THE OVERSEAS CHINESE AND THE CHINESE COMMUNISTS IN THE MALAY WORLD, 1948-1966: THE DILEMMA OF BEING DIASPORA IN NEGOTIATING LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND POLEMICS

Abstract

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE POSTWAR COMMUNIST MOVEMENT IN THE MALAY WORLD HINGED UPON THE SOCIO-POLITICAL SITUATION IN WHICH THE CHINESE DIASPORA EXISTED WITHIN THE NANYANG. THIS DISSERTATION EXPLORES THE DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL AND LOCAL POLITICS WHICH CONVERGED WITH THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE MALAY WORLD, BRINGING THE IRON AND BAMBOO CURTAIN TO A REGION UNDERGOING FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES BROUGHT BY DECOLONIZATION. THE CHINESE DIASPORA WERE BOTH PLAYERS AND PAWNS WITHIN THIS COLD WAR THEATRE SINCE THEY HAD NUMBERS, CONNECTIONS AND RESOURCES, AND WERE NOT ENCUMBERED BY INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS AND CULTURE OF THE PLACE OF THEIR DOMICILE. SIMULTANEOUSLY, THEY WERE ALSO DEEPLY ROOTED TO THEIR LANDS, HAVING SETTLED THERE FOR CENTURIES, AND THUS ASPIRED FOR LOCAL POLITICAL RIGHTS AND REPRESENTATION. THE EVENTUAL OUTCOME WAS GREATLY SHAPED BY FORCES BEYOND THEIR CONTROL ? THAT IS, THE CREATION OF NATION-STATES THAT ENDED THEIR DIASPORA IDENTITY, AND WITH IT, THE COMMUNIST STRATEGY OF LEVERAGING ON THE DIASP