Background (TNI) taking photograph together marking the close relations between them during Indonesia under the rule of
Sukarno. 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 However, the communist movements received little support from ethnic Malays and other indigenous Sarawak races. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. By the end of 1965, 63 suspected communists activists had been identified by the authorities. By the end of 1965, the Federal Government had built three permanent settlements at Siburan,
Beratok, and
Tapah to replace the five temporary settlements, which covered 600 acres and were designed to accommodate 8,000 inhabitants. By 22 July 1966, the Malaysian prime minister
Tunku Abdul Rahman estimated that there were approximately 700 communists in Indonesian Kalimantan and about 2,000 sympathisers. Abdul Rahman also offered amnesty and safe-conduct passes to SCO guerrillas under Operation Harapan, but only 41 guerrillas accepted this offer. The end of the Indonesian-Malaysian Confrontation also enabled the establishment of military co-operation between the Indonesian and Malaysian armed forces against SCO guerrillas in Borneo. In October 1966, both governments allowed their military forces to cross the border in "hot pursuit" operations. Between 1967 and 1968, Indonesian and Malaysian military forces took part in joint operations against the Sarawak Communists, which took an increasingly heavy toll on both the Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force and the North Kalimantan Liberation Army. Due to a decline in manpower, resources and increased isolation from their support base, the SCO shifted from guerrilla warfare towards reestablishing the movement's link with the masses, including the natives, to preserve the 'armed struggle'. In February 1969, the Sarawak United People's Party's leadership reversed the party's anti-Malaysia policy following a meeting between the party's leader Stephen Yong and Abdul Rahman. Prior to that, the SUPP had been the main left-wing opposition party in Sarawak and enjoyed the support of Sarawak's ethnic Chinese community. Several members of the party were also members of communist-affiliated organisations like the Sarawak Advanced Youths' Association (SAYA), the Sarawak Farmers' Organisation, and the Brunei People Party's guerrilla wing, the North Kalimantan National Army. The SUPP's communist elements were decimated as a result of a statewide crackdown by the authorities between 1968 and 1969. Following state elections in July 1970, the SUPP then entered into a coalition with the
Alliance Party's Sarawak partners, the
Bumiputera Party and the
Parti Pesaka Anak Sarawak, in the
Sarawak State Legislative Assembly. This enabled the Malaysian Federal government to consolidate its control over Sarawak. In exchange, Stephen Yong was appointed to the State Operation's Committee, the state's security committee, which enabled the party to influence counter-insurgency operations and to look after the welfare of SUPP detainees and Chinese settlers in the resettlement centres.
Defections and decline The
Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Rahman Ya'kub also made several overtures to the NKCP insurgents and managed to convince several of the insurgents to lay down their arms. In 1973–74, the Malaysian government scored a key victory when Rahman Ya'kub successfully convinced one of the NKCP leaders Bong Kee Chok to surrender along with 481 of his supporters. This was a heavy loss for the NKCP since this number comprised approximately 75 per cent of the NKCP's entire force in Sarawak. The Sri Aman treaty was signed between the Sarawak government and the communist representatives on 6 March 1974 in
Simanggang. The name of the township was subsequently changed to "Sri Aman" where
Aman is the Malay word for "peace". However, one year after the treaty was signed, more than a hundred of those who surrendered retreated back into the jungles to continue their armed struggle against the government until 1990. In 1975, Chao Hui Ko and his wife, together with a hundred guerrilla members of Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force laid down their arms. They were given vendor licenses to operate their stalls at a hawker centre near SOC Kuching bus station. After this defection, only 121 guerrilla fighters led by Hung Chu Ting and Wong Lian Kui remained. By 1974, the Communist insurgency had become confined to the Rejang Delta. Both sides sustained casualties and many civilians were also killed and wounded in the cross-fire. Following the successful Hat Yai peace accords between the MCP and the Malaysian government in 1989, the remaining NKCP guerrillas decided to end their insurgency after one of their Chinese contacts Weng Min Chyuan convinced them to negotiate with the Sarawak state government. In July 1990, a series of negotiations between the NKCP and the Sarawak government took place at the town of
Bintulu. By 17 October 1990, a peace agreement formally ending the insurgency was ratified at
Wisma Bapa Malaysia in the state capital
Kuching. Shortly afterwards, the last remaining NKCP operatives led by Ang Cho Teng surrendered. These developments ended the communist insurgency in Sarawak. ==See also==