Strategy Studies

8/13/2019 Strategy Studies

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Case Study of Malaysias Counter

Insurgency Strategy: Study on the

effectiveness of Malaysian CounterInsurgency Strategy


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A counter-insurgency or Counterinsurgency

(COIN) operation involves actions taken by the

recognized government of a nation to containor quell an insurgency taken up against it.

In the main, the insurgents seek to destroy or

erase the political authority of the defendingauthorities in a population they seek to

control, and the counter-insurgent forces seek

to protect that authority and reduce or

eliminate the supplanting authority of the

insurgents.


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MODELS

The guerrilla must swim in the people as the

fish swims in the sea.

Aphorism based on the writing of Mao

Zedong


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Counter-insurgency is normally conducted as acombination of conventional military

operations and other means,

such as propaganda, psy-ops, andassassinations. Counter-insurgency operations

include many different facets:

military, paramilitary, political, economic,psychological, and civic actions taken to defeat

insurgency.


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Robert ThompsonRobert Grainger Ker Thompson wrote DefeatingCommunist Insurgency in 1966, Thompson outlines fivebasic principles for a successful counter-insurgency:

1. The government must have a clear political aim: toestablish and maintain a free, independent and unitedcountry which is politically and economically stable andviable;

2. The government must function in accordance with thelaw;

3. The government must have an overall plan;

4. The government must give priority to defeatingpolitical subversion, not the guerrillas;

5. In the guerrilla phase of an insurgency, a government

must secure its base areas first.


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Dr. David Kilcullen


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Malayan Emergency: A Brief History The Emergency 1948 CPM had taken the period

of uncertainty and transition to launchtheir attack in an attempt to take over thecountry.

British declared a state of emergency on 16 June1948

Developed counter-insurgency policies

Emergency operations can be divided into threephases:

1. Counter-terror in 1948-9

2. Clear and Hold in 1950-52

3. Optimisation from 1952-60


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1. Invoked Emergency Regulation 1949

2. Introduced National Registration

3. Introduced Briggs Plan4. Formed War Executive Committee

5. The British also launched a psychological warfareagainst the communists

By early 1950s CPM terrorist had been reduced toa minor problem. Emergency regulations werenot lifted until 1960

One permanent result of the Emergency was ahighly centralized federation, the states havingrelinquished most of their sovereign powers sothat the crisis could be handled efficiently.


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Men of the Malay Regiment during a jungle patrol in the Temenggor area ofnorthern Malaya, 1953.


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Counterinsurgency Organization


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General Bourne- DO (1954-1960)

Since the Briggs-Templer strategy of rolling upthe insurgents from south to north had notproved too successful.

Bourne modified it to one of destroying theinsurgent organization in the weakest areasfirst, so that there could be declared white

and troops could then be concentrated againstthe toughest black areas in western malaya.


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General Bourne

Enforcing the Rule Of Law

Registration of the population-ID Cards

Emergency Regulations Detention and Banishment

Role of Police in security and intelligence

-Build up of the regular police


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Conclusion

The Malayan Emergency of 1948-60 has beenrepeatedly cited as a source of

counterinsurgency lessons, with debate over

the relative importance of coercion, 'winning

hearts and minds', and achieving unified and

dynamic control.

Both politically and militarily, the Communists

could not compete, they could only lose.

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