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Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA)

The Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) was a group of resistance fighters in Malaya, groomed to fight against Japanese-occupied Malaya. However, the communist-led fighters turned against the British after World War 2. This led to the Malayan Emergency, a protracted war against communist guerrillas lasting until the 1950s.

Formation
In May 1941 the British established the headquarters of Oriental Mission in Singapore to plan and operate subversive activities in enemy held territories. The Chinese communists were one of the groups trained for such operations. Just before the fall of Singapore the communists members were advised to move into the jungle. From their jungle camps they harassed the Japanese Army as they awaited the return of the British. Survivors of the European "left-behind parties" were later found together with the communists. Remnants of Dalforce(the Overseas Chinese Volunteer Army) also joined the group. By 1943, the resistance movement was known as the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA).

The MPAJA had eight battalions with some 13,000 men in the jungles of the Malayan States. It had waged a guerrilla was against the Japanese Army in Malaya. About 3 months after their landing at Segari, Perak in May 1943, Force 136 made contact with the MPAJA. In December 1943 a treaty was signed between the British and MPAJA. Members of MPAJA were given military training and supplies and would serve under Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten's Southeast Asia Command. After February 1945 more Force 136 groups were parachuted into Malaya to prepare for the Allied attack on Malaya. The resistance forces were also readied but the war came to an abrupt end when Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies on 15 August 1945. This news was not announced in Singapore until the 21 August 1945.

Post-war History
After the Japanese surrendered, the MPAJA came out of the jungles. It split with Force 136 and under the leadership of the Malayan Communist Party entered towns to fight for political power. Its political aim was to seek independence from British rule and established a "Malayan people's government".

Colonel John Davies negotiated with the representative of the Malayan Communist Party, Chin Peng, to demobilise the MPAJA. After 2 months of protracted negotiations, they accepted a compromise to disarm the MPAJA. With a name list supplied by the Malayan Communist Party, each MPAJA fighter was paid S$350 as demobilisation allowance upon the surrender of his weapon. On 1 December 1945 the MPAJA fighters surrendered their weapons and the MPAJA was disbanded. On 6 January 1946, at a victory parade by the Padang in front of the Municipal Building (now known as City Hall), Chin Peng, the MPAJA leader, received British campaign medals from Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, Commander-in-Chief, Southeast Asia Command.

In May 1948, the majority of leading communists left Singapore for the Federation of Malaya and the former Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army was recruited to fight against British rule. Acts of violence led to a declaration of a state of Emergency in the Federation of Malaya and later in Singapore. The Malayan Emergency, an undeclared war against the MPAJA, the armed organisation of the Malayan Communist Party, lasted 12 years.



Author
Wong Heng



References 
Foong C. H. (Ed.). (1997). The price of peace: True accounts of the Japanese occupation (pp.278, 285-286). Singapore: Asiapac.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 PRI)

Tan, B. L. (1996). The Japanese Ocupation 1942-1945: A pictorial record of Singapore during the war (pp. 164-171, 181-182). Singapore: Times Edition.
(Call no.: RSING 940.5425 TAN)

Tan, C. T. (1995). Force 136: Story of a WWII resistance fighter (pp. 310-318). Singapore: Asiapac Books.
(Call no.:RSING 940.54865951 TAN)

Turnbull, C. M. (1989). A history of Singapore, 1819 -1988 (2nd ed., pp. 191, 223, 233). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING q959.57 TUR) 

Ward, I. (1992). The Killer they called a god (pp. 219-220). Singapore: Media Masters.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57023 WAR)

The information in this article is valid as at 2002 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Events>>Historical Periods>>World War II and Japanese Occupation (1939-1945)
Guerrillas--Singapore
Singapore--History--Japanese occupation, 1942-1945
Anti-imperialist movements--Singapore
Malaya--History--Malayan Emergency, 1948-1960
History>>Asia>>Southeast Asia>>Singapore

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