The Malayan Communist Party as Recorded in the Comintern Files

(9) Reorganization of the Party
Although he referred to the Party’s reorganization, Yong did not touch on the
punishment meted out to some of its top leaders. In reality, the reorganization went
together with the stern punishment, including expulsion, of many of the highest
ranking leaders. Besides, the NPC’s report of 15 March suggested that the Party had
different opposing factions including Chen Du Xiu School.
9. Tentative Conclusion
Finally, based on an examination of the various resolutions and instructions of the Comintern, one
can also conjecture that:
(1) In May 1927, Chen Du Xiu’s stance of “surrenderism” was criticized. Yet, in
February 1928, its opposite stance, “riotism”, was denounced. Quite possibly, when
the NPC decided to organize an uprising in early 1928, it was unaware that there had
been a change of strategy. If so, the NPC adopted a radical, violent approach after its
inauguration, knowing only that the Comintern had criticized surrenderism but not
knowing that a reverse decision had been made in February 1928 (see 6 above).
(2) One could speculate that the Comintern’s crucial changes of strategy in the space of
only a few years perplexed the NPC. To that extent, it would not have been
unnatural for Chen Du Xiu to have had his sympathizers, such as Fu Zai Long, in
Malaya.
(3) Who took the initiative to organize the profound reshuffle? The Guangdong
Regional Committee did not have a representative at the Plenum of 2 July 1928 (1.-
(6)). The CCP’s instructions of January and October 1929 mainly reflected the
decisions of the Comintern’s 9th Enlarged Plenum of 1928. At that point, the NPC
did not have an undisputed leader, and the NPC members admitted that they abided
by instructions sent from the Comintern. Comintern’s review written in 1931 clearly
criticized the radical strategy executed in Malaya in early 1928. Would it not seem,
then, that the Comintern had played a decisive, if covert, role here? Yong held that
there was no trace of any association between the five envoys (and the NPC) and the
Comintern. The detailed reports in the Comintern Files, however, pointed to the
existence of an important relationship between them.
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