Malayan Women and Guerrilla Warfare, 1941–1989

By Mahani Musa

Introduction

The first Malayan Communist terrorist to surrender in Negeri Sembilan, Malaya on 15 September 1957 happened to be a woman. The accompanying photo that appeared in The Sunday Times received little note from the Malayan community with regards to the involvement of women in underground and guerrilla activities.¹ It was only after the signing of the Hat Yai Peace Accord between the Malaysian government and the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) in 1989 — which brought to a close the guerrilla war the MCP had been waging for more than 40 years — that the story of women guerrillas began to attract the attention of both scholars and the public. Their voices began to be heard in print, along with men’s, and more recently, were also captured in video documentaries, websites and blogs. This purportedly encouraged other voices to come forward, and the public began to hear the “new truth” about this aspect of Malayan history, something different from what had been taught in schools and textbooks previously.²

These publications presented issues from the perspective of the Communists and they managed to garner a warm reception from the masses, especially among the younger generation. Videos were also specifically produced as a tribute to former MCP leaders and their supporters.³ While these new developments make Malaysian history seem more lively and exciting, the purpose of this article is to offer a historical and gender-based perspective on the involvement of Malayan women in underground and guerrilla activities. This provides new insights on how and why women were involved in such activities — traditionally considered to be neither in the biological nor cultural domain of women, —the challenges they faced as combatants, wives and mothers, and how they survived in the hostile jungle. This enables us to see how their involvement in guerrilla activities differed from men’s.

The Malayan Communist Party And The Recruitment Of Women

Pierson provides two generalised feminist perspectives on the exclusion of women from war and organised violence, namely the broad exclusion of women from the formal societal apparatus of power and coercion, and their connection with motherhood (Pierson, 1987). This polarisation creates gender differences — with war and public life being viewed as a male domain, while women become a symbol of peace, the home and the protected society (Macdonald, 1987, p. 4). History, however, has shown that women have been involved in war in myriad roles; these range from those of war victims, interns and spies, to wives, daughters and lovers. Women have also played the roles of generals and war leaders, leading their people’s armies to war, such as in the case of Queen Boadicea (England) and Hua Mulan (China). In Malaya, throughout the MCP’s existence from 1930 to 1989, women became an important part of the party and its struggles, initially in fighting the Japanese, then the British, and after 1957, the Malayan (later Malaysian) government.

The earliest involvement of Malayan women in the anti-colonial movement took place in the 1930s. Although the MCP was established in 1930, its policy towards women was unclear. However, the 1937 Japanese invasion of China necessitated the party’s mobilisation of all Chinese, regardless of gender, to the anti-Japanese movement, especially in the period from 1941 to 1945. In the early phases, the women targeted by the MCP were educated, and thereafter, subjected to occasional propaganda. These women — the majority of them Chinese — began as underground MCP members. They acted as couriers, assisted the Communists in their propaganda, purchased food for their armed forces located deep in the jungle and carried out subversive activities that were assigned to them. By the end of the war, it was claimed that the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA), also known as Bintang Tiga (three stars), had between 7,000 and 8,000 members (men and women) under arms, and thousands more supporters scattered among rural and urban labour groups (Freedom News, 2008, p. 6). The women were absorbed into eight different regiments located throughout Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Johor-Melaka, Perak, Pahang-Terengganu and Kedah. During his three and a half years as liaison officer with the MCP, living with the guerrillas in the Malayan jungle, Spencer Chapman saw the women of the MPAJA as great fighters who were committed to fighting the Japanese despite their small number (Chapman, 1963).

This group of educated Chinese women spread anti-Japanese propaganda to the rural areas, covering not only adults but also children (Suriani, 2006, p. 26). It was also through this group that the MPAJA and the MCP extended their influence to Malay villages where anti-Japanese sentiments were equally strong. After the surrender of the Japanese and the subsequent establishment of the British Military Administration (BMA) on 3 September 1945, the MCP legally became a political party. This greatly facilitated the spread of Communist ideology through various associations, while united fronts were formed with non-Communists to consolidate their influence. Ironically, the efforts of the BMA to improve the British’s post-war image through welfare work provided an opportunity for Communist women to strengthen the image of Communist organisations.

Under the BMA Emergency Relief Committee, representatives of various charities, Chinese businessmen, the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) and Anti-Japanese Union (AJU) were co-opted under one roof. As the civil wing of the MPAJA, the AJU had already begun to register refugees at district centres in Singapore. Lee Kiu — the woman who represented the AJU in the relief committee — claimed that by 26 September, the AJU had registered 80,000 refugees (out of the 700,000 on the island). The AJU was later so inextricable from the official operation that by 8 October 1945, Communist or resistance associations were running eight out of the 18 relief centres (Harper, 1999, p. 66).

In the immediate post-war period, the MCP made Singapore the base for its “open and legal” struggles and began to penetrate youth groups, women associations, peasant groups and various workers’ unions. In the six months from December 1947 to May 1948, it was reported that 130 out of 335 labour associations were under Communist control while another 70 were under their influence (Ho Hui Ling, 2004, pp. 12–13). This contributed significantly to the strengthening of the Communist infrastructure in Singapore. The Communists also targeted both male and female Chinese middle school students and teachers. The party’s student committee penetrated these schools as early as 1948, with the aims of turning them into the “emergency nerve centre” of the MCP network in Singapore. These initiatives saw the active participation of female students. Interestingly, it was a Chinese woman who was responsible for directing and strategizing all MCP activities in Singapore in the early 1950s, until she was caught by the authorities in October 1953 (CO 1022/207).

The anti-yellow culture campaign that started in early 1950 also saw active participation of women from the Singapore Women’s Federation. The campaign was directed against imported, degenerative culture that weakened and corrupted individual and public morality. The subsequent progressive movement began to take shape through this campaign. It was widely supported by student bodies, trade unions and radical politicians as well as Malay and Indian cultural associations including ASAS 50, the prominent Malay literary association (Harper, 1999, pp. 294–5). Notably, the campaign saw women as its main agents — the Singapore Women’s Federation, one of the sponsoring organisations for the campaign, was the first to promote the formation of a permanent body opposing yellow culture (PRO 27 330/56). However, the colonial government perceived the anti-yellow culture campaign to be Communist propaganda intended to raise political awareness and get support from intellectuals. The colonial government responded by arresting six people on 19 August 1956, including Linda Cheng Mong Hock from the Singapore Women’s Federation, who was also the chairman of the Singapore Anti-Yellow Culture Council (PRO 27 330/56).

When the government began to single out labour and trade unions as part of the anti-left drive in mid-1948, the Communist revolution, which was marked by sabotage and violence against imperial functionaries, began to stir. The emergency law was promulgated in Malaya on 18 June, and spread to Singapore by 24 June. On 23 July the MCP was banned; other organisations/political parties similarly affected were the MPAJA Ex-Service Comrades’ Association (MPAJESCA), New Democratic Youth League (NDYL), left-wing Malay organisations like Pembela Tanah Air (PETA), Angkatan Pemuda Insaf (API), Angkatan Wanita Sedar (AWAS), and Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya or Malay Nationalist Party (PKMM/MNP). June 1948 marked the start of the armed struggles between the MCP and the colonial government. On the Communist side, Freedom News, an illegal MCP propaganda newsletter which first appeared in 1949, reported the “glorious achievements” of the MCP regiments in the various states during the second half of 1950⁴, although subsequent British counter offensives such as the “anti-bandit month”, “operation starvation” and selective curfews had affected the Communists considerably, resulting in them facing a shortage of arms, ammunition and food (CO 717/205 52932 1951). By 1953, security force operations including cutting off the Communists’ food supply and the promise of attractive rewards for guerrillas delivered dead or alive had shown their effect on the morale of the MCP members in the Malayan jungle. The ceaseless pressure from government security forces and the low morale among the combatants compelled Chin Peng to withdraw his headquarters to southern Thailand in the last week of 1953. The MCP relocations involved hundreds of female comrades.

Reasons For Women’s Involvement In The Underground And Guerrilla Movements

For the women of Malaya (including pre-1965 Singapore), there were various reasons as to why they became involved in the underground and guerrilla warfare. These included the influence of changing global ideology and the political progression that had taken place in the country or due to the surroundings. Kumari Jayawardena believes that in most countries that fell under imperialist domination, women’s movements did not occur in a vacuum, instead corresponding to and — to some extent — determined by the wider social movements of which they formed a part (Jayawardena, 1986, p. 10). This is most true when we look at the motives behind the involvement of women in the underground and guerrilla movements in Malaya since the 1930s.

For the urban educated women like Eng Ching Ming (alias Suriani Abdullah) and her progressive friends who were influenced by the Communist ideology at the Nan Hwa High School in Sitiawan, Perak (where Chin Peng also studied), the reasons for their involvement were liberation from British colonialism and liberation of women. They were born in the “cyclic era” (where there was socio-economic and political imbalance due to colonial domination), which required them to be involved actively in the labour associations. This subsequently led them into the jungle as guerrillas (Suriani, 2005, p. 10). Suriani, who officially became an MCP member in 1940, and a few other women comrades were sent to organise anti- Japanese activities; these activities started with women farmers in the Sungai Siput district (Perak) and were followed by women labourers at a nearby tin mine and cigarette factory. The group also conducted free classes in Kampar, Pusing (Teronoh), Putih and Ipoh, targeting the illiterate among civilians.

The MCP strategy of sending educated women to the grassroots was seen as the perfect plan in their attempts to control labour, which was female-dominated. The “Perak Tin Labour Association”, for instance, had 20,000 members and if family members were included in the count, the figure is much higher at between 50,000 and 60,000. Besides persuading the women, Suriani and her progressive female friends also organised strikes to demand for better wages. Suriani reiterated that their efforts were fruitful as the “women were more consciously aware of class and they became changed agents of labour associations” (Suriani, 2006: chapter 1). The surroundings also contributed to women’s involvement in the guerrilla war. As children, many had already lived in areas that were considered revolutionary zones (red areas) as early as during the Japanese Occupation. Chen Xiu Zhu, who was born in 1937 in Bukit Gurun, Kedah, relates the following story about what led to her involvement in the Communist movement:

It [Bukit Gurun] was known as the Cow Farm in Kedah. It was a very red area. From a
very young age, I was always around the Communists, working together with them.
I was a courier, sending letters here and there. I helped the comrades to buy things
and gathered intelligence for them and so on. We saw how unjustly the Japanese
and British Imperialists were treating the masses. We wanted to right the wrong,
to take revenge, to crush British imperialism so that there would be better days
ahead. That was how I developed my revolutionary consciousness and joined the
movement.⁵

For the second-generation MCP women (second generation here refers to women comrades who joined the MCP after its withdrawal to southern Thailand) similar reasons led to their involvement in the guerrilla movement. For instance, Lou Lan (born in 1947 in Bentong, Pahang) and Zhao Ya Yin (born in 1955 in Batu Gajah, Perak), were both born into families that supported the revolution. Lou Lan’s father and his siblings were involved in the anti-Japanese army and after the Japanese surrender, they returned to the jungle to wage war against the British. Lou Lan’s paternal grandfather and grandmother had also supported the guerrillas. This family history of involvement with such movements became one of the reasons that prompted her to join the MCP’s armed struggle.⁶ Zhao Ya Yin’s family lived in Tronoh, which was regarded then as the revolutionary base for the MCP. Due to this, the family’s involvement in the party seems inevitable, but it was her youngest brother who influenced her considerably to join the revolutionary struggle. He instilled in her revolutionary ideas at a very young age (14–15 years old), and took her to watch movies with progressive themes. In 1972 or 1973, Zhao was already involved in the party as an underground member,⁷ and by 1976, at the age of 19, she moved into the jungle to join the guerrillas.⁸

From the above discussion, it is clear that the MCP benefited enormously from the existing social structures and values within Chinese society. According to Stubbs, kinship relations and friendship networks are important in Chinese society. This means family members or close friends who had joined the guerrilla movement would be given much support. Stubbs claims that in the initial stages of the Emergency, the strength of these friendship and family ties enabled the MCP to achieve a strong position (Stubbs, 2004, pp. 90–91).

Malay women were also involved in the anti-Japanese movement. Influence over them was exerted through the propaganda works of the Malay nationalists and the MCP since the Japanese Occupation. In Malay villages along the Perak River where anti-Japanese sentiments were strong, the propaganda work was much easier with the Chinese from the MPAJA and the MCP helping the Malay nationalists. In Johore, a Malay guerrilla organisation known as the North Johore Brigade was already in existence before the formation of the MCP’s Malay regiment — the 10th Regiment — on 21 May 1949. This brigade was established on 12 September 1948 and was led by Jasman Sulaiman (Mahmud Embong, 2008, p. 101). Jasman and his wife had been actively involved in the anti-Japanese movement since May 1942. In Pauh of Arau district, Perlis, there was a family of Malay revolutionaries — Pak Saud and his wife Mak Tijah — who were actively organising Malay women groups to fight the Japanese. In fact, Arau was considered a strong base for the anti-Japanese movement (Abdullah C. D., 2005, pp. 192–223).

Compared with the Chinese, the majority of Malays however, viewed the involvement of fellow Malays in radical movements as religiously wrong and many stayed away. Families who were openly involved in such activities were often looked at with deep suspicion, and this quite often led to ostracism by fellow villagers. In the end, many quietly joined the guerrilla movement.⁹ Siti Meriyam Idris (alias Atom) from Lubok Kawah, a Communist-controlled area in Temerloh, remembers her mother as an avid supporter of the MPAJA — but she did it quietly to avoid being ostracised by villagers. As for Siti Meriyam, she joined the MCP as she was attracted to the anti-colonial spirit shown by MCP Malay women cadres who had come to Lubok Kawah, like Zainab Mahmud and Shamsiah Fakeh. Siti Meriyam was among the women (most of whom were illiterate) who joined the guerrilla war without any understanding of the struggle, but who were inspired by the “heroism” of Malay leaders of the MCP, especially the women cadres, who spoke fluently. These women were good orators, hardworking, unafraid of guns, and had a strong anti-colonial spirit which reminded new recruits of traditional anti-colonial figures like Datuk Bahaman (Khoo, 2004, pp. 207–208).

The MCP Malay women cadres were somewhat different from MCP’s women leaders especially those from the 10th Regiment. For instance, Shamsiah Fakeh, who initially led the women wing of the PKMM (later known as AWAS [League of Aware Women]) before joining the 10th Regiment, cited the hatred of imperialism and colonialism, and the fight for women’s emancipation as the reasons behind her involvement in the anti-colonial struggle. Her experience in a number of bitter divorces had increased her awareness of the need to secure emancipation from feudal oppression. For Shamsiah, this was a heavy task and “a liberated country is the first step in bringing freedom to women” (Shamsiah Fakeh, 2004, p. 45).

With regard to AWAS, Abdullah C.D. reiterates in his memoirs that the MNP women’s wing was deeply influenced by the contemporary global women’s freedom movement. In particular, AWAS was very much influenced by similar movements in Europe, where Indonesian women who were actively fighting against the Dutch served as its role model. Since its establishment in 1946 and until its first congress, held on 8 March 1947, AWAS members exceeded three thousand (Abdullah C. D., 2005, p. 6). AWAS, which had attracted a number of educated women — many in madrasahs in Sumatra — urged Malay women to wake up and change their fate. In their efforts to eradicate illiteracy among women, AWAS members initiated the setting up of village schools for women, conducted talks on health, hygiene and midwifery, and provided assistance to marginalised women, like prostitutes (Harper, 1999, p. 72). Ahmad Boestamam, an important figure in the MNP, saw AWAS under the leadership of Shamsiah as “a women’s organisation that had its own constitutional structure and battle cry which, essentially, comprises one shout of ‘AWAS’ that is accompanied by a clasped right hand with one finger pointing upwards to indicate warning” (Ahmad Boestamam, 2004, p. 167). When the British banned AWAS in 1948, most of its members including Shamsiah joined the MCP guerrillas.

As a point of comparison, it is interesting to note that for the second generation of MCP women, socio-economic issues like poverty were more important than for the first generation. In the 1960s, when the party began opening its doors to “newcomers” in order to improve its security and strategy, more local Siamese joined the movement than Malaysians. In his memoir, Ibrahim Chik, one of the prominent leaders of the 10th Regiment, claimed that these locals were never wholeheartedly into the party struggle and had joined because of economic reasons. Poverty-stricken villagers saw life as MCP guerrillas to be more comfortable, with enough food to eat. Ibrahim Chik claimed that a few years after the MCP had moved to the south of Thailand, access to food sources had improved considerably because there were villagers who were supporting them. This attracted villagers to join the guerrillas in droves. A few even brought along wives and children in the search for a better life (Ibrahim Chik, 2004, p. 181).

Recent interviews with second generation MCP women combatants currently living in southern Thailand corroborate the description given by Ibrahim Chik. Because of poverty, 60-year-old Muna or Mek Pik (born in Pattani) became an MCP member in 1978, at the age of 29. She was in Natawee (Songkhla province) working as a rubber tapper when a group of MCP guerrillas approached her and asked her to join them. She was also pushed to join and live with the guerrillas by endless family squabbles.10 Poverty drove 55-year-old Chang Li Li to join the guerrillas. Chang was born in Betong and her family lived in extreme poverty, as their rubber plantation was no longer productive. She joined the MCP in 1971, at the age of 17. Initially she attended the lecture circuits conducted by MCP comrades within and outside the village before deciding to live in the jungle.¹¹ The Communists successfully implanted the idea that Malaysians were living in poverty and that the government was not concerned about the poor. Ideas such as these certainly lifted the spirits of the listeners. Both Muna and Chang Li Li left the jungle life after 1989 with the signing of the Hat Yai Peace Accord.

For 68-year-old Khadijah Daud, her life before joining the party was one of poverty. However, she joined the MCP in the 1970s because she was accompanying her husband. She also thought that their life would be much better as she believed everything would be provided for. Khadijah claims most of her fellow villagers who had joined the MCP had not fully understood the objectives of the Communists, but nevertheless were impressed with the MCP leaders who always harped on British bias and discrimination towards the poor.¹² Talks given by MCP members managed to attract many teenage girls (the MCP focused on those who were 13 years old and above) or even the wives of comrades who had entered the jungle to follow their husbands, even though they did not fully understand the essence of these talks.¹³ For the latter group, they were unable to withdraw for fear of assassination. 47-year-old Aishah or Suti (born in Sungai Golok) followed her husband to live in the jungle in 1977, at the age of 15, without fully comprehending the party ideology or its struggle. She admitted she was afraid to leave the party and continued to live in the jungle for seven years. She managed to escape from the jungle camp at the age of 22.¹⁴

“Xiulan” (pseudonym) joined the 12th Regiment on 14 March 1963, not because of poverty but because of persuasion by her lover (later husband) Zhizhen. With an inheritance from her father in the form of a small rubber plantation and a textile shop, Xiulan had led a reasonably comfortable life since childhood. It was her lover Zhizhen who persuaded her to join the Communists in the jungle, a move that was strongly opposed by her mother. Xiulan was also worried when told by Zhizhen that the Thai authorities were keeping an eye on her movements, and that she might be arrested and punished for helping the Communists. On one misty morning in February 1963, Xiulan left home, leaving a letter for her mother, saying that she was going to work in Bangkok. She lived to regret the move, for life in the jungle and the Communist struggle were not what she had expected (Xiulan, 1983).

Yet among the second generation of MCP women cadres there were those who had volunteered to join because they had understood the Communist ideology and military struggles, as claimed by 57-year-old Ya Mai. Ya Mai was an educated Kuala Lumpur girl and had helped her parents run a small business that provided her family with comfortable sustenance. After finishing her sixth form in the early 1970s, she worked as a clerk in a company for three to four years. During that time she and a few of her female friends were already interested in the MCP and its egalitarian ideology.¹⁵

From the discussion above, it is clear that women recruits joined the guerrilla war for myriad reasons, ranging from economic factors like poverty, to the loyal accompanying of their husbands, friends or lovers, even though a few of them had little or no understanding of the Communist ideology. Some joined for political and ideological reasons; such was more discernable among the first batch of women comrades. Others were forced to join the guerrillas and forcibly taken into the jungle. 84-year-old Rosimah Alang binte Mat Yen from Kampung Gajah, Perak, spent 52 years of her life living with the Communists after she was kidnapped at the age of 17. She was working in a rice field in Changkat Jering, central Perak, when she was caught by a group of Communist guerrillas (Utusan Malaysia, 30 May 2009).

The Position Of Women In The Guerilla Movement

History has shown that each guerrilla war has its own peculiar characteristics. However, a comparison made between different guerrilla wars shows that these wars do share some common traits. With regards to women guerrillas, the MCP guerrilla war shared some common characteristics with other guerrilla wars like the ones waged by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA) in the Philippines. In the case of the CPP and the NPA, women generally occupied a lower position in most military actions, as men generally did not think women were as capable of undertaking the functions as they were. Thus, men normally handled combat operations.¹⁶ This was an impediment to women who wanted to climb to higher positions in the party as combat experience — including the number of enemies killed — was normally taken into consideration for such promotion.

As in the CPP and the NPA, few MCP women comrades managed to move up to higher positions in the organisation although male MCP leaders continually claimed in their memoirs that women were important assets to the movement. The majority of women comrades remained as lower grade combatants with only a few being able to secure important senior positions. The prevalent belief among female comrades was that only those who were brave and intelligent could climb the ladder of success within the organisation. This statement is quite true if we look at the “success” story of well-known MCP women leaders like Suriani and Shamsiah.

Suriani (known as Eng Ming Ching before her marriage to Abdullah C.D. in 1955) began her rapid ascent through the ranks of the MCP in Ipoh when she was entrusted to lead a propaganda team comprising Chinese, Malay and Indian people, and train party cadres in a variety of tasks with the goal of educating people on the importance of liberating Malaya. Her charismatic way of handling and completing the tasks given to her, as well as her considerable wartime experience, led her to hold many important appointments within the MCP hierarchy. She was one of the party members sent by the MCP to liaise with the British on the fate of Malayans immediately after the Japanese retreat. She was despatched to Parit, Perak, to settle the Malay-Sino clashes that erupted after the Japanese surrender. She gave speeches in public gatherings within and outside Malaya and was directly responsible for the relocation of the 10th Regiment from Pahang to the Malaya-Thai border in 1953–54. Her Chinese background was an asset that helped to smooth out this relocation/resettlement process. In 1964, Suriani held the position of deputy secretary in a party committee and in 1975 was appointed member of the MCP central committee. She attended the signing ceremony of the Hat Yai accord as guest-of-honour.¹⁷

For Shamsiah, although her position in the party (in particular the 10th Regiment) was unclear, it was believed that her recruitment (she officially became an MCP member in 1948) was planned to attract Malay women to join the party especially after the establishment of the 10th Regiment.¹⁸ The formation of the Malay wing was an MCP strategy to attract participation from the Malay leftists, as it believed the struggle to liberate Malaya would not succeed without the involvement and support of the Malay people, who formed the biggest ethnic group in Malaya. By using Shamsiah’s influence as leader of AWAS, the MNP leaders, who had a close relationship with the MCP like Musa Ahmad and Wahi Anuar, were convinced that more Malay women would join the Communists.

Overall, women formed an important part of the fighting strength of the MCP. However, their exact number is unknown. However, it is clear from memoirs and oral sources that these female comrades played an active role in the armed struggles, especially before the MCP’s relocation to southern Thailand. Some even led platoons and fighting units. Many died during skirmishes with security forces. Interestingly, the leaders of the 10th Regiment viewed those who had perished in the war against the British as Srikandi Bangsa (flowers of the nation) (Abdullah C.D., 2007), a label that was never accorded at the time by any other Malayan political movement to its women wing.

Although the number of Malay women comrades was small, they were not spared from carrying out heavy tasks that were assigned to them. When the MCP decided in 1951 to open up land for cultivation in Paya Luas, Bera district (Pahang), so as to overcome food shortages and starvation which worsened in that year due to the introduction of the Briggs Plan, women were among those in the forefront of this endeavour. The Briggs Plan was implemented in 1950 to cut the link between the Communists and the Orang Asli (aborigines) who subsequently became their main food supplier. The Communist foray among the Orang Asli was a cause of concern for the government, especially the military top brass, when it was reported in 1953 that 30,000 Orang Asli were already under Communist influence (Iskandar Carey, 1976, p. 311). As a result, the Briggs Plan was extended to them as well. Among the important steps taken was the relocation of the Orang Asli into “new villages” of their own, which were put under close government surveillance.

To solve the problem of food shortage, the MCP established a special unit consisting of 11 members to carry out cultivation in Paya Luas; three of these members were women — Habshah, Hitam and Zahurah. This special unit carried out military training and cultivated tapioca and vegetables before they were ambushed by security forces, resulting in the death of Hitam (Abdullah C.D., 2007, p. 227). Apart from this special unit, the MCP also created a separate unit to study the kinds of jungle produce that were fit for consumption. Numerous MCP platoons had experienced bouts of food poisoning caused by the indiscriminate consumption of jungle fruits. Through the efforts of this special unit, the guerrillas were able to eliminate starvation after more jungle produce safe for human consumption was found.

The “long march” towards the Malaya-Thai border (1953–54) was another important episode in the life of the women comrades. Safety and security were major factors for the relocation of the main MCP base in Pahang, as it was no longer safe due to constant harassment by security forces. At its peak, the relocation involved individual and group struggle, as members had to march through thick jungle, often at the risk of ambush by security forces, as well as lacking arms, ammunition, and food. The journey itself took one year and six months to complete, from Bentong, passing through Teras, before reaching Raub.¹⁹ By then, the food they had taken along was depleted. The Orang Asli could not provide much assistance either, because they were under government surveillance. As a result starvation was common. It became necessary for the comrades to depend on jungle produce; bananas and other jungle fruits became their main staple. From Raub they moved northwards in September 1953 through thick jungle heading for Cameron Highlands arriving at their destination in the following October. Here Suriani managed to make contact with local MCP members and the group was given assistance, including food. After three days in the jungle of Cameron Highlands, they were attacked by British soldiers. This forced the troops to detour to Gunong Kerbau in Perak.

Then they moved to Belum in upper Perak and found that the British had moved the villagers to Gerik; these villagers had been suspected to be strong supporters of the anti-British movement. From Kampung Belum, the MCP troops moved into Kampung Hala in Betong on the Thai side, ending the long march. In his memoir, Abdullah saw the long march “as an extraordinarily difficult journey unlike previous ones. Without any courier assistance we had to traverse areas where there were no humans and without the support of the Orang Asli food supply” (Abdullah C.D. 2007, pp. 300–302).

Do women suffer more than men in guerrilla warfare? As cited by Abdullah, Pak Kassim and other MCP male members, the long march of 1953-54, which took one-and-half years to complete, proved to be the toughest episode in their struggles. This was more so for the women comrades. The challenges faced by women cadres were enormous, as physically women are less strong than men. Only their high spirits and courage kept them going. These women comrades had to survive the inhospitable and hostile jungle, traversing the main range (Banjaran Titiwangsa), including Gunong Kerbau. They had to enter into the world of wild animals, poisonous snakes and plants, and diseases. Most of the time, they had no food. They frequently ran out of rice, and starvation became common during the long march.²⁰

At that time, the exotics of the tropical jungle and death co-mingled. All women comrades had to carry heavy loads on their back. They had to live on the run to avoid British ambush. The situation was much worse for those who were pregnant. Zainab Mahmud (Musa Ahmad’s wife) was at an early stage of pregnancy when the long march began. When they reached Kampung Hala, Musa Ahmad and about 10 combatants remained behind to look after Zainab who was already in an advanced stage of pregnancy. A month later she gave birth to a daughter, who was given away to a local Thai-Malay for adoption (Aloysius, 1995, pp. 38–39). It is unimaginable how the women comrades dealt with their sanitary needs, especially during menstruation and birth. Without soap and cloth, their lives during such times must have been difficult, although the women came up with a method to delay or stop this biological process by consuming jungle plants. Others stopped menstruating because of the hardship. The women also found that some jungle plants were useful in preventing hunger and in facilitating abortion.²¹

Life In The Guerrilla Camps

The word guerrilla itself connotes war and war-time conditions like difficult mountain and jungle terrain and the lack of arms and food. Being well acquainted with the local environment offers increased mobility to the guerrillas who favour hit-and-run tactics that inflict damage with less risk. It also provides time and opportunity to evade the enemy. Guerrillas also tend to enjoy local support, including from those living in the jungle, although at times this is secured through terror tactics — a necessity to prolong their struggles (Beckett, 1999). This definition fits the nature of the MCP armed struggles, which, from the perspectives of its cadres, were filled with hardship and difficulty. Its tactic was one of “attack and quick withdrawal”. Ibrahim Chik, one of the leaders of the 10th Regiment, shares a similar view when he reiterates: “the characteristic of war focusing on guerrilla tactics was an important agenda in the movement” (Ibrahim Chik, 2004, pp. 71–72). The ability to “hide” and “survive” became the main feature of the MCP guerrilla war, enabling the guerrilla’s survival until 1989. The strategy was to avoid excessive armed encounters, as these would risk exposing their position and those who provided supplies. The guerrillas lacked both arms and food. Hunger and starvation were part of their lives and they had to eat anything available from the jungle, including food prohibited by Islamic teachings.²² They also had to be constantly on the run and not camp for long in one place.

Under these stressful and uncertain conditions, both the MPAJA and MCP female guerrillas lived alongside their male comrades. The popular image of women as soft-spoken and protected by men changed according to the circumstances during the Japanese Occupation (1942–45), the Emergency (1948–60) and their struggles against the Malayan/Malaysian government until the 1989 Hat Yai Peace Accord. There were no clear gender boundaries or lines especially during wartime. Like the men, female combatants in the MPAJA and the MCP underwent similarly difficult times. They had to abide by party discipline, attend military training and political courses. They were exposed to offensives by Japanese intelligence and, later, British security forces, and were equally liable to be killed if caught by the enemy. Between the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Straits Echo and Times of Malaya reported many cases of female bandits (as the guerrillas were termed by the government and the local newspapers) being caught while running errands as messengers, or killed or wounded by British security forces.

Interestingly, women showed they had more tenacity to face and cope with the hardship of guerrilla life than men sometimes did. Atom’s husband could not cope with the hardship and died while in camp,²³ as did Nona Baker’s brother Vincent, the general manager of the Pahang Consolidated Mine at Sungai Lembing near Kuantan (Pahang), who had chosen to stay with the orang bukit or mountain people in the Sungai Lembing forest instead of withdrawing to Singapore during the Japanese Occupation.²⁴ Vincent succumbed to severe emotional pressure (though he had believed that the war would be over soon and that he could go back to the mines). With his strength and spirit drained, he died of chronic malaria. Behind the enthusiasm in recalling their struggles, former-MCP leaders have not failed to highlight other aspects of their life including their suffering as women guerrillas. Suriani wrote of her underground experience in Chemor with 20 other female cadres during the onset of the Japanese Occupation. To avoid Japanese detection, they disguised as men, put on man’s clothes, and kept short hair (Suriani, 2006, p. 61). They were always on the run and were prepared for any eventualities, including combat and withdrawal.

Suriani, who was known as an “anti-Japanese fighter” among female international Communists, was captured in January 1945 while spreading Communist propaganda in the Tanjung Tualang area in Perak and was subsequently tortured by the Japanese. Suriani admitted the torture physically and mentally destroyed her sense of self as a woman, but that her spirit remained intact. Her life as a captive of the Japanese was horrible, and one she had to endure until the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Due to the poor food and poor sanitation, she suffered from rheumatism for the rest of her life. She had to endure bouts of chest pain and her menstrual cycle was also affected (Suriani, 2006, p. 56).

In terms of work division, the MCP leaders seemed to have fairly distributed the responsibilities among men and women. In the guerrilla war, especially during the Emergency and after, both men and women had to forge their collective energy to ensure victory. As combatants who had to always be prepared for armed encounters as directed by their leaders, female comrades had to carry out other tasks — namely, sentry duty and transporting food. Female guerrillas also had to undertake duties as nurses and medical assistants. Besides these specific tasks, women cadres had to deal with many aspects of daily life such as cooking (the kitchen team was entirely female), collecting and chopping firewood, and transporting food to the camp. Many female comrades considered these difficult tasks. Xiulan relates her experience below:

I will never forget my first experience in picking up supplies. The heavy load on
my back seemed to make me move backwards. The ache on my shoulder was
unbearable and both my hands were numb. On climbing uphill, the heavy load
made my waist ache and my legs became feeble. I was dizzy and felt like vomiting.
Every single step was a test in endurance. (‘Xiulan’ 1983, p. 12)

During the days when there were no supplies to pick, the cadres would take part in shooting practice, laying landmines, studying military lessons on guerrilla warfare tactics and attending political classes. Even though their jobs seemed to be equal to those of the men’s, some of the female ex-guerrillas claim women were actually given comparatively easier jobs because of their weaker physical built. That is why most of the women were given tasks relating to the kitchen, and tasks such as planting vegetables, breeding animals and sewing, and as nurses because the male leaders thought these jobs were less demanding and more suitable for women, whereas bearing firearms and going to war were given to the men. Except for Chang Li Li, most of the women interviewed (mostly from the second generation of MCP combatants) claimed they were never involved in any armed skirmishes. Women were the last to be taught weapon training. Women themselves acknowledged ambivalence with regards to combat; some doubted their ability to kill while others agreed that “we have to kill them before they kill us”.²⁵ It is possible that the view that “women were incapable for combat”²⁶ was quite prevalent among the males. Since their relocation to the south of Thailand and Chin Peng’s departure for China in 1961, the MCP’s approach focused more on strengthening the morale of the combatants through ideological and military training rather than armed struggles. The few weapons and little ammunition that were available were usually given to the male comrades rather than the women, except those who were selected for “infiltration” into Malaya in the early 1970s.²⁷ Normally, the tasks were divided among males and females based on their abilities through the eyes of their superiors. For instance, Chang Li Li had entered Malaya twice in the 1970s as instructed by her superiors. Like Aishah, Chang Li Li also admitted that the combination of bravery and education would give female cadres more opportunities for promotion in the MCP.²⁸

Women And Motherhood

While the guerrilla war broke down certain gender boundaries, and many women grew accustomed to surviving in hostile jungle environments, female guerrillas were never far from reminders that they were women and/or mothers. In particular, their love lives (being in love and being loved); marriage; procreation; and having children are notable difficulties under these circumstances. For those who were married, how did they feel being separated from their loved ones — husbands (if their husbands were not with the guerrillas), children and relatives? Did they have the desire to “become women” again — to dress in feminine clothes, put on make-up, or at least to have access to proper sanitary care during menstruation? Did they miss the “outside” world from which they had come?

Despite living on the run and having to move each time their locations were uncovered, the guerrillas still managed to set up camp upon arrival at a new location. But living in a confined space in the jungle was never easy. While all the basic needs were provided for, each camp conducted its everyday life in accordance with its own rules. While the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) practised a more liberal policy on sexual matters and other aspects of family life (which in the end created problems in the movement), the MCP seemed to have in place a general policy about family life within the camp. In the CPP, women had an equal right to court male comrades and female comrades had the right to choose their romantic partners. A couple would then be betrothed through a revolutionary marriage contract under the authority of the party. The CPP also supported division of responsibilities in marriage between both parties. However, this negatively affected the movement, as women became too engrossed in looking after their families. As child-rearing and housekeeping were women’s responsibilities, breadwinning and combat were assigned to the men. In the end, many female CPP guerrillas left their squads to have babies and to look after them (Hilsdon, 1995, p. 74).

The MCP seemed to accept that life in the camp was not an enjoyable one. They also seemed to accept that people needed soul mates. Thus marriage was accepted in the camp as long as the couple had secured prior permission from their superiors. All married couples had to live according to the rules of the regiment. In most MCP camps, there were two types of accommodation built for the comrades — barracks for the bachelors and barracks for married couples — which were actually communal dwellings. The quarters for married couples did not allow spouses to mix freely, as there were also other couples living in the same barrack. Instead the regiment would set up a special place termed “couple’s hut” or “honeymoon hut” for married couples to have their honeymoon and privacy. This hut was built on high ground and was often situated some distance away from the other barracks. They were allowed to spend two to three days together before having to return to their own individual quarters.²⁹ Every time a couple wanted to meet privately, special permission had to be obtained from their superiors. This strict policy was implemented in all camps so as to avoid distractions from guerrilla missions and to avoid unwanted pregnancies. In fact, during wartime, working in the same camp was disallowed for husbands and wives so as to avoid “sexual complications”. Interestingly, as reported by Force 136 officers, these instances of segregation were unheard of during the Japanese Occupation (Chin & Hack, 2004, p. 7).

With regards to pregnancy, the MCP admitted that female members who bore children would hamper its struggles and this should be avoided at all costs, although the policy was never strictly enforced. Female comrades becoming pregnant was not uncommon in jungle life. While some women depended on jungle plants to prevent pregnancy, such methods were not always effective. Equally important were the attitudes of camp or regimental superiors. In the 8th Regiment, the rule on pregnancy was strictly applied. In the camp, women were simply not allowed to get pregnant. When it came to light that a woman cadre was pregnant, she would be forced to have an abortion by drinking soap water and consuming certain jungle herbs.³⁰ In fact, one important duty that camp medical trainees and women doctors had to undertake was to conduct abortions and other related operations to prevent conception (‘Xiulan’, 1983, p. 33).

Health-wise, forced abortion not only jeopardised a woman’s life but also affected her emotionally. In most camps, it was lucky if a woman’s superiors allowed them to carry a pregnancy to term. These women had to deliver their babies in the jungle with the help of their husbands and female comrades. But more emotional struggles were still to come because camps did not allow the presence of infants. Instead, the children would be given away before they reached one month of age, as camp superiors believed babies would only hamper the group’s movements. There was also the fear that the cries of babies would give away the guerrilla’s positions to the enemy, in addition to the fact that the jungle environment was deemed unsuitable for raising children.

Some women comrades considered themselves lucky if their children could be left with or given away to their own family members (sisters, mothers, mother-in-laws), or if they knew their baby’s foster parents — whom they might have met during the rounds of social work in neighbouring villages, or if fellow comrades knew the foster parents and there was a chance to look for them and their children in later years. However, there were many others who never had the chance to see their children again after giving them away for adoption. Ibrahim Chik, Rashid Maidin and Pak Kassim were among the lucky few who were reunited with children who had been given away for adoption earlier.

While some of the interviewed women tried their best to hide their real feelings at the time of their involvement with the guerrillas, most did not regret what they had gone through, while a few refused to recall or remember their lives in the jungle. A’Por, who was from Perlis, had entered the jungle in Baling, Kedah, and then drifted to Betong in southern Thailand. She followed her husband into the jungle and had to part with her 30-day-old baby daughter. The baby was given to one of her Malay friends in Perlis and she never saw it again. She did not know what had become of her daughter. A’Por, who became a guerrilla in her 20s (at present she is 87 years old), left the jungle camp after the Hat Yai Peace Accord and insists that she “never ever want [sic] to remember the old story”.³¹

Khadijah Daud or Mama admitted that she worried about and missed her children whom she had left in the village, and that the thought of running away from the jungle camp frequently came to her mind. Before joining the MCP, Khadijah had already had two children by her first husband. After she remarried and joined the guerrillas with her second husband, she subsequently gave birth to another child, but the baby was given away to a local Thai villager. However, a combination of personal grievances, hardship and dangerous jungle life led her to escape from the camp at the age of 40. The 68-year-old Khadijah had slipped into the jungle when she was 34 years of age.³² According to her, there were many women comrades in her camp who had expressed sadness at leaving their family behind, but did not have the courage to leave camp for fear of possible punishment. Especially those who were forced to join the MCP, these women had to stay in the camp and continue their lives as guerrillas.

73-year-old Huang Xue Ying, who hailed from Perlis and had spent more than half of her life in the jungle, admitted that life in the jungle had not been easy for her and most of her female comrades. It was fraught with deadly skirmishes, hard labour and, for her, even the misfortune of having had a baby. Currently she lives alone, having divorced her husband while still in uniform and given her only daughter away to a Thai villager soon after birth. When asked by the documentary interviewer about parting with her daughter, her face turned gloomy and she gave the following answer: “Those were terrible times. There were aeroplanes and guns overhead. When she was carried away, I felt very miserable. But then I thought if I didn’t send her away, she wouldn’t have survived”.³³

Interestingly, even though female comrades were often depicted as the most affected by the separation from their families and children, male comrades too experienced similar tribulations. However, the male comrades never revealed this aspect much, as they believed that dwelling on such poignant moments was unmanly and therefore inappropriate. Many male comrades only highlighted aspects that reinforced characteristics like bravery. That is why in most of the memoirs written by male MCP comrades — except for Ibrahim Chik’s, parting episodes were only casually recounted. Rashid Maidin’s memoir, for instance, does not tell much about the family he had left behind in a village in central Perak. He reiterates that his first wife, children and close family members were told of his plan at the time when he was caught and accused of being a Communist. The main focus of his memoir is on his struggle in the labour movement and his subsequent involvement in the 10th Regiment, even though he did briefly mention his marriage to a Chinese female guerrilla (who changed her name to Selamah) in the Sadao Camp (8th Regiment) in 1955. Rashid did not touch on his relationship with his wife and children from his first marriage. His memoir is mainly about his life with his second wife Selamah, and their children and grandchildren, all of whom were born in Thailand.³⁴

On the other hand, Ibrahim’s memoir tells us in detail how he felt as a son and father who had to separate from his family when he became involved with the MCP. At the time, he felt that the prospect of returning home was non-existent. Ibrahim and his first wife Rahmah joined the MCP in early September 1948. At the time, his eldest son Jefri was only 11 months old. Ibrahim recalled in detail the moment of separation

from his family in Lubok Kawah, Pahang: “Can anyone imagine the love parents had for their children? That was how my parents must have felt and that was how Rahmah and I felt in our hearts at the moment of separation from our own children …” (Ibrahim Chik, 2004, p. 78).

On the way to the jungle camp, Ibrahim reminisced:

Rahmah and I did not speak to each other. I was still thinking of the little hands
waving and the smile from my 11-month-old baby, as though he was still beside
us. I can still remember my father’s advice at the time, “Don’t fight halfway.” Maybe
Rahmah too was thinking along the same line. (Ibrahim Chik, 2004, p. 79)

The separation episode brought stress to Ibrahim’s later life. His feelings and emotions as recorded in his memoir show that he was under great pressure and grief at that time. He reiterates that similar feelings were experienced by other guerrillas. This was highlighted after Ibrahim and his group reached the jungle camp in Lubok Kawah to begin their new life as guerrillas. Ibrahim narrated the following story about the behaviour of a few women who had earlier joined AWAS, the radical Malay women’s organisation:

It was not surprising to hear female comrades, telling one another about the
hardships and feelings of agony they had to endure at the moment of separation from their young children and families. I still can hear their voices until midnight.
(Ibrahim Chik, 2004, p. 80)

Love Affairs

The accusations brought against Shamsiah of killing her son are probably the only known case of its kind in the history of female guerrillas in the MCP. However, illicit sex that led to unwanted pregnancy was nothing new in guerrilla life. These affairs caused considerable chaos and hatred among those involved and led to moral decline. This was unavoidable as ordinary mortals — whether male or female — could not be entirely devoid of certain feelings towards those around them. The MCP knew about this but was unable to set clear guidelines on the matter as MCP leaders themselves were involved in illicit affairs. Although there was strict party-control over marriage and relationships, the birth of illegitimate children regularly took place. This, to some extent, led to complicated situations in the party.

Some party members regarded illicit love affairs as a serious problem that contributed to the moral decline in the party. As those in the higher echelon of the MCP leadership were also involved, this gave others the impression that such behaviour was tacitly condoned. In 1955, when in his capacity as the political commissar of the 10th Regiment, Musa Ahmad briefed Chin Peng on the regiment’s long march from Temerloh to southern Thailand, he also reported the love affair between Abdullah and Suriani which took place during the same period. At that time Suriani was still the wife of Ng Ching Kee, a senior figure in the movement. Suriani was attractive and even a British officer was smitten by her.³⁵ The affair, Musa  claimed, had resulted in Suriani undergoing an abortion. The disclosure of the affair created chaos in the guerrilla camp. The angry Ng Ching Kee whipped out his pistol to shoot Abdullah but was stopped by Chin Peng’s timely intervention. As punishment Chin Peng directed that Abdullah be stripped of his position as commander of the 10th Regiment and his place was subsequently taken over by Musa Ahmad (Aloysius, 1995, p. 39). This affair went unmentioned by either Suriani or Abdullah in their memoirs.

In the fifth platoon of the 12th Regiment, which was based in Upper Rambong, Betong, illicit love affairs shocked regimental members as one such affair involved a military commander. In 1963, the platoon consisted of 35 members including seven women. In 1964, another two units joined the platoon, bringing the number to 70. This platoon had organised the first Party School of North Malaya, which was aimed at training the more progressive elements in these units. It also included efforts to correct undesirable thoughts and attitudes among the troops through a rectification campaign. During this campaign, which re-examined members’ past mistakes, all rank-and-file members were required to confess, repent and self-criticise, which created a tense atmosphere in the camp.

It was during this rectification campaign that Laosheng, a senior cadre, revealed his secret love affair with a woman comrade named Guiying. Although he realised he was a commander and she was his subordinate, Laosheng claimed the feelings they had for each other were overpowering and went beyond ordinary friendship. Laosheng confessed he had thought of her in the course of performing his duties. He took a personal interest in her and put her welfare above the others (‘Xiulan’, 1983, p. 18). The revelation stunned all platoon members — that a man highly revered as a hero of the anti-Japanese war should be involved in such a shameful escapade.

The revelation put Guiying in severe distress and finally, she confessed her mistakes to the party. To fellow comrade Xiulan, the revelation by Laosheng surprised all platoon members although the mention of Guiying did not shock any of them. According to Xiulan, other camp members knew Guiying as a flirt who liked to attract men with her physical appearance. She liked to wear tight-fitting clothes and secretly put on make-up. Xiulan claimed that Guiying had many illicit love affairs with male comrades. These intimate relationships had led to the birth of several babies, without anyone admitting fatherhood. These babies were given away for adoption to local villagers (‘Xiulan’, 1983, p. 22). Xiulan claimed this situation was unavoidable because of the imbalance in the male-female ratio among the guerrillas. When men greatly outnumbered women, attractive females were especially subject to the attention from men, especially those from the ranks. On the other hand, there was also the impetus for women to attract male attention — notably from their superiors — for personal advancement and well being.

For the average male comrade — both unmarried, and married but separated from their wives — the desire to seek intimate relationships with female comrades was quite natural. According to Xiulan:

The unmarried women were thus looked upon as rare commodities. That was why no married women comrades ever knew what widowhood was, after her husband died. In fact the Party overlooked such relationships and made no regulations on discipline with regard to such behaviour. (‘Xiulan’, 1983, p. 22)

The 12th Regiment’s rectification campaigns ended within a month. Through a series of revelations, high-ranking leaders realised that many of these problematic relationships arose from the ratio imbalance of the sexes. Subsequently, the party leaders fixed the recruitment of men and women in the ratio of 6:10. The effort worked and, by 1968, most of the veterans had found life partners, gotten married and had children. As the party seldom staged armed skirmishes during this period, some of these “guerrilla children” were brought up by their parents inside the jungle while others were adopted by relatives outside the camp (‘Xiulan’, 1983, p. 23).

According to Ibrahim, the problem of illicit relationships started when the MCP tried to strengthen the party by “accepting newcomers”. Apart from resulting in official marriages involving both Thai and Malaysian members, this new situation also created the social problem of illicit love affairs. Additionally, senior cadres like Ibrahim claimed that Thai cadres inadvertently exposed the 10th Regiment to more dangers and sabotage (Ibrahim Chik, 2004, pp. 137–139).

Apart from recruiting new members among local Thais, the MCP did not have a clear method ofmrecruitment. As a result, according to Ibrahim, they failed to differentiate the “good guys” from the “badguys” in MCP eyes. On this point Ibrahim had written:

A few people who were instructed by the colonial authorities to join the MCP were
promised benefits from the very beginning. In short, they would be amply rewarded
if they carried out tasks assigned to them. These included persuading MCP cadres to
flee the camp for promised rewards, poisoning senior leaders and important cadres,
and shooting cadres who were active in the movement. In addition, these infiltrators
would also encourage the older members to engage in illicit affairs with them, with
the aim of enlisting these older members’ support. In the end, husbands would allow
their wives to have illicit affairs and, likewise, would indulge in such relationships
with other female cadres. (Ibrahim Chik, 2004, p. 139)

Ibrahim claims that in these matters, women were manipulated as tools of sabotage against the MCP. They were sent by enemies of the party to create havoc from within the MCP and its related organisations through distraction tactics. Their objective was to ensure that the party management became engrossed in dealing with such matters as illicit love affairs to the detriment of focus on political struggles and ideology (Ibrahim Chik, 2004, p. 202).

Women Spies In The Camp

MCP members also claimed that the enemy (Thai government forces) had used women to poison their leaders. As most of the female comrades were given kitchen tasks, this group of enemy women had been targeted to undertake such tasks through the offer of money and other inducements, and they had opportunity to insert the poison into the food in the course of its preparation. There were many cases of sabotage by poisoning highlighted in the memoirs of MCP leaders. Ibrahim, for instance, had claimed he had been was poisoned twice: the first time in 1952, and the second in 1962. On the latter occasion, he had been on his way from Bannag Setar to Weng (Narathiwat) when a female cook gave him a mug of coffee and a biscuit (Ibrahim Chik, 2004, pp. 140-142). In the 1970s, Abdullah, similarly, had experienced sabotage through poisoning which left him terribly sick and feeble while his wife Suriani (who had also been poisoned, but was still healthy enough to work) had to take over his duties in the 10th Regiment (Rashid Maidin, 2005, pp. 83–84). Each of these incidents coincided with the recruitment of locals (mostly from southern Thailand) as new MCP members.

The issue of spies (including women spies) infiltrating the MCP caused considerable chaos among party members. In 1968, the 12th Regiment devised a plan to capture these spies, which saw 35 members massacred, 200 others “exposed and criticised” and another 70 sacked from the party. Orchestrating this mission were a few leading figures of the North Malaya Bureau at the 2nd District headquarters under the leadership of a female leader by the name of Ah Yen. As a result, a few suspected “backstabbers” were arrested. Ah Yen admitted violence was used to get the truth from those arrested. In some instances, suspects were tortured and even killed. Ah Yen agreed that the cleansing drive was not an easy task because the spies knew how to hide behind pretences. Ah Yen recalled that girls were also brought in for questioning. She recounted the story of two girls — one aged 16 and the other 20 — who had been brought in on suspicion of their being spies:

They waited for their turn to be tried by us. At the time, the rain was very heavy.
We had to bring them into a room just like an underground meeting room.
The condition of that room was poor but suitable for the undertaking of a trial.
The room looked more like a prison. They were blindfolded, cotton was stuffed
in their ears and their mouths were sealed with towels. Their hands were tied
behind their backs. Their legs were chained with iron shackles. They were not
given any food or water. They were not allowed to go to the bathroom. Their
pants were wet with urine and excreta.³⁶

Both girls were terrified to the core. Ah Yen discovered that the Thai government had sent them, as the government knew that there was a female leader (Ah Yen) at the MCP headquarters. However, Ah Yen managed to expose the enemy’s simple strategy: when female leaders were absent from their quarters, the spies — who had access to the leaders’ rooms — would search these rooms for valuable information and party secrets.

The efforts to expose and punish the spies in the 12th Regiment had created a very awkward situation among both the male and female combatants. After the alleged spies were apprehended, senior officers would hold meetings to announce the names of suspects. Women cadres reported that they were very scared whenever they came to know of impending visits by regimental representatives to their camp. It is probable that the climate created by this situation was related to the changed nature of camp life over the years. After a while, new recruits and women cadres who had previously been active as combatants were no longer as dynamic, which resulted in a stressful and gloomy camp life.

The drive to “capture spies” in the 12th Regiment in 1968 created cracks in the MCP because some party leaders claimed that many combatants had become victims of unproven accusations. After the series of spy arrests had ended in the 12th regiment, a similar drive was targeted at the 8th Regiment. In February 1969, Ah Yen visited the 8th Regiment, which was located far away from the central camp. There, she then read out the official report on the spy operation that had been conducted in the 12th Regiment.

After Ah Yen’s visit, between January and February 1970, the 8th Regiment was inundated with telegrams from the central camp, requesting that the 8th Regiment conduct internal operations against spies. After much pressure, the 8th Regiment relented, even though there were unhappy voices from regimental leaders with regards to the anti-spy drive. The 8th Regiment leaders going against the central camp led them to be labelled as traitors, although, to be fair, one also has to look at the increasing split into factions that had been taking place within the MCP since the 1960s. In the end the campaign split the MCP into three factions — the MCP central faction (the old MCP), the 12th Regiment breakaway faction, and the Marxist- Leninist and the MCP Revolutionary Faction (formerly the 8th Regiment).

Conclusion

The intrusion of women into war, which is largely a male-dominated domain, is often seen as a threat to masculine politics. As guerrillas, women fought the same war and endured similar hardships during unfavourable times. War might have broken certain gender boundaries between men and women, as both had to fight together for survival and victory. But in actuality, female comrades never really detached themselves from the essentiality of being women, even for those in the combat units. In the confined world within the hostile jungle, women still maintained their own individuality and kept to the domain of the female. They still wanted to be in love and to be loved. They were never totally bereft of the sadness of being detached from motherhood — be it in the forms of being disallowed to raise children in the camps, separated from their families or divorced — or the feeling of missing out on the “outside world”, which led many to escape. All these factors were part and parcel of the camp life of female guerrillas, although the MCP leaders and some scholars have taken much effort to project only their heroism.

The author wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Dr Cheah Boon Kheng, Honorary Editor, Journal of the Malaysian of the Royal Asiatic Society (JMBRAS), in reviewing the paper.