ABSTRACT
When the MCP took to the jungle on the arrival of the Japanese in 1942 only a small minority had stayed underground in Singapore, including the Secretary-General, Lai Tek. The Chinese were an urban people, and urban discontent was greater because of the difficulty of getting going again quickly in a basically commercial community. The newly elected British Labour Government was reluctant to inhibit the revival of the unions, but they were clearly being used by the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) for purposes much wider than those of labour negotiations. In the face of economic recovery and social progress in Malaya, the MCP appeared to be losing its position of leading the people towards a better life. In June 1948 the Government felt confident enough of these sentiments to introduce some fairly drastic legislation to curb the Communist penetration and manipulation of the trade unions.
