View source for Communist insurgency in Sarawak

{{Short description|Communist insurgency in Malaysia}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Communist insurgency in Sarawak
| partof            = [[Formation of Malaysia]], [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation]], [[Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–89)]] and [[Cold War]]
| image             = Armed soldiers stand guard in Sarawak, 1965.jpg
| image_size        = 300px
| caption           = Armed soldiers guarding a group of Chinese villagers who were taking a [[public bathing|communal bath]] in 1965 to prevent them from collaborating with the Communist guerrillas and to protect the area from Indonesian infiltrators.
| date              = {{circa|December 1962}} – 3 November 1990<ref name="chanwong">{{cite news |url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/09/16/saga-of-communist-insurgency-in-sarawak/|title=Saga of communist insurgency in Sarawak|author1=Francis Chan|author2=Phyllis Wong|date=16 September 2011|newspaper=[[The Borneo Post]]|access-date=10 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="cbk">Cheah Boon Kheng pp. 132–52</ref>
| place             = [[Sarawak]], [[Malaysia]]
| coordinates       = 
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| map_relief        = 
| latitude          = 
| longitude         = 
| map_size          = 
| map_marksize      = 
| map_caption       = 
| map_label         = 
| territory         = 
| result            = * Peace Declaration of [[Simanggang|Sri Aman]] in 1973<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/11/03/the-day-the-insurgency-ended/|title=The day the insurgency ended|author=Wilfred Pilo|publisher=The Borneo Post|date=3 November 2013|access-date=5 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/08/05/former-enemies-meet-as-friends-40-years-later/|title=Former enemies meet as friends 40 years later|author=Wilfred Pilo|publisher=The Borneo Post|date=5 August 2014|access-date=6 August 2014}}</ref>
* Dissolution of the [[North Kalimantan Communist Party|Sarawak Communist Organisation/North Kalimantan Communist Party]] (SCO/NKCP).<ref name="chanwong"/>
| combatants_header = 
| combatant1        = '''[[Anti-communism|Anti-communist]] forces:'''<br />{{flag|United Kingdom}}<ref name="Fowler and Lyes 2006">{{cite book |last=Fowler |first=Will|title=Britain's Secret War: The Indonesian Confrontation 1962–66 |url=https://archive.org/details/britainssecretwa66fowl|url-access=limited |year=2006 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=London |isbn=978-1-84603-048-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/britainssecretwa66fowl/page/n50 11], 41}}</ref>
* {{flagcountry|Crown Colony of Sarawak}} (until 1963)
{{flag|Malaysia}}<ref name="chanwong"/>
* {{flag|Sarawak|1963}} (after 1963)
'''Supported by:'''<br />{{flag|Australia}}<br />{{flag|Brunei}}<br />{{flag|New Zealand}}<br />{{flag|United States}}<br />
----
{{flag|Indonesia}} (after 1965)<ref name="chanwong"/> (Indo-Malay border)
| combatant2        = '''[[Communism|Communist]] forces:'''<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the North Kalimantan Communist Party.svg}} [[North Kalimantan Communist Party]]<ref>Cheah Boon Kheng, p.149</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Sarawak People's Guerilla Force.svg}} Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force (SPGF)<ref name="Fujio Hara">{{cite journal |last1=Hara |first1=Fujiol |date=December 2005|title=The North Kalimantan Communist Party and the People's Republic of China |journal= The Developing Economies|volume=XLIII |issue=1 |pages=489–513 |doi= 10.1111/j.1746-1049.2005.tb00956.x|hdl=10.1111/j.1746-1049.2005.tb00956.x |s2cid=153955103 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
* North Kalimantan People's Army (NKPA)<ref name="Fujio Hara" />
----
{{flag|Indonesia}} (1962–65) (military aid)<ref name="chanwong"/><br />
'''Other support:'''<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the North Borneo Federation.svg}} [[Brunei People's Party]]
* North Kalimantan National Army (NKNA)
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Communist Party of Malaya.svg}} [[Malayan Communist Party]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Malayan National Liberation Army.svg}} [[Malayan Races Liberation Army|Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA)]]
'''Supported by:'''<br />{{flag|China}}<ref name="Fujio Hara"/><br />{{flag|North Vietnam}} (until 1975)<br />{{flag|North Korea}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Geoffrey Jukes|title=The Soviet Union in Asia|url=https://archive.org/details/sovietunioninasi00geof|url-access=registration|date=1 January 1973|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-02393-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sovietunioninasi00geof/page/173 173]–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Kurt London|title=The Soviet Impact on World Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M0wdcwufqFEC&pg=PA153|year=1974|publisher=Ardent Media|isbn=978-0-8015-6978-4|pages=153–}}</ref>
| commander1        = {{flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[Walter Walker (British Army officer)|Walter Walker]] (1962–1965)<br />{{flagdeco|Malaysia}} [[Tunku Abdul Rahman]]<br />{{flagdeco|Malaysia}} [[Abdul Razak Hussein]]<br />{{flagdeco|Malaysia}} [[Hussein Onn]]<br />{{flagdeco|Malaysia}} [[Mahathir Mohamad]]<br />{{flagdeco|Malaysia}} [[Stephen Kalong Ningkan]] <br />{{flagdeco|Malaysia}} [[Tawi Sli]]<br />{{flagdeco|Malaysia}} [[Abdul Rahman Ya'kub]]<br />{{flagdeco|Malaysia}} [[Abdul Taib Mahmud]]<br />{{flagdeco|Malaysia}} [[Brigadier]] Othman Ibrahim<br />{{flagdeco|Malaysia}} Brigadier Ungku Nazaruddin
----
{{flagdeco|Indonesia}} [[Suharto]] (from 1965)<br />{{flagdeco|Indonesia}} General [[A. J. Witono]]<br />{{flagdeco|Indonesia}} [[Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono]]
| commander2        = {{flagicon image|Flag of the North Kalimantan Communist Party.svg}} Wen Ming Chyuan<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the North Kalimantan Communist Party.svg}} Lam Wah Kwai<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the North Kalimantan Communist Party.svg}} [[Bong Kee Chok]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the North Kalimantan Communist Party.svg}} Ang Cho Teng<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the North Kalimantan Communist Party.svg}} Wong Lieng Kui<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Sarawak People's Guerilla Force.svg}} Yang Chu Chung{{KIA}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Sarawak People's Guerilla Force.svg}} Yap Choon Hau{{KIA}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Sarawak People's Guerilla Force.svg}} Cheung Ah Wah
----
{{flagdeco|Indonesia}} [[Sukarno]] (until 1965)<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the North Borneo Federation.svg}} [[A. M. Azahari]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the North Borneo Federation.svg}} [[Yassin Affandi]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Communist Party of Malaya.svg}} [[Chin Peng]]
| units1            = 
| units2            = 
| strength1         = 1,500+ armed police and soldiers<ref name="cbj">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19710902&id=kX4sAAAAIBAJ&pg=7363,243964&hl=en|title=Communist Guerrillas Push Government Into Campaign in Borneo's Town, Jungles|work=[[Spartanburg Herald-Journal]]|publisher=Herald-Journal|date=2 September 1971|access-date=3 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2010/10/10/the-forgotten-warriors/|title=The forgotten warriors|author=Doreena Naeg|publisher=The Borneo Post|date=10 October 2010|access-date=3 September 2015}}</ref>
----
10,000 (1968)<br>3,000+ Indonesian soldiers<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19710318&id=rNxUAAAAIBAJ&pg=1570,3659001&hl=en|title=Quit homes, 17,000 told|author=Hugh Mabbett|publisher=[[The Age]]|date=18 March 1971|access-date=3 September 2015}}</ref>
| strength2         = 600–1,000+ guerrilla fighters<ref name="cbj"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19720328&id=U_djAAAAIBAJ&pg=4970,10702913&hl=en|title=Sarawak Reds kill 13 soldiers|author=Michael Richardson|publisher=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=28 March 1972|access-date=3 September 2015}}</ref>
----
Unknown numbers of Indonesian infiltrators<ref name="Fujio Hara"/><ref name="cbj"/>
| casualties1       = 99 killed<br />144 wounded
----
≈2,000 Indonesian soldiers killed or wounded<ref name="Fujio Hara"/> (Communists claims & Approximates by Anonymous)
| casualties2       = 400–500 killed<br />260 captured<br />220 surrendered
----
Hundreds Indonesian infiltrators killed
| casualties3       = ≈19 civilians killed<ref name="cbj"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/02/21/the-night-communists-killed-hero-of-ulu-oya-was-killed-communists/|title=The night communists killed hero of Ulu Oya|author=Conny Banji|publisher=The Borneo Post|date=21 February 2012|access-date=3 September 2015}}</ref>
| notes             = Statistics source:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19740220&id=hdtUAAAAIBAJ&pg=6628,4649329&hl=en|title=Malaya rebels on move again|author=Peter O'loughlin|agency=[[Associated Press]]|publisher=The Age|date=20 February 1974|access-date=3 September 2015}}</ref>
| campaignbox       = 
}}
{{Formation of Malaysia}}

The '''communist insurgency in Sarawak''' was an insurgency in [[Malaysia]] from 1962 to 1990, and involved the [[North Kalimantan Communist Party]] (NKCP) and the Malaysian Government. It was one of the two [[communist]] insurgencies to challenge the former British [[colony]] of Malaysia during the [[Cold War]]. As with the earlier [[Malayan Emergency]] (1948–1960), the communist insurgents in Sarawak were predominantly [[Malaysian Chinese|ethnic Chinese]], who opposed British rule over [[Sarawak]] and later opposed the merger of the state into the newly created Federation of [[Malaysia]].<ref name="cbk" /> The insurgency was triggered by the 1962 [[Brunei revolt]], which had been instigated by the left-wing [[Brunei People's Party]] in opposition to the proposed formation of Malaysia.<ref name="Fowler and Lyes 2006" />

The communist insurgents in Sarawak were also supported by [[Indonesia]] until 1965, when the pro-Western president [[Suharto]] assumed power in a coup and ended the [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation|confrontation]] with Malaysia. During that period, the NKCP's two main military formations were created: the [[Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force]] (SPGF) or ''Pasukan Gerilya Rakyat Sarawak'' (PGRS), and the [[North Kalimantan People's Army]] (NKPA) or the ''Pasukan Rakyat Kalimantan Utara'' (PARAKU).<ref name="Fujio Hara" /> Following the end of the confrontation, Indonesian military forces would co-operate with the Malaysians in counter-insurgency operations against their former allies.<ref name="chanwong"/><ref name="Fowler and Lyes 2006" />

The North Kalimantan Communist Party was formally established in March 1970, through the merger of several Communist and left-wing groups in Sarawak including the Sarawak Liberation League (SLL), the Sarawak Advanced Youths' Association (SAYA), and the NKPA.<ref name="Fujio Hara" /> In response to the insurgency, the Malaysian federal government created several "controlled areas" along the [[Kuching]]-[[Serian, Sarawak|Serian]] road in Sarawak's First and Third Divisions in 1965. In addition, the [[Chief Minister of Sarawak|Sarawak Chief Minister]] [[Abdul Rahman Ya'kub]] also managed to convince many of the NKCP insurgents, to enter into peace negotiations and lay down their arms between 1973 and 1974. Following the successful peace talks between the Malaysian government and the [[Malayan Communist Party]] in 1989, the remaining NKCP insurgents signed a peace agreement on 17 October 1990, which formally ended the insurgency.<ref name="Fujio Hara" /><ref name="cbk" />

==History==
===Background===
[[File:Members of the SPGF, NKNA and TNI taking picture together.jpg|thumb|right|Members of the Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force (SPGF), North Kalimantan National Army (NKNA) and [[Indonesian National Armed Forces]] (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 British Borneo|Japanese occupation of Sarawak]]. After the establishment of [[People's Republic of China]] in 1949, the Sarawak Overseas Chinese Democratic Youth League was formed. By 1956, the better organised Sarawak Advanced Youths' Association (SAYA) was formed, by absorbing several small communist groups such as Sarawak Liberation League (SLL) into the organisation.<ref name="Justus">{{cite journal |last1=Justus |first1=M |last2=Kroef |first2=VD |title=Communism and the Guerrilla War in Sarawak |journal=Royal Institute of International Affairs |date=February 1964 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=50–60 |jstor=40393581 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40393581 |access-date=17 December 2022}}</ref> The [[North Kalimantan Communist Party]] (NKCP) was founded in 1971.<ref name="Howe Yong 2013"/> All the communists movements including NKCP, unions, schools, associations, sports and cultural groups associated with it were collectively known by government sources as "[[Clandestine operation|Clandestine]] Communist Organisations".<ref name="Justus"/><ref name="Howe Yong 2013">{{cite book |last1=Howe Yong |first1=Kee |title=The Hakkas of Sarawak - Sacrificial Gifts in Cold War Era Malaysia |date=2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |pages=70, 71, 75 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.3138/9781442667976-005/html|doi=10.3138/9781442667976-005 |access-date=18 September 2022 |chapter=3: The Sri Aman Treaty|isbn=9781442667976 }}</ref> These communist movements were dominated by [[Malaysian Chinese|ethnic Chinese]] but also included a small number of [[Dayak people|Dayak]] supporters<ref name="cbk" /><ref name="Justus"/> of about 10% despite various efforts by the communists to garner support from them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jabatan Sejarah, Fakulti Sastera dan Sains Sosial, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |last2=Ho |first2=Hui Ling |date=2022 |title=Orang Dayak dan Gerakan Komunis di Sarawak, 1963–1990 (Dayak people and communist movement in Sarawak, 1963-1990)|url=http://web.usm.my/kajh/vol29_1_2022/kajh29012022_06.pdf |journal=KEMANUSIAAN the Asian Journal of Humanities |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=117–143 |doi=10.21315/kajh2022.29.1.6|s2cid=248456126 }}</ref> However, the communist movements received little support from ethnic Malays and other indigenous Sarawak races.<ref>Robin Corbett, 124</ref> By 1964, government sources estimated 800 to 1,000 well-trained communist participants.<ref name="Justus"/> At its height, the [[Sarawak Communist Organisation]] (SCO) had 24,000 members.<ref>Robin Corbett, 124</ref> During the 1940s, [[Maoism]] had spread among Chinese vernacular schools in Sarawak. Following [[World War II]], 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.<ref>Vernon Porritt, ''Rise and Fall of Communism in Sarawak'', Chapters 1–4</ref>

Communist objectives in Sarawak were to achieve self-government and independence for the colony, and to establish a communist society. The SCO 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. According to the Australian historian Vernon L. Porritt, the first known SCO 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. Sarawak communists were also opposed to the formation of the Federation of [[Malaysia]], a sentiment that was shared by the [[Indonesian Communist Party]], [[A.M. Azahari]]'s [[Brunei People's Party]], and the Sarawak United People's Party.<ref>Vernon Porritt, pp.81–83</ref>

===Brunei revolt===
According to the historians Cheah Boon Kheng and Vernon L. Porritt, the Sarawak Insurgency formally began after the [[Brunei revolt]] in December 1962. The Brunei revolt 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 [[Sabah|North Borneo]].<ref name="cbk"/><ref>Vernon Porritt, pp.85–86</ref> According to Porritt, the SCO leaders Wen Min Chyuan and Bong Kee Chok were aware about A.M Azahari's planned revolt but were initially 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 SCO still lacked a military wing and its members had not yet undergone military training. Following the Brunei Revolt, the SCO 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 Sarawak Communist Organisation's guerrillas would fight alongside the TNKU and Indonesian forces during the [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation]] (1963–1966).<ref>Vernon Porritt, pp.84–87</ref>

Following the Brunei revolt, the British authorities in British Borneo, in co-operation with the [[Malaysian Special Branch]], launched a crackdown of suspected communists in Sarawak which prompted 700–800 Chinese youths<ref name="chanwong" /> to flee to Indonesian [[Kalimantan]]. There, they received military-style training at Indonesian camps.<ref name="Fowler and Lyes 2006" /> At that time, [[President of Indonesia|President]] [[Sukarno]] was pro-communist and anti-Western. As with Sukarno and the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), the Sarawak Communists opposed the newly formed Federation of [[Malaysia]] as a "neo-colonialist conspiracy" and supported the unification of all former British territories in Borneo to create an independent leftist North Kalimantan state.<ref name="chanwong" /> According to the former British soldier and writer Will Fowler, the so-called "Clandestine Communist Organisation" had plans to launch attacks on police stations and to ambush security forces, paralleling similar tactics used by the [[Malayan National Liberation Army]] during the [[Malayan Emergency]].<ref name="Fowler and Lyes 2006" />

===Indonesian confrontation===
{{History of Malaysia}}
Due to the Sukarno government's hostility to Britain and Malaysia, the Sarawak Communist Organisation used Indonesian Kalimantan as a base for building up a guerrilla force.<ref>Vernon Porritt, p. 87</ref> The communist exiles in Indonesia would form the core of the North Kalimantan Communist Party's two guerrilla formations: the Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force (SPGF—''Pasukan Gerilya Rakyat Sarawak'' (PGRS)) and the North Kalimantan People's Army (PARAKU). The Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force was formed on 30 March 1964 at Mount Asuansang in [[West Kalimantan]] with the assistance of the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Indonesia)|Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]. The SPGF's leaders included Bong Kee Chok, Yang Chu Chung, and Wen Ming Chyuan.<ref name="Fujio Hara" /><ref>Vernon Porritt lists the date of the Sarawak People's Gueriella Force's establishment as 20 March 1964.</ref>  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 National Armed Forces|Indonesian armed forces]] did not approve of the leftist nature of the PGRS and generally avoided them.<ref>Conboy p. 156</ref>

Meanwhile, the North Kalimantan People's Army was formed by Bong Kee Chok near [[Melawi River]] in West Kalimantan with the assistance of the PKI on 26 October 1965. While the SPGF under its [[commander]] Yang operated in western Sarawak, the NKPA operated in eastern Sarawak. The NKPA was initially commanded by Lam Wah Kwai, who was succeeded by Bong Kee Chok.<ref name="Fujio Hara" /> According to Kenneth Conboy, Soebandrio met with a group of Sarawak Communist leaders in Bogor, and Nasution sent three trainers from [[Resimen Para Komando Angkatan Darat]] (RPKAD) Battalion 2 to Nangabadan near the Sarawak border, where there were about 300 trainees. Some three months later, two lieutenants were also sent there.<ref>Conboy p. 93-95</ref>

The Indonesians had planned to use the Sarawak communists as an indigenous front for their operations during the [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation]]. To support this ruse, they even named the organisation the North Kalimantan National Army (''Tentara Nasional Kalimantan Utara'', TNKU), to link the SCO to the original [[Brunei People's Party|Bruneian rebels]]. While the first raids included SCO members, they were often led by regular Indonesian officers or [[non-commissioned officer]]s from the [[Indonesian Marine Corps|Marine commandos]] (''Korps Komando Operasi'', KKO), the [[Kopassus|Army para-commandos]] (''Resimen Para Komando Angkatan Darat'', RPKAD), and the [[Paskhas|Air Force paratroopers]] ('' Pasukan Gerak Tjepat'', PGT).<ref name="Fowler and Lyes 2006" /> Following an [[30 September Movement|attempted coup]] by pro-PKI elements in the [[Indonesian National Armed Forces|Indonesian military]] in October 1965, General [[Suharto]] assumed power and launched a [[Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66|purge]] of Communist elements. Overnight, the Sarawak communists lost a safe haven and the Indonesian military would subsequently co-operate with the Malaysians in counter-insurgency operations against their former allies.<ref name="chanwong"/><ref name="Fowler and Lyes 2006" /><ref>Vernon Porritt, pp. 135–139, 143–47.</ref> According to Porritt, the Indonesian anti-Communist purge was also accompanied by a Dayak-led pogrom targeting [[Chinese Indonesians]] in West Kalimantan, which received tacit support from the Indonesian authorities.<ref>Vernon Porritt, pp. 157–60</ref>

===Counter-insurgency efforts===
In response to the SCO's activities, the Sarawak and Malaysian federal authority resorted to various counter-insurgency operations. On 30 June 1965, the Sarawak government's Operations Sub-Committee of the State Security Executive Council (Ops SSEC) implemented the Goodsir Plan. This plan involved the resettlement of 7,500 people in five "temporary settlements" along the [[Kuching]]-[[Serian, Sarawak|Serian]] road in Sarawak's First and Third Divisions. The Goodsir Plan was named after David Goodsir, the British acting commissioner of police in Sarawak.<ref name="chanwong"/><ref>Vernon Porritt, p.121</ref> These settlements were protected by barbed wire and modelled after the successful [[New village|new villages]] used earlier during the Malayan Emergency. As with the [[Briggs Plan]], the Goodsir Plan's "controlled areas" succeeded in denying the SCO access to food supplies, basic materials, and intelligence from their Chinese supporters.<ref name="cbk"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Sarawak Chinese Put in Relocation Camps|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19650710&id=c-xRAAAAIBAJ&pg=5215,4634884&hl=en|access-date=26 September 2015|publisher=[[Tampa Bay Times|St. Petersburg Times]]|date=10 July 1965}}</ref> 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.<ref>Vernon Porritt, pp. 129–30, 141</ref>

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'.<ref>Vernon Porritt, pp.153–66</ref>

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 (Malaysia)|Alliance Party]]'s Sarawak partners, the [[Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu|Bumiputera Party]] and the [[Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu|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<ref name="chanwong"/><ref>Vernon Porritt, pp.169–75</ref>

On 25 March 1969, Indonesian forces eliminated the Third Branch of the SPGF at Songkong in [[West Kalimantan]] following a two-day battle, wiping out the Sarawak People's Guerrilla Force's largest corps. To replace the decimated SPGF, the Sarawak Communist Organisation created the North Kalimantan People's Guerrilla Force at Nonok on 13 July 1969.<ref>Vernon Porritt, p. 176</ref>

===The North Kalimantan Communist Party===
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.<ref name="cbk"/><ref name="Hon-Kah Fong">{{cite journal |last1=Fong |first1=Hong-Kah |title=Book Review: Vernon L. Porritt "The Rise and Fall of Communism in Sarawak 1940–1990" |journal=Taiwan Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=183–192 |year=2005 |url=http://www.cseas.ncnu.edu.tw/journal/v02_no1/5.pp183-192%E6%9B%B8%E8%A9%95new.pdf |access-date=31 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224123919/http://www.cseas.ncnu.edu.tw/journal/v02_no1/5.pp183-192%E6%9B%B8%E8%A9%95new.pdf |archive-date=24 December 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> However, 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 Liberation League 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.<ref name="Hon-Kah Fong" />

===Rajang Area Security Command (RASCOM)===
The Rajang Area Security Command or simply known as RASCOM is a Malaysian security area that covers the area of [[Rajang River]] in Sarawak. It was established on 26 March 1972 by the [[Malaysian government]] and its main headquarters is located at [[Sibu]].<ref>{{cite news|title=ESSCOM: Learning from Sarawak's experience|url=http://www.mysinchew.com/node/84181|access-date=16 February 2015|publisher=Sin Chew Jit Poh|date=17 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216140132/http://www.mysinchew.com/node/84181|archive-date=16 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Genta|first1=Florence|title=Recognising Rascom's roles|url=http://www.newsarawaktribune.com/news/6699/Recognising-Rascoms-roles/|access-date=16 February 2015|publisher=New Sarawak Tribune|date=13 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216140250/http://www.newsarawaktribune.com/news/6699/Recognising-Rascoms-roles/|archive-date=16 February 2015}}</ref>
[[File:Communist terrorist remnants in RASCOM area.gif|thumb|Poster of Communist remnants in RASCOM area, Borneo, circa 1980.]]

===Defections and decline===
The [[Chief Minister of Sarawak|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.<ref name="cbk"/> 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.<ref name="cbk"/> 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".<ref name="Howe Yong 2013"/> 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.<ref name="Howe Yong 2013"/> 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.<ref name="Howe Yong 2013"/>

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.<ref name="chanwong"/>

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.<ref name="cbk"/><ref name="chanwong"/>

==See also==
* [[Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–1989)]]
* [[Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation]]
* [[Malayan Emergency]]
* [[North Kalimantan Communist Party]]

==Further reading==

===Primary sources===
* Central Intelligence Agency, OPI 122 (National Intelligence Council), Job 91R00884R, Box 5, NIE 54–1–76, Folder 17. Secret. Reproduced at {{cite web |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve12/d302|title=Doc. 302: National Intelligence Estimate 54–1–76: The Outlook for Malaysia|publisher=[[US Department of State]]: [[Office of the Historian]]|access-date=8 January 2013}}

===Secondary Sources===
* {{cite news |url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/09/16/saga-of-communist-insurgency-in-sarawak/ |title=Saga of communist insurgency in Sarawak |last1=Chan |first1=Francis |last2=Wong |first2=Phyllis |date=16 September 2011 |newspaper=[[The Borneo Post]] |access-date=10 January 2013}}
* {{cite news |url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/08/05/former-enemies-meet-as-friends-40-years-later/ |title=Former enemies meet as friends 40 years later |last1=Pilo |first1=Wilfred |date=5 August 2014 |newspaper=The Borneo Post |access-date=6 August 2014}}
* {{cite book |last=Corbett |first=Robin |title=Guerrilla Warfare: from 1939 to the present day |year=1986 |publisher=Orbis Book Publishing Corporation |location=London |isbn=978-0-85613-469-2}}
* {{cite journal |author=Cheah Boon Kheng |year=2009 |title=''The Communist Insurgency in Malaysia, 1948–90: Contesting the Nation-State and Social Change'' |journal=New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=132–52 |url=https://www.nzasia.org.nz/uploads/1/3/2/1/132180707/14_cheah_3.pdf |access-date=5 January 2013}}
* {{cite book |last=Fowler |first=Will|title=Britain's Secret War: The Indonesian Confrontation 1962–66 |year=2006 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=London |isbn=978-1-84603-048-2 }}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite journal |author=Cheah Boon Kheng |year=2009 |title=''The Communist Insurgency in Malaysia, 1948–90: Contesting the Nation-State and Social Change'' |journal=New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=132–52 |url=https://www.nzasia.org.nz/uploads/1/3/2/1/132180707/14_cheah_3.pdf |access-date=5 January 2013}}
* {{cite book  | last = Conboy| first = Ken   | year = 2003  | title =  KOPASSUS Inside Indonesia's Special Forces | publisher = Equinox Publishing   | location = [[Sheffield]], [[United Kingdom]]  | isbn = 978-979-95898-8-0 }}
* Ghosh, S. K. "Insurgent Movements in Southeast Asia." ''India Quarterly'' 34.3 (1978): 290-312.
* {{cite book |last1=Porritt |first1=Vernon L. |title=The Rise and Fall of Communism in Sarawak, 1940-1990 |date=2004 |publisher=Monash Asia Institute |isbn=9781876924270 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FsgEAQAAIAAJ |language=en}}

{{Communism in Malaysia}}
{{Communism in Indonesia}}
{{History of East Malaysia}}
{{British colonial campaigns}}
{{Cold War}}

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