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| ] New Village in ]]] | ] New Village in ]]] | ||
| '''New villages''' ({{zh|c=新村|p=xīn cūn}}; {{lang-ms|Kampung baru}}), also known as '''Chinese new villages''' ({{zh|c=华人新村|p=huá rén xīn cūn}}), were ] created during the waning days of ] ] in ]. These camps were originally created as part of the ], first implemented in 1950 to isolate guerillas from potential communist sympathisers and their supporters within the rural civilian populations during the ]. Most were surrounded by barbed wire and watchtowers to stop people from escaping, with guards being ordered to kill anyone who attempted to leave outside of curfew hours.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History|last=Peng|first=Chin|last2=Ward|first2=Ian|last3=Miralor|first3=Norma|publisher=Media Masters|year=2003|isbn=981-04-8693-6|location=Singapore|pages=268}}</ref> | '''New villages''' ({{zh|c=新村|p=xīn cūn}}; {{lang-ms|Kampung baru}}), also known as '''Chinese new villages''' ({{zh|c=华人新村|p=huá rén xīn cūn}}), were ] created during the waning days of ] ] in ]. These camps were originally created as part of the ], first implemented in 1950 to isolate guerillas from potential communist sympathisers and their supporters within the rural civilian populations during the ]. Most were surrounded by barbed wire and watchtowers to stop people from escaping, with guards being ordered to kill anyone who attempted to leave outside of curfew hours.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History|last=Peng|first=Chin|last2=Ward|first2=Ian|last3=Miralor|first3=Norma|publisher=Media Masters|year=2003|isbn=981-04-8693-6|location=Singapore|pages=268}}</ref> | ||
| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| The original purpose of the New Villages in Malaysia was to separate the primarily ethnic Chinese villagers from contact with the ] (MNLA), which |
The original purpose of the New Villages in Malaysia was to separate and contain the primarily ethnic Chinese villagers from contact with the ] (MNLA), which was led by the ]. It was part of the ], a military plan devised by ] shortly after his appointment in 1950 as the British military's Director of Operations in Malaya.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Massacre in Malaya: Exposing Britain's My Lai|last=Hale|first=Christopher|publisher=The History Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-7524-8701-4|location=Brimscombe Port|pages=319}}</ref> | ||
| The plan aimed to defeat the MNLA, which was operating out of rural regions of Malaysia as a ] force, by cutting them off from their sources of support, mainly amongst the rural population. To this end, a massive program of forced resettlement of rural workers was undertaken, under which about 500,000 people (roughly 10% of ]'s population) were eventually transferred from their homes and housed in guarded camps termed "New Villages". These New Villages were usually surrounded by barbed wire and sentry posts. In some cases 22-hour curfews were placed upon the populations of New Villages, such was the case in the Tanjong Malim New Village.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1952-04-02/debates/5a25f6a5-1b30-4331-b5f5-e4f9f27df315/Malaya(Anti-TerroristMeasures)|title=Malaya (Anti-Terrorist Measures)|date=2 April 1952|website=hansard.parliament.uk|publisher=Hansard|access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref> Although most victims the forced relocation and "New Villages" were ], the aboriginal ] were also a target due to their homelands being in the regions frequented by the MNLA. Believing that the Orang Asli were supporting the MNLA, many of them were forcibly transferred to the New villages. However, the transfer scheme was halted when many of the Orang Asli started to die of diseases while in the new villages.<ref>{{Cite book|title=British Counterinsurgency|last=Newsinger|first=John|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2015|isbn=978-0-230-29824-8|location=Basingstoke|pages=58}}</ref> | The plan aimed to defeat the MNLA, which was operating out of rural regions of Malaysia as a ] force, by cutting them off from their sources of support, mainly amongst the rural population. To this end, a massive program of forced resettlement of rural workers was undertaken, under which about 500,000 people (roughly 10% of ]'s population) were eventually transferred from their homes and housed in heavily guarded camps termed "New Villages". These New Villages were usually surrounded by barbed wire and sentry posts, and subject to starvation and heavy resource reduction and control. In some cases 22-hour curfews were placed upon the populations of New Villages, such was the case in the Tanjong Malim New Village.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1952-04-02/debates/5a25f6a5-1b30-4331-b5f5-e4f9f27df315/Malaya(Anti-TerroristMeasures)|title=Malaya (Anti-Terrorist Measures)|date=2 April 1952|website=hansard.parliament.uk|publisher=Hansard|access-date=22 January 2020}}</ref> Although most victims of the forced relocation and "New Villages" were ], the aboriginal ] were also a target due to their homelands being in the regions frequented by the MNLA. Believing that the Orang Asli were supporting the MNLA, many of them were forcibly transferred to the New villages. However, the transfer scheme was halted when many of the Orang Asli started to die of diseases while in the new villages.<ref>{{Cite book|title=British Counterinsurgency|last=Newsinger|first=John|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2015|isbn=978-0-230-29824-8|location=Basingstoke|pages=58}}</ref> | ||
| By isolating this population in the "new villages", the British were able to stem the critical flow of material, information, and recruits from peasant sympathizers to the guerrillas. The new camps were guarded by soldiers, police, and were |
By isolating and concentrating this population in the "new villages", the British were able to stem the critical flow of material, information, and recruits from peasant sympathizers to the guerrillas, and at the same time, subject the Chinese population to harsh laws, starvation, and eventual decline in population. The new camps were guarded by soldiers, police, and were fortified to stop people from escaping. This served the twofold purpose of preventing those who were so inclined from sneaking out and voluntarily aiding the guerrillas, and of preventing the guerrillas from sneaking in and extracting aid via persuasion or brute force.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}} Upon completion of the resettlement program, the British initiated a starvation campaign, rationing food supplies within the camps and torching rural farmlands to starve out the Communists guerrillas, which also severely damaged and reduced the civilian Chinese population.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Small Wars Faraway Places: Global Insurrection and the Making of the Modern World 1945-1965|last=Burleigh|first=Michael|publisher=Viking - Penguin Group|year=2013|isbn=978-0-670-02545-9|location=New York|pages=178}}</ref> | ||
| ==Population== | ==Population== | ||
| Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
| ==Historical evaluation== | ==Historical evaluation== | ||
| According to British historian ], people transferred to live in the New Villages were "effectively deprived of all civil rights".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Blood Never Dried: A People's History of the British Empire|last=Newsinger|first=John|publisher=Bookmarks Publications|year=2013|isbn=978-1-909026-29-2|location=London|pages=219}}</ref> Although the majority of inhabitants were Chinese, thousands of ] were forcefully transferred to the "new villages". Historian John D. Leary in his study of the ] during the Emergency argued that the forced resettlement used to create the New Villages brought "misery, disease and death" to many Malaysians of all races.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Violence & The Dream People: The Orang Asli in the Malayan Emergency 1948-1960|last=D. Leary|first=John|publisher=Ohio University Center for International Studies|year=1995|isbn=978-0896801868|location=Athens|pages=42–43}}</ref> | According to British historian ], people transferred to live in the New Villages were "effectively deprived of all civil rights".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Blood Never Dried: A People's History of the British Empire|last=Newsinger|first=John|publisher=Bookmarks Publications|year=2013|isbn=978-1-909026-29-2|location=London|pages=219}}</ref> Although the majority of inhabitants were Chinese, thousands of ] were forcefully transferred to the "new villages". Historian John D. Leary in his study of the ] during the Emergency argued that the forced resettlement used to create the New Villages brought "misery, disease and death" to many Malaysians of all races, mostly Chinese.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Violence & The Dream People: The Orang Asli in the Malayan Emergency 1948-1960|last=D. Leary|first=John|publisher=Ohio University Center for International Studies|year=1995|isbn=978-0896801868|location=Athens|pages=42–43}}</ref> | ||
| ==Notable new villages== | ==Notable new villages== | ||
Revision as of 06:02, 22 January 2021
Internment camps set up by the British during the Malayan Emergency For other places named "Kampung Baru", see Kampung Baru (disambiguation).
New villages (Chinese: 新村; pinyin: xīn cūn; Template:Lang-ms), also known as Chinese new villages (Chinese: 华人新村; pinyin: huá rén xīn cūn), were concentration camps created during the waning days of British rule in Malaysia. These camps were originally created as part of the Briggs' Plan, first implemented in 1950 to isolate guerillas from potential communist sympathisers and their supporters within the rural civilian populations during the Malayan Emergency. Most were surrounded by barbed wire and watchtowers to stop people from escaping, with guards being ordered to kill anyone who attempted to leave outside of curfew hours.
History
The original purpose of the New Villages in Malaysia was to separate and contain the primarily ethnic Chinese villagers from contact with the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), which was led by the Malayan Communist Party. It was part of the Briggs Plan, a military plan devised by Sir Harold Briggs shortly after his appointment in 1950 as the British military's Director of Operations in Malaya.
The plan aimed to defeat the MNLA, which was operating out of rural regions of Malaysia as a guerrilla force, by cutting them off from their sources of support, mainly amongst the rural population. To this end, a massive program of forced resettlement of rural workers was undertaken, under which about 500,000 people (roughly 10% of Malaya's population) were eventually transferred from their homes and housed in heavily guarded camps termed "New Villages". These New Villages were usually surrounded by barbed wire and sentry posts, and subject to starvation and heavy resource reduction and control. In some cases 22-hour curfews were placed upon the populations of New Villages, such was the case in the Tanjong Malim New Village. Although most victims of the forced relocation and "New Villages" were ethnically Chinese, the aboriginal Orang Asli were also a target due to their homelands being in the regions frequented by the MNLA. Believing that the Orang Asli were supporting the MNLA, many of them were forcibly transferred to the New villages. However, the transfer scheme was halted when many of the Orang Asli started to die of diseases while in the new villages.
By isolating and concentrating this population in the "new villages", the British were able to stem the critical flow of material, information, and recruits from peasant sympathizers to the guerrillas, and at the same time, subject the Chinese population to harsh laws, starvation, and eventual decline in population. The new camps were guarded by soldiers, police, and were fortified to stop people from escaping. This served the twofold purpose of preventing those who were so inclined from sneaking out and voluntarily aiding the guerrillas, and of preventing the guerrillas from sneaking in and extracting aid via persuasion or brute force. Upon completion of the resettlement program, the British initiated a starvation campaign, rationing food supplies within the camps and torching rural farmlands to starve out the Communists guerrillas, which also severely damaged and reduced the civilian Chinese population.
Population
During the Malayan Emergency, 450 new settlements were created and it is estimated that 470,509 people, 400,000 of them Chinese, were involved in the resettlement program. The Malaysian Chinese Association, then the Malayan Chinese Association, was initially created to address the social and welfare concerns of the populations in the new villages.
It is estimated that today, about 1.2 million people live in 450 new villages throughout Peninsular Malaysia. About 85% of the population in new villages are ethnically Chinese.
Historical evaluation
According to British historian John Newsinger, people transferred to live in the New Villages were "effectively deprived of all civil rights". Although the majority of inhabitants were Chinese, thousands of Orang Asli were forcefully transferred to the "new villages". Historian John D. Leary in his study of the Orang Asli during the Emergency argued that the forced resettlement used to create the New Villages brought "misery, disease and death" to many Malaysians of all races, mostly Chinese.
Notable new villages
See also
External links
- (Chinese version)
- 50 Years of Chinese New Village in Malaysia (Chinese: 馬來西亞華人新村50年 作者：林廷輝、宋婉瑩) ISBN 983-9673-65-3
References
- Peng, Chin; Ward, Ian; Miralor, Norma (2003). Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History. Singapore: Media Masters. p. 268. ISBN 981-04-8693-6.
- Hale, Christopher (2013). Massacre in Malaya: Exposing Britain's My Lai. Brimscombe Port: The History Press. p. 319. ISBN 978-0-7524-8701-4.
- "Malaya (Anti-Terrorist Measures)". hansard.parliament.uk. Hansard. 2 April 1952. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- Newsinger, John (2015). British Counterinsurgency. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-230-29824-8.
- Burleigh, Michael (2013). Small Wars Faraway Places: Global Insurrection and the Making of the Modern World 1945-1965. New York: Viking - Penguin Group. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-670-02545-9.
- Ooi Keat Gin (11 May 2009). Historical Dictionary of Malaysia. Scarecrow Press. pp. lvii, 185. ISBN 978-0-8108-6305-7. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- Newsinger, John (2013). The Blood Never Dried: A People's History of the British Empire. London: Bookmarks Publications. p. 219. ISBN 978-1-909026-29-2.
- D. Leary, John (1995). Violence & The Dream People: The Orang Asli in the Malayan Emergency 1948-1960. Athens: Ohio University Center for International Studies. pp. 42–43. ISBN 978-0896801868.
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