A history of the Tenth Regiment’s struggles
MOHAMED SALLEH Lamry (Translated by ISRIZAL Mohamed Isa)
ABSTRACT The Tenth Regiment, a distinctly all-Malay regiment of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), was formed in Temerloh, Pahang, and it was Pahang which became its initial site of struggle. Although its key leaders such as Abdullah C.D., Rashid Maidin, Suriani Abdullah and others were not originally from Pahang, the majority among the original rank and file were sons and daughters of Pahang. By this account, there must surely be characteristics specific to the Temerloh district and Pahang which contributed to the birth of the Tenth Regiment, the establishment of its base, and its early struggle against the British in the said state. Moreover, two significant and related events preceded and precipitated the formation of the Tenth Regiment: the historic gathering at the All-Malaya School Camp at Temerloh and the emergence of a people’s militia or peasant’s front. Thus, these three subjects will be examined first under the header “Early beginnings” before we proceed to the account of the Tenth Regiment’s struggle in greater detail. Subsequently, the history the Tenth Regiment’s liberation struggle will be expounded upon the following topics: (1) the birth of the Tenth Regiment, (2) its struggle in Pahang, (3) its struggle in Southern Thailand, and (4) the end of the struggle.
Keywords: The Tenth Regiment, Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), Termerloh, Abdullah C.D., Rashid Maidin
Author’s biography
Born in 1942 in Kuala Selangor, Dr. Mohd Salleh earned his PhD in Anthropology in 1989 from Universiti of Malaya. He was Associate Professor and Visiting Professor of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University Kebangsaan Malaysia. His research areas are the history of Malay leftist movements and Malay communists, with special focus on the tenth regiment in the Malayan National Liberation Army. His main publications are Figure and Movement of the Left: Kamarulzaman Teh’s Struggle in the Fight for Independence (2006), Malay Left Movement in the Struggle for Independence (2006), Memoir of Mohamed Salleh Lamry: The Last Malay Teacher (2009) and An Biography of Ishak Shari: An Activist of All Mankind (2014).
Translator’s biography
Isrizal Mohamed Isa is a political/human rights activist and a bookseller based in Singapore. He has a deep binding interest in South East Asia social and political history. He is currently compiling a biographical history of the Nusantaran contributions to the social and political milieu in 20th century Singapore.