The Special Operations Executive in Malaya: World War II and the Path to Independence

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Description

During World War II, agents of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) infiltrated Japanese-occupied Malaya. There they worked with Malayan guerrilla groups, including the communist-sponsored Malayan Peoples Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA), regarded as the precursor of the communist insurgent army of the Malayan Emergency. This book traces the development of SOEs Malayan operations, and analyses the interactions between SOE and the various guerrilla groups. It explores the reasons for and the extent of Malay disillusionment with Japanese rule, and demonstrates how guerrilla service acted as a training ground for some later Malay leaders of the independent nation. However, the reports written about the MPAJA by SOE operatives just after the war failed to draw out the likely future threat posed by the communists to the returning colonial administration. Rebecca Kenneison shows that the British possessed a wealth of local information, but failed to convert it into active intelligence in the period prior to the Malayan Emergency. In doing so she provides new insights into the impact of SOE on Malayan politics, the nature of Malayan communisms challenge to colonial rule, and British post-war intelligence in Malaya.

Reviews

Kenneisons book represents an important and welcome contribution to the history of wartime and post-war Malaya [It] should be required reading for any student of wartime Malaya or the Malayan Emergency. * Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society *
[A] timely and vital addition Based on her meticulous archival research, Kenneison presents a nuanced understanding of the Special Operations Executives operations and the intricate relationships among the local resistance forces that the agency supported Overall, this is a well-written book with solid archival research, accessible language, and fascinating details. * Journal of British Studies *

Author Bio

Rebecca Kenneison is Associate Fellow in History at the University of Essex. She holds a PhD from the University of Essex and is the author of Playing for Malaya: A Eurasian Family in the Pacific War (2012).