ABSTRACT
The reorganization carried out after the issue of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) Directive of October 1951 was designed for survival and political manoeuvre, not for offensive military action. In the two years of Templer's rule two-thirds of the guerrilla force was eliminated. Since the raison d'etre of the MCP jungle organization was to organize and indoctrinate the people the bulk of the losses had to be borne by the Malayan Races Liberation Army - the fighting units - which were milked to keep the political and supply organization adequately manned. The pattern of life in the Chinese villages reflected the growing concern of the MCP over security as Special Branch methods became more effective. In one typical rubber growing area, for example, the local MCP branch was responsible for 200 families comprising a little under 900 people. As the Emergency progressed, the MCP District Committee became the most important guerrilla grouping.
