Emergency Propaganda

The Winning of Malayan Hearts and Minds 1948-1958

Kumar Ramakrishna

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Hardback

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English

Routledge
14 December 2001

Asian history; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000; Social & cultural history; Propaganda

Despite the existence of numerous analyses of the eventual British success in the Malayan Emergency, the contribution of propaganda to the defeat of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) has never been exhaustively scrutinized. This book fills the gap in the literature and sheds new light on the hitherto neglected years of the Emergency - 1955 to 1958 - demonstrating how British propaganda decisively ended the shooting war in December 1958. Essentially, the study breaks new ground by arguing for a concept of 'propaganda' that

embraces not merely 'words' in the form of film, radio and leaflets but also 'deeds' such as the behaviour of Government representatives and certain official policies. It argues that for propaganda to be effective, the message transmitted by the propagandist's words must be congruent with that suggested by his actual deeds. Accordingly, the study shows that

the MCP lost the support of the strategic rural Chinese community precisely because the Party's penchant for indiscriminate terror, especially in the early years, did not square with its rhetoric. In contrast, it was the British, from 1952

onwards, who recognised that their deeds had to confirm what their leaflets and films were saying to the rural Chinese. Subsequently, they were able to gradually secure the confidence of the community, and ultimately, as the successful

Merdeka Amnesty of 1957/58 showed, even of the terrorists, whose mass surrenders in 1958 all but ended the war. Scholars and students of war studies and of imperial history will find the work of considerable interest.

By: Kumar Ramakrishna
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 19mm
Weight: 760g
ISBN: 9780700715107
ISBN 10: 070071510X
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 14 December 2001
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational , Primary , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Kumar Ramakrishna is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Reviews for Emergency Propaganda: The Winning of Malayan Hearts and Minds 1948-1958

'Kumar is able - in an outstandingly well-researched, well-argued and well-structured book - to offer a persuasive critique of the conventional perspective ... the book is required reading for historians of Malaya and for those whose task is to counter insurgents, guerillas and terrorists.' - The International History Review 'This painstakingly researched study of propoganda in the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960) should be of interest to historians of insurgency in general as well as of propoganda. It is admirable not only for its range, and its richly textured use of sources, but also for its conceptualisation of propoganda.' - Southeast Asian Studies