‘Bribing the Reds to Give Up’: Rewards Policy in the Malayan Emergency

Abstract

This article examines the rationale for and evolution of the Malayan government’s rewards for information policy during the Emergency. The policy was formulated as a means of exploiting the rural Chinese peasant/terrorist’s fundamentally materialistic outlook. The policy went through some adjustments over time, and proved its true worth when three factors became dominant by the end of 1957: the Malayan Communist Party’s military and political eclipse, a sufficient degree of terrorist faith in government promises of fair treatment on surrender, and very liberal surrender terms. Although very controversial, the rewards policy was moral to the extent that it helped end the Emergency.