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Witness History: The Malayan Emergency

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03/05/2019 GMT

The Malayan Emergency

BBC World Service - Witness History, The Malayan Emergency

The struggle against a Communist insurgency in Malaya in the 1950s

How the struggle against a Communist rebellion in Malaya in the 1950s became a model for counter-insurgency.

In 1948, British colonial authorities declared a State of Emergency in the territory of Malaya, now part of Malaysia. It was in response to the start of a Communist rebellion. From their bases in the jungle, Communist fighters carried out hundreds of guerrilla attacks across the country, targeting Malaya's valuable rubber estates, tin mines, and infrastructure. Alex Last speaks to Gus Fletcher, a decorated former Special Branch officer in Malaya, about his memories of Britain's attempt to combat the communist threat, which became seen by some, as a model for counter-insurgency. 
Photo: A photograph taken by a British sergeant on patrol in the Malayan jungle.. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

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