Red Star Over Malaya: Resistance and Social Conflict During and After the Japanese Occupation, 1941-1946 (3rd Edition)

Cheah Boon Kheng

An account of the inter-racial conflicts between Malays and Chinese durign the final stages of the Japanese Occupation and the social unrest and breakdown of law and order that followed the Japanese surrender. As Japanese forces retreated into the big cities, the Chinese guerillas of teh communist-led resistance movement, the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA), emerged from the jungle and took control of some 70% of the country's smaller towns and villages. The ensuing conflict involving the Malayan communist Party, the Malay population and the British Military Administration marked a crucial stage in the history of nation building in Malaya.

Based on extensive archival research in Malaysia, Great Britain, Japan and the United States, Red Star Over Malaya provides a riveting account of the way the Japanese Occupation reshaped colonial Malaya, and of the tension-filled months that followed. The book is fundamental to an understanding of social and political developments in Malaysia during the second half of the 20th century, and also provides important insights into Japan's activities in the Southeast Asian region, the situation of the overseas Chinese, and the rise of communism.

First published in 1987, this book is a 'must' for any student of history in Southeast Asia. This edition contains a new foreword from the author.

Cheah Boon Kheng recently retired as Professor of History at the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang. He has written extensively on Malaysian social and political history.

«Red Star Over Malaya is a very good book and an important contribution to Malaysian historical scholarship. The author has handled a difficult and unpleasant subject with tact and skill. The book deserves to be read by all serious students of Malaysia.»
J. Norman Parmer, Pacific Affairs

«This book is invaluable.»
Yoji Akashi, Ajia Keizai

CHEAH Boon Kheng is one of Malaysia's leading historians. 

publication year: 2003
366 pages
ISBN: 978-9971-69-274-2  Paperback  US$19.00  S$28.00

This title is currently out-of-print