The violence and wanton destruction caused by the CPM showed that the group was disloyal towards the king and country, and that they did not respect the Constitution, as well as the rule of law.
– Datuk Dr Ramlah Adam, historian
The communist violence reached its height with the assassination of Malayan High Commissioner Sir Henry Gurney on October 6, 1951.
He was replaced by British Army Chief Sir Gerald Templer, who continued to implement a “hearts and minds” strategy to win over the people.
But the communists knew it was a ploy to monitor the movements of their sympathisers.
Known as the Smiling Tiger, Templer continued building “new villages”, which in fact were Chinese internment camps of almost one million people in 500 locations.
This represented a third of the 3.1 million Chinese population.
By then, Chin Peng had formed assassination squads using elements from the jungle-based MLNA (Malayan Liberation National Army).
During the Emergency from 1948–1960, the CTs killed 500 British planters and miners and 1,200 policemen, a large number from the Special Branch.
In Penang, they killed one of my father’s loyal officers who did not heed his advice.
Said my father, Johnny Ritchie: “There was one incident in which one of my detectives, a man whom I was particularly fond of, was murdered in cold blood.
“One morning, I led a group of policemen to a squatter area in Perak Road to make some inquiries. We stopped to have coffee at a shop within the squatter area.
“I sat with my back towards a window, but almost immediately, I began to feel very uncomfortable. The feeling was so strong inside me that I told my detective to check outside the building to make sure no one was hanging around.
“But the man replied there was nothing to fear, as he was born in the area and all the people there were his friends.”
Ritchie warned the Chinese detective he should not allow himself to be lulled into complacency because the enemy could be anywhere.
However, the detective continued visiting a shop where he regularly played billiards.
“I told the detective it was best to avoid the place because the enemy could be anywhere and waiting to strike.”
But he took no notice of what my father said and continued to visit the shop.
“One day, as he was stooping over the billiards table and about to play a shot, he was shot in the back and killed,” my father added.
My father, who spoke several Chinese dialects, was constantly threatened by members of secret societies (Chinese triads), although he was a well-known gentleman Eurasian officer.
One of his favourite recreational spots was Tanjong Bungah, where he used to go with my family every weekend.
However, one weekend, six men visited Tanjung Bungah and were determined to liquidate him.
Said my father: “The men approached one of my aunts and asked her if I was in the house, and she said I wasn’t.
“Fortunately, I had gone to a different beach and after waiting for about four hours, the men left.”
The next weekend, Ritchie returned to Tanjong Bungah, but this time with a team of policemen.
He wanted to set himself up as “bait” for the six men to show up.
But luckily for both parties, the men did not show up because there could have been a major confrontation.
Johnny Ritchie was popular with people of all races because he was friendly, generous and mixed freely with anyone.
On one occasion, an Indian hawker saved his life.
Reminiscing, (Inspector) Johnny Ritchie said: “One night, the Indian stall owner came to my house panting after running a distance of two miles to warn me that several strangers who had coffee in a coffeeshop near his stall had asked for me.
“I immediately took a party of policemen and went to the coffeeshop in search of the men, but they had already left.
“However, I was touched by the hawker’s concern for my safety and I was grateful to him.”
This little episode showed that sometimes the lives of policemen are in the hands of the public and the good-heartedness of ordinary folk.
Although the police often took precautions against danger, we could never make ourselves completely immune to attacks.
Imagine his surprise when he later found that a band of five assassins who had been assigned to kill him were responsible for four murders, four robberies of firearms and three cases of attempted murder.
It was discovered that the group, which was also involved in violent crimes in Penang, was known as the “Killer Corps”.
Among the four murder victims was a popular and well-respected headmaster of a Chinese school.
The anti-communist headmaster exerted a strong influence over the schoolboys and discouraged them from subversive activities.
His murder created a sensation, and many outstanding citizens condemned his killing.
One day in February 1952, the headmaster, accompanied by a school teacher, left in his car to attend a teachers’ association meeting.
When they arrived at the location of the meeting, the headmaster’s companion got out of the car and began walking towards the building.
Suddenly, he heard an explosion, and thinking the car tires had been punctured, he turned back and noticed the headmaster slumped at the wheel.
The shooting had occurred in broad daylight with quite a number of people in the vicinity, including customers in a nearby coffee shop.
But nobody came forward as witnesses.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
