Sitting in coffee house in Chinatown in singapore I had a wonderful discussion with a former Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army insurgent who later became a police official via being a 'Communist Insurgent'. It turns out that the British told many of the members of the MPAJA that if they joined that after the war, when the British returned they would get five acres of land, a hut and a few pigs. He decided he didn't really like being an insurgent and handed himself in as many did during one of the many amnestys was declared. Perhaps even the first one.

Many were Chinese born, or first generation Straits Chinese, so had family in China and hated the Japanese. After the war they went and asked for ther 'pay' for fighting the Japanese. The Colonial Administration said that was not possible so after fruitless negotiations that dragged on for two years many took up arms again 'to fight for their rights' and not as Communist sympathisers. Funnily enough the British later offered a deal where if they handed in their weapon, and swore allegiance to the government, they were rewarded with five acres of land, a hut and a few pugs.

If the British had given the Chinese ex-MPAJA what had been promised to them in the frist place, the Emergency may never had happened. Many years later (1984) in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia my wife and I picked up a farmer who was returning home from the fields loaded down with vegetables. The Cameron Hilighland still had 'black areas' where ex-Communist Terrorists farmed the land as per the agreement. he was one of them although I did not know this at the time. My wife, who speaks fluent Hokkien, had a great chat with him.

Off the subject the farmers grew fantastic pontiac potatoes and I still remember the fried chips (steak fries to you Yanks) my wife made from them. We are still together - never lose a good cook as a wife and Asian wives, like good wine, get better with age.