Oral History and People's Memory of the Malayan Emergency (1948-60): The Case of Pulai

By using the oral history approach, this article challenges the state-oriented discourse on the success of the Malayan Emergency. The British colonial government made claims that a "New Village" was a safe haven providing sanctuary, security, and a modern way of life for "alien Chinese squatters". In contrast to state interpretations, what emerges from the oral recollections of the elderly residents of Pulai contradicts much of the official narratives which mostly highlight success stories. Based on interviews with seventeen individuals affected by the resettlement programme targeted at the Pulai people, this article aims to represent their hidden history and the legacy of their difficult past. While on the one hand, the article demonstrates the breadth and depth of state intrusion and its effects on ordinary lives and the vulnerability of ordinary people caught between hostile opponents, on the other, the most striking finding of this research is the resilience of the Pulai people themselves — a resilience that was especially evident during the Emergency rule that can only be recaptured through oral history recording because of the absence of archival material, both state as well as national.