ABSTRACT
Revolutionary guerrilla warfare is a political conflict supported by unconventional military means. The structure and tensions of Malayan society provided an ideal base upon which to build a revolutionary movement. The Malayan insurgency is one of the few in which a colonial power was able to defeat an insurgency movement. This uniqueness enhances its importance as a case study of revolutionary and counter-revolutionary guerrilla warfare. The Malayan political system provides a classic example of the importance of non-military factors. Malaysia is a “plural society.” There are Indians, Pakistanis, aborigines, and European; but it is the communal nature of the Chinese and Malay social systems that chiefly shape the internal dynamics of Malaysia. The distinctions and the historical tensions between these two groups were important in the Emergency in Malaya. The Malayan insurgents followed orthodox Communist organizational practice with interlocking links between Party, armed forces and front organizations at all levels, although there were some differences between the various state organizations.
