuching, promoted the life under PRC, China intervention in Korean War, leftist songs, and entertainment activities. By 1951, Chinese revolutionary reading materials, and books on Marxism–Leninism were secretly smuggled from Hong Kong into Sarawak. The Sarawak Overseas Chinese Democratic Youth League (砂拉越新民主主义青年团) was formed in 1951 in Kuching Chung Hua Middle School (古晋中华中学), led by a student named Weng Min Chyuan (文铭权). However, organisation was disbanded in 1952. Communist influence also penetrated the labour movement, trade unions, the Chinese-language media, and the predominantly-Chinese Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), the state's first political party which was founded in June 1959. The communist organisations operated through both legitimate and secret organisations to propagate communism. 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. First known communist operation was an assault on the Batu Kitang bazaar on 5 August 1952. In response, the Sarawak colonial government approved more funding for security measures, strengthen the security forces, and introduced legislation to deal with internal security.
Under the guidance of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), the Sarawak Liberation League (SLL) was founded in July 1953 in Kuching, led by Weng Min Chyuan. The objective of SLL was to gain autonomy first, then topple the British colonial authority to build an independent sovereign country, promoting equality for all, and individual democratic rights. Central to SLL philosophy was Marxism–Leninism–Maoism. The governing principle of SLL is based on democratic centralism. On 30 March 1955, SLL successfully organised student class strike in Kuching Chung Hua Middle School. In the second half of 1955, SLL set up Sarawak Advanced Youths' Association (砂拉越先进青年会, SAYA). From 1953 to 1962, SLL organising various mass activities, holding onto the non-violent principles. These communist movements were dominated by ethnic Chinese but also included a small number of Dayak supporters of about 10% despite various efforts by the communists to garner support from them. However, the communist movements received little support from ethnic Malays and other indigenous Sarawak races.Robin Corbett, 124 SLL also recognised the need to win over the natives to ensure a successful armed struggle in Sarawak.
All the communists movements including unions, schools, associations, sports and cultural groups associated with it and later North Kalimantan Communist Party (NKCP) were collectively known by government sources as "Clandestine Communist Organisations" (CCO) or "Sarawak Communist Organisations" (SCO).
Brunei revolt and the start of armed insurrection Wen Min Chyuan met the Brunei People's Party representatives in April 1962 at Miri, Sarawak. On 22 June 1962, Wen Min Chyuan, together with Bong Kee Chok and Wang Fu Ying (王馥英) were captured and deported out of Sarawak. The Brunei revolt happened on 8 December 1962. It was a failed uprising against the British by the Brunei People's Party and its military wing, the North Kalimantan National Army (Tentera Nasional Kalimantan Utara, TNKU), who were opposed to the Federation of Malaysia and wanted to create a state in northern Borneo consisting of Brunei, Sarawak, and North Borneo. The SLL leaders Wen Min Chyuan and Bong Kee Chok were aware of A.M Azahari's planned revolt but were reluctant to resort to guerrilla warfare due to their weak presence in Sarawak's Fourth and Fifth Divisions, which were located adjacent to Brunei. In December 1962, the SLL still lacked a military wing and its members had not yet undergone military training. Following the Brunei Revolt, the SLL switched to a policy of armed insurgency from January 1963 since the defeat of the Bruneian rebels deprived it of a source of weapons. The SLL and later NKCP guerrillas would fight alongside the TNKU and Indonesian forces during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation (1963–1966).
Following the Brunei revolt, the British authorities in British Borneo, in co-operation with the Malaysian Special Branch, launched a crackdown on suspected communists in Sarawak which prompted 700–800 Chinese youths to flee to Indonesian Kalimantan. In early 1963, Wen Ming Chyuan and Bong Kee Chok arrived in West Kalimantan from China. Together with 12 other people, they received military officer training at Java island, Indonesia on 22 December 1963. From March to September 1963, SLL sent 500 people to Indonesia to participate in revolutionary works. There, they received military-style training at Indonesian camps. At that time, President Sukarno was pro-communist and anti-Western. As with Sukarno and the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), the Sarawak Communists opposed the newly formed Federation of Malaysia as a "neo-colonialist conspiracy" and supported the unification of all former British territories in Borneo to create an independent leftist North Kalimantan state. A.M. Azahari's Brunei People's Party and the SUPP also shared the same sentiments with Sarawak communists and PKI. Former British soldier and writer Will Fowler said that the SCO had plans to launch attacks on police stations and to ambush security forces, paralleling similar tactics used by the Malayan National Liberation Army during the Malayan Emergency.
North Kalimantan Communist Party (NKCP)
Due to the Sukarno government's hostility to Britain and Malaysia, and the proliferation of the Communist Party of Indonesia, the Sarawak communists used Indonesian Kalimantan as a base for building up a guerrilla force. The communist exiles in Indonesia would form the core of the North Kalimantan Communist Party's two guerrilla formations: the Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force (Pasukan Gerilya Rakyat Sarawak, PGRS) and the North Kalimantan People's Army (Pasukan Rakyat Kalimantan Utara, PARAKU). The PGRS was formed on 30 March 1964 at Mount Asuansang in Paloh, Sambas, West Kalimantan with the assistance of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The PGRS's leaders included Bong Kee Chok, Yang Chu Chung, and Wen Ming Chyuan.Vernon Porritt lists the date of the Sarawak People's Gueriella Force's establishment as 20 March 1964. 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.Conboy p. 156
On 18 August 1964, SLL set up North Kalimantan National Liberation Alliance （北加里曼丹民族解放同盟). SLL had 3 representatives in North Kalimantan revolutionary government-in-exile. In the meeting on 7 March 1965 at Pontianak, Kalimantan Borneo, North Kalimantan National Front （Front Nasional Kalimantan Utara, 北加里曼丹民族阵线） was established. A meeting on 19 September 1965 led to the formal establishment of North Kalimantan Communist Party (NKCP) and SLL was dissolved. By 1964, government sources estimated 800 to 1,000 well-trained communist participants. At its height, the SCO had 24,000 members.Robin Corbett, 124
The North Kalimantan People's Army (PARAKU) was formed by Bong Kee Chok near Melawi River in West Kalimantan with the assistance of the PKI on 26 October 1965. While the PGRS under its commander Yang operated in western Sarawak, the PARAKU operated in eastern Sarawak. The PARAKU was initially commanded by Lam Wah Kwai, who was succeeded by Bong Kee Chok. According to Kenneth Conboy, Soebandrio met with a group of Sarawak Communist leaders in Bogor, and Nasution sent three trainers from Resimen Para Komando Angkatan Darat (RPKAD) Battalion 2 to Nangabadan near the Sarawak border, where there were about 300 trainees. Some three months later, two lieutenants were also sent there.Conboy p. 93-95
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.
The 19 September 1971 was chosen as the official date of the formation of the party to coincide with the Pontianak Conference, which had been held on 17–19 September 1965. While the Pontianak Conference was regarded as the foundation of the Sarawak Communist Movement, none of the conference attendees were communist. Instead, they consisted of members of the left-wing SLL and the "O Members" of the Advanced Youths Association. While they had discussed creating a communist party in Sarawak, they delayed doing so until 1971 due to the tense political situation in Indonesia.
Supporting Indonesian confrontation against the formation of Malaysia