Working notes on the Malaysian Left

This note is an attempt to trace the change and continuity of leftist political policies, and to analyse why the Left generally, especially the Malay Left, has not been successful in Malaysian politics. It questions why the Malaysian Left was stafter the Second World War but slowly dissipated until it is almost crippled now. Other than examining the formation and the roles of the Malaysian Left and their struggles for independence, this note also sorts out the factors of the unsuccessful struggles to get wide Malay support for the Malay-dominated Malay Nationalist Party of Malaya (PKMM) and the Chinese-dominated Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).Keywords: Malaysian LeftMalay LeftMalay Nationalist Party of Malaya (Partai Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya, PKMM)Communist Party of Malaya (CPM)Socialist Front AcknowledgementThese notes were presented in a post-graduate Seminar at Cambridge University in 2006, under the chairmanship of Dr. Tim Harper. They were part of my research on the Malay Left, which was carried out when I was British Academy Visiting Professor at that University. Certain aspects of this research have been published in my Political Memoir, and have formed the basis of my presentation as a roundtable panellist at the Revisiting Malaya conference in 2014.Additional informationAuthor's biographySyed Husin Ali is a prominent politician, academic and social activist. Formerly a Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology in the University of Malaya, Syed Husin was detained under the ISA for six years (1974–80) without trial following the demonstration by peasants in Baling and students in Kuala Lumpur. He is currently a member of the Political Bureau of, and a Senator for, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's Justice Party), representing the state of Selangor. Among the books written by Syed Husin Ali are: Social Stratification in Kampung Bagan (JMBRAS); Malay Rural Society and Leadership (Oxford University Press); The Malays: Their Problems and Future (Heinemann); Poverty and Landlessness in Kelantan (Breitenbach); Ethnicity, Class and Development (MSSA); Two Faces: Detention Without Trial (SIRD), which was translated into Chinese; Syed Husin Ali: Memoirs of a Political Struggle (SIRD); The Malay Rulers (2013), and Ethnic Relations in Malaysia: Harmony and Conflict (2014)

Communism · Independence (probability theory · Left-wing politics · Malay · Media studies · Memoir · Nationalism · New Left · Political science · Politics · Socialism · Sociology · Asian Studies and History · Gender Studies · Law

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