THE first rays of the morning sun are just starting to pierce the slowly brightening sky as my car traces the deserted road that meanders towards the Khao Nam Khang National Park. Occasionally the road forks but the friendly locals more than make up for the lack of road signs. Their faces light up at the mere mention of my intended destination and they immediately point towards the correct roads to take at the junctions.
After some time, the distant verdant hills that mark the Malaysia-Thailand border come into view. The sight of the dense and isolated jungle that covers the landscape as far as the eye can see brings me back to the middle of the 1950s, when a slew of government initiatives brought on a string of significant losses for the Malayan Communist Party (MCP). With the tide turning against his favour, communist leader Chin Peng gave the signal for his followers to move north and continue their struggle from there.
Exiled, the fleeing bandits initially set up ground level base camps deep in the jungles along the border area. About a decade later, they began digging extensive tunnel networks in secure and isolated areas, which would serve primarily as bomb shelters against artillery fire brought on the Malayan and Thai security forces.
LONGEST AND LARGEST MAN-MADE TUNNEL
Apart from the mountainous Khao Nam Khang region, which is about 26 kilometres from the Sadao District Office, the other place with known communist-built underground hideouts in Thailand are the Piyamit Tunnels in Betong. With a network that extends more than a kilometre through three separate corridors and levels, the former communist hideout in Khao Nam Khang is home to the largest and longest man-made tunnel in Thailand.
After a two-hour drive from Hat Yai, I finally arrive at the Khao Nam Khang Historical Tunnel. The serene atmosphere belies its tragic past told through a comprehensive introductory feature film screened at a spacious air-conditioned theatrette.
The narration begins with the dissolution of the South Seas Communist Party and formation of the MCP on April 1930. Apart from Malaya, the party was also active in Thailand and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), which didn’t have their own communist parties at that time.
During those early years, the MCP gained most of its influence through the trade union movement where organised strikes, like the one in the Batu Arang coal mine in 1935, nearly brought the local economy to a standstill. Despite being under the watchful eyes of the British, the MCP continued to attract supporters, especially after the Japanese invasion of China in 1937. By mid-1939, the party claimed to have about 40,000 members, about half of them in Singapore.
BRITISH CO-OPERATION
The situation began to change when Malaya was invaded by the Japanese on Dec 8, 1941. In need of as much assistance as possible to counter the onslaught, the British authorities began cooperating with the MCP. Their military cooperation before the total collapse of the British defences included the release of all left-wing political prisoners and the provision for guerrilla warfare training.
Just before the fall of Singapore on Feb 15, 1942, the MCP began organising its members into armed resistance regiments called Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA), which sabotaged and ambushed enemy installations and convoys.
The Japanese responded with reprisals against Chinese civilians who subsequently fled their homes in urban areas and became squatters along jungle fringes. These displaced people looked to the MPAJA as their protector and willingly became their primary source of recruits, food and other forms of assistance.
In order to curtail the MPAJA, the Japanese launched a dawn raid on a secret MCP and MPAJA conference in Batu Caves and murdered most of the high ranking officials. The massive leadership loss forced the MPAJA to abandon its political commissar system. Military commanders, who were made regiment heads, embarked on a massive recruitment drive. By early 1943, 4,500 armed personnel were amassed.
This significant force made contact with British commandos from Force 136 and began receiving guerrilla warfare training as well as significant amounts of air-dropped weapons, ammunitions and supplies from the Allied South East Asia Command (SEAC).
POWER VACUUM
Japan’s unexpected surrender on Aug 15, 1945 created a power vacuum that was filled by the MPAJA. Until the return of the British three weeks later, the communists emerged from the jungle, seized large caches of abandoned Japanese arms and embarked on a massive recruitment drive that lifted their strength to more than 6,000 members.
Realising their superior military strength, many in the MPAJA advocated revolution but were talked down by the leadership headed by triple agent, Lai Teck. That decision would go down as a major missed opportunity for the communists to take full control of Malaya.
The formation of the British Military Administration (BMA) a month later saw the disbandment of nearly 7,000 MPAJA members. Giving in to rumours, the MCP leadership launched an investigation into Lai Teck’s treachery in March 1947, but he eluded capture and fled Malaya with party funds.
Chin Peng, a senior MPAJA 5th Regiment Perak officer who was the principal liaison with Force 136 during the Second World War, was chosen as the new Secretary General. He’d always harboured hope to free Malaya from colonial rule. Under his leadership, MCP’s stance became resolutely anti-British.
MALAYAN EMERGENCY
Amid a rising atmosphere of tension, the Malayan government outlawed the burgeoning trade union federations on June 12, 1948. Four days later, the Malayan Emergency was declared when three European planters were murdered by the communists in Perak. Thus began a 12-year period of terror and intimidation, including assassination, of the local population. The MCP’s civilian organisation, Min Yuen, was tasked with the collection of supplies, money and information.
In July 1955, Tunku Abdul Rahman and his Alliance Party won Malaya’s first general elections. One of his first acts as Chief Minister was to declare a partial amnesty to MCP members. The move was largely unsuccessful as only 73 surrendered by the time pardon ended on Feb 8, 1956.
During that time, Tunku responded positively to Chin Peng’s plea to negotiate for peace. The two sides met in Baling, Kedah for two days starting from Dec 28, 1955. Talks broke down when Chin Peng wanted legal recognition of the MCP while Tunku insisted on the opposite, which was the total dissolution of the party.
Chin Peng and his comrades subsequently returned to their camps at the Malaya-Thailand border. From there, they witnessed the end of colonial rule when Malaya achieved independence on Aug 31, 1957. Restrictions were lifted in all areas throughout the country except those surrounding the Malaya-Thailand border when the Emergency was officially ended on July 31, 1960.
HISTORICAL MUSEUM
The intriguing story of the communist insurgency continues when visitors proceed to the historical museum which is adjacent to the theatrette. Displayed are various items used by the communists in the past. Among them are khaki or jungle green uniforms complete with matching coloured caps with three red stars, signifying the three main races of Malaya. By the mid-1960s it was estimated that there were about 2,000 MCP members on both sides of the border.
Just before entering the tunnels, I pass by an open area filled with several well-camouflaged buildings designed to prevent aerial detection. The presence of a basketball court, wedding chamber and large communal dining hall show that the MCP members made an attempt to lead as much of a normal life as possible in their isolated jungle hideout.
It must have very hard for the people here in the past as attacks from the security forces could come at any moment. Standing under the shade of a tall tree, I can imagine the communists scurrying towards the nearest tunnel entrance for safety each time the alarm was raised.
There were only three entrances when the tunnel was first built in the early 1970s. Over the years more were added until the final tally became 16. Once inside, the vast underground network appears to be an absolute maze. As such, visitors are recommended to follow the colour-coded arrows on the walls to systematically visit all the chambers that have been manually carved into the mountain.
INSIDE THE TUNNEL
The telegram and radio communication room is interesting as it reminds me of the radio station launched by Chin Peng in 1969. Called Suara Revolusi Malaya (Voice of the Malayan Revolution), it allowed MCP leaders to maintain contact with the jungle bases and keep the insurgents updated on the latest development concerning their struggle.
The radio station also played a key role in helping the MCP step up the intensity of its armed struggle during the height of the Vietnam War and Chinese Cultural Revolution during the early 1970s. It was also around this time when the jungle bases in Malaysia-Thailand border were convulsed by the trials and executions of alleged traitors and spies. The purge eventually led to the formation of two breakaway factions.
After exiting the tunnel, I stop by at a memorial set up for the fallen MCP members who used to call this place home. A rather tall and well-built man who’s sweeping leaf litter on the ground notices my presence and approaches. We strike up a conversation and I duly learn that he’s called Leong Yee Sing and used to be a member of one of the breakaway communist factions.
CAT AND MOUSE GAME
Speaking in fluent Malay, Leong shares that the restoration of the Khao Nam Khang Historical Tunnel was his brainchild.
“I came to this place in the 1970s and experienced the hardship faced by my fellow comrades at that time. This place now serves as a reminder of those days when we played the cat and mouse game with the Malaysian and Thai security forces,” he says, before pulling down his right collar to reveal a scar caused by a gunshot wound sustained more than four decades ago.
Realising the futility of his struggle, Leong joined a contingent of 400 men and women who walked out of the jungle and surrendered to the Thai security forces on March 19, 1987. The ex-MCP members were then given a choice to either remain in Thailand or return home to Malaysia. After much deliberation, Leong and many of his comrades chose to become Thai citizens.
While feeling eternally grateful to the Thai government for giving him a place to belong, Leong is quick to point out that his love for Malaysia has never waned. “There’s no one in this world who doesn’t love the country where he or she was born. I have a valid Thai passport and make regular trips to visit my loved ones in Malaysia,” he confides.
END OF MCP
As more MCP members surrendered, the party was left with no alternative but to negotiate for peace. A series of meetings ensued, culminating with the signing of the Hat Yai Peace Agreement on Dec 2, 1989. With that, the MCP disbanded its armed units, ceased militant activity, destroyed its weapons and pledged loyalty to Malaysia’s supreme head of state, the Yang diPertuan Agong.
While adapting to his new life in southern Thailand, Leong started work on the abandoned Khao Nam Khang tunnel. He lovingly restored the site and opened it to the general public as a tourist attraction on March 22, 1997.
As he bids me farewell, Leong grips my right hand and whispers, a hint of sadness in his voice: “Let bygones be bygones. There’s no more hate and no more guns. For now, I only wish for everlasting peace for everyone.”
I walk away with heaviness in my heart when it dawns upon me the supreme impact of ideological beliefs and their influence on the lives of the followers as well as those of their loved ones.