Malaysia's Experience in War Against Communist Insurgency and Its Relevance to the Present Situation in Iraq

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the British Administrations and, later, the Malaysian Governments strategies in fighting the Malayan Communist Party MCP. The British spent almost 12 years fighting the communist insurgency, and later the Malaysian Government needed another 29 years to bring the Malayan Communist Party to agree to lay down their arms. The Briggs Plan had a significant impact on the suppression of the communist insurgency at the initial stages. However, it is important to understand that the governments long-term strategy, which focused on security and development, is what finally defeated the insurgency movement in Malaysia. This paper focuses on the 41 years of Malaysian experiences and compares them with the situation in Iraq today. Even though the situation in Malaya was comparatively different in terms of the aims of the insurgents, the reasons for the insurgency, and the category of persons involved, one can learn from the dissimilarities between Malaya and Iraq to gain a better understanding of how war against insurgents should be fought.