Book Abstract:

The Malayan Communist Party’s (MCP) decisive defeat in 1960 led many academics and Counterinsurgency (COIN) experts to overlook the resurrection of its armed struggle in 1968. Most scholars continue to regard the so-called ‘Second Emergency’ in Malaysia (1968-1989) as a non-event, and most of the recently published work on the MCP tends to focus on the earlier Malayan Emergency (1948-1960). This book looks at the Second Emergency through recently released archival material from the National Archives in London, the National Australian Archives and the Australian War Memorial, as well as interviews with military and diplomatic officers from the UK and Thailand. It presents the first serious strategic and operational study of the Second Emergency, and analyses three areas of historical significance: the CPM’s strategy for armed struggle in the Second Emergency; the actual effectiveness of the CPM’s subversive propaganda on its target population and most importantly; the counterinsurgency (COIN) response and strategy of the Malaysian state and to a lesser extent the counter-subversion strategy of Singapore in the post-colonial era.

About the Author:

ONG WEICHONG is an Assistant Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. He is attached to the Military Studies Programme at the school’s constituent unit, the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS). He is coordinator of the Asia Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO), a summer programme for senior military officers (OF-5 to OF-6) from the Asia Pacific region and beyond. He is also Course Director of the Campaign and War Studies (CWS) and Operations Other than War (OOTW) modules at the Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College (GKS CSC), Singapore. He has also taught at the advanced school and officer cadet school levels at SAFTI Military Institute, Singapore. In national service, Weichong is a Functional Specialist Support Staff Officer (Army) with the Singapore Armed Forces. In addition, he was an Affiliated Researcher with the Department of Leadership and Management, Swedish National Defence College (2010-2012) and a Guest Professor at the Ecole Navale, France (2013-2014). Weichong completed his doctoral studies with the Centre for the Study of War, State and Society, University of Exeter, UK in 2010 where he was a recipient of research grants from the University of Exeter and the Royal Historical Society. Weichong’s articles, commentaries and op-eds have been published in the journal and magazine of the Singapore Armed Forces (Pointer and Pioneer); RUSI Journal; Armed Forces and Society; Defence Studies; Australian Defence Force Journal; Straits Times; Today; Lianhe Zaobao; Berita Harian; Defense News; Khaleej Times; RSIS Commentary Series; Canadian Naval Review; and Diplomatie.

About the Speakers and Moderator:

ONG KENG YONG is Executive Deputy Chairman of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.  He was High Commissioner of Singapore to Malaysia from 2011 to 2014.  He was previously Ambassador-At-Large in the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to Iran. From 2008 to 2011, he served as Director of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.  He was Secretary-General of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) from January 2003 to January 2008. Mr Ong started his diplomatic career in 1979 and was posted to the Singapore Embassies in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and the United States of America. He was Singapore’s Ambassador to India and Nepal from 1996 to 1998. From September 1998 to December 2002, he was Press Secretary to the then Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Goh Chok Tong. At the same time, Mr Ong held senior appointments in the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, and the People’s Association in Singapore. Mr Ong graduated from the then University of Singapore with a LLB (Hons) and the Georgetown University (Washington DC, USA) with a MA in Arab Studies.

KUMAR RAMAKRISHNA is Associate Professor and Head of the Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore. He obtained a First Class (Honors) in Political Science from the National University of Singapore in 1989 and a Masters in Defence Studies from the University of New South Wales in 1992. He secured his PhD in History from Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London, in 1999. His current research interests include British propaganda in the Malayan Emergency; propaganda theory and practice; history of strategic thought; and counter-terrorism with a focus on radicalization. 
Ramakrishna has been a frequent speaker on counter-terrorism before local and international audiences, a regular media commentator on the issue and published in numerous internationally refereed journals. His book, Radical Pathways: Understanding Muslim Radicalization in Indonesia (Praeger Security International, 2009), was featured as one of the top 150 books on terrorism and counterterrorism in an article published in Perspectives of Terrorism, Vol 6 No 2 (2012). Ramakrishna was said to be “one of Southeast Asia’s leading counterterrorism experts” and Radical Pathways “an important and insightful case study on the pathways to extremism and violent jihad in Indonesia”.

SHASHI JAYAKUMAR has assumed the appointment as Senior Fellow and Deputy Head, Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS) on 1 Aug 2014.  Dr Jayakumar was educated at Oxford University where he studied History (BA 1997, D.Phil, 2001). He has published in various peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes on topics relating to medieval history (the focus of his doctorate). He has been a member of the Singapore Administrative Service since 2002. During this time, he was posted to various Ministries, including the Ministries of Defence, Manpower, Information and the Arts, and Community Development, Youth and Sports. He was from August 2011-July 2014 a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. The main focus of his research and writing there has been local society and politics. He is currently working on two book projects relating to local politics (forthcoming, 2015). His other interests include extremism, social resilience, and homeland defence.

PASCAL VENNESSON is Professor of Political Science at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. His research and teaching lie at the intersection of the fields of international relations and strategic studies. Before joining RSIS, he held the Chair “Security in Europe”, at the European University Institute, Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies. He also taught “Strategy and Policy” for ten years at The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)-Bologna Center and at the College of Europe. He is the author, co-author and editor of five books and his refereed articles have been notably published in Armed Forces and Society, International Relations, Journal of Strategic Studies, Review of International Studies, Revue Française de Science Politique (French Political Science Review) and Security Studies (forthcoming). He is a member of the editorial boards of Revue Française de Science Politique (French Political Science Review), Security Studies and Armed Forces and Society. Professor Vennesson was a fellow at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Arms Control, at Ohio State University’s Mershon Center and a Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Center for Scientific Research) fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government. He received his MA from the University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and his Ph.D. from Sciences-Po Paris.