ABSTRACT
It is said that the threat represented by the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) to the security of the Federation of Malaya was effectively neutralised by 1954, and subsequent years up until the official end of the Malayan Emergency in July 1960 represented nothing more than a mere 'consolidation' or mopping up process.! This perception is flawed, however. While it is true to assert that by 1954 the physical capacity of the MCP to capture power by military means was virtually nil, that did not mean that it was no longer a threat. While the less committed terrorists had been eliminated or had left the jungle, remaining at large were the smaller number of highly indoctrinated 'hardcore' terrorists.2 The latter (about 2,100 by April 1957) were not merely engaged in subversion of 'political organisations, youth and labour', they were capable of spearheading a reintensification of the armed struggle should external and domestic factors hav:e permitted.3
