Darurat atau “Perang Kolonial” 1948 di Tanah Melayu: Satu Perbahasan Berdasarkan Beberapa Aliran Pemikiran dan Perspektif (Emergency or “Colonial War” 1948 in Malaya: A Debate Based on Several Schools of Thought and Perspectives)

Abstract

This study examines the various interpretations by historians about the major factors that led to the declaration of emergency by the British in Malaya in 1948. The main purpose of this study is to analyse why there is disagreement among historians about the factors that led to the emergency and what are the weaknesses of every view expressed. In this study, the main sources that explain the views of historians will be examined. Historians discussing the 1948 Emergency are generally divided into several schools of thought: Orthodox, Revisionist, Neo-Orthodox and Post-Revisionist. The Orthodox view explains that the emergency was declared by the British in reaction to communist terrorism and the existence of an armed rebellion plan by the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) to bring down British rule. However, recent criticisms have arisen on the Orthodox approach which is considered to be over-dependent on official reports by the British intelligence and administration. With the latest evidence available through records released by the British National Archives beginning in the late 1990s, an alternative view emerged that began to question whether the declaration of emergency in 1948 was due to MCP rebellion or more driven by other purposes related to the interest of maintaining British colonialism in Malaya. Some Revisionist and Post-Revisionist historians claim the 1948 Emergency is a form of “colonial war” that was created as part of the British conspiracy to curb the threat of nationalist movement deliberately accused by the British as infiltrated by communist elements.