Hearts and Minds

This docudrama involves a tense showdown between Inspector Irene Lee (played by award-winning actress Jo Tan) of the Malayan Special Branch, and Lee Meng (played by Oon Shu An, above), the suspected head courier of the Malayan Communist Party. Does the steely Inspector Lee unearth the truth from the wily Lee Meng? The bravura performances by two talented actors will keep you riveted in your seats.

This docudrama is inspired by actual events detailed in senior librarian Ronnie Tan’s essay, “Hunting Down the Malayan Mata Hari”, which was published in the April–June 2018 issue of BiblioAsia.

This video is part of Stories from BiblioAsia, which features compelling stories from BiblioAsia Articles. Other episodes can be found here ↗ (opens in new tab). Also check out The Time Travelling Trio ↗ (opens in new tab), a children’s series on what life in Singapore used to be like

Related Articles

Hunting Down the Malayan Mata Hari
Ronnie Tan pieces together the fascinating story of Lee Meng, the Malayan Communist Party female agent who headed its courier network for a brief period in 1952.

Iron Spearhead: The Story of a Communist Hitman
Ronnie Tan and Goh Yu Mei recount the story of a ruthless Malayan Communist Party cadre whose cold-blooded murders caused a sensation in Singapore in the 1950s.

Communist Party of Malaya ↗ (opens in new tab)
The Communist Party of Malaya, also known as the Malayan Communist Party, was a political party active in Singapore, the Federation of Malaya and later Malaysia. It was founded in 1930 and dissolved in 1989.

Malayan Emergency ↗ (opens in new tab)
The Malayan Emergency began in June 1948 after three British plantation managers near Sungei Siput in Perak were killed by insurgents of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP). The MCP had aimed to overthrow the colonial government and establish a Communist People’s Democratic Republic of Malaya. The Malayan Emergency ended only in 1960.

Related Books

Noel Barber, The War of the Running Dogs: How Malaya Defeated the Communist Guerrillas, 1948–60 ↗ (opens in new tab) (London: Collins, 1971).

Chin Peng, My Side of History ↗ (opens in new tab) (Singapore: Media Masters, 2003).

Peter Clague, Iron Spearhead: The True Story of a Communist Killer Squad in Singapore ↗ (opens in new tab) (Singapore: Heinemann Educational Books [Asia] Ltd, 1980).

Leon Comber, Malaya’s Secret Police 1945–60: The Role of the Special Branch in the Malayan Emergency ↗ (opens in new tab) (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies; Australia: Monash Asia Institute, 2008).

Anthony Short, In Pursuit of Mountain Rats: The Communist Insurrection in Malaya ↗ (opens in new tab) (Singapore: Cultured Lotus, 2000).