A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.
— Joseph Campbell, American writer
In January 1946, my father was reinstated by the British Military Administration (BMA) and sent back to Penang in charge of the Crime Branch.
At this time, the crime rate in Penang, and other parts of Malaya was very high as pro-communist supporters took the law into their own hands.
In 1948, Malayan Peoples’ Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) under Chin Peng’s people war of terror instigated the declaration of the Malayan Emergency.
My father John Ritchie wrote: “At this time, the communist elements within the MPAJA were going all out to topple the British civil administration.
“They were also spreading a lot of anti-British propaganda, and this included telling the people that it was they, the communists and not the British, who had defeated the Japanese and liberated Malaya.”
After the war, MPAJA organised a protest group of about 10,000 people in Macalister Road.
My father and ten policemen who were sent to disperse the group warned the protesters if they did not break up, he would call for more policemen to enforce the law.
By this time, a fire brigade unit had arrived, and my father ordered the officer in charge to turn their hoses on the speakers.
“The firemen did this, knocking the speakers off the benches. I then moved in and arrested three of them,” my father said.
On June 17, 1948, the communists went on a killing spree of British planters, forcing the government to declare an emergency and rebranded MPAJA as MPABA or Malayan Peoples’ Anti-British Army.
That night, raids were carried out throughout in the country; in Penang
— both the island and Province Wellesley on the mainland — about 200 communist sympathisers were rounded up.
Six months after the state of Emergency had been declared, the communists stepped up their activities.
The first of such activities by the communists in Penang were mainly a ‘nuisance’ as they put up communist flags and painted slogans on the walls.
This created the impression among the general population that the communists were a strong and powerful force.
Soon the communists became bolder in their approach and began to burn down telephone boxes in various parts of the island.
In order to prevent the communists from gaining psychological victories, policemen kept watch over all telephone boxes in Penang.
On one occasion, three CTs turned up at a telephone box and started a fire.
The policemen who were hiding nearby, promptly rushed out from their ambush positions and fired several shots at the three CTs who got away.
Within the town, several murders were committed, and this greatly alarmed the population.
During the Emergency, the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) devised various means of obtaining firearms to strengthen themselves.
In his memoir, my father said: “The communist party also formed the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and began attacking rubber plantations, mines and police stations, derailing trains and burning workers’ quarters.
“The armed wing of the MCP, the MNLA was jungle based and supported by the impoverished Chinese population.”
Although many Chinese lived in the cities, others known as ‘squatters’ lived at the fringes of the jungle and could assist the guerrillas.
To further frustrate the police, the CTs singled out lone policemen on patrol to rob them of their revolvers.
Their modus operandi was for two communists on bicycles to wait in ambush for the patrolman while two others would follow from behind.
Once the policeman was isolated by the group, the four men robbed him of his revolver at gunpoint
To prevent such incidents, the CID put more men on foot patrols to frustrate the CTs’ hit-an-run tactic.
In one incident, a policeman who was alone in Penang town was suddenly confronted by three armed men.
Ritchie said: “One of the three pulled out a revolver and, pointing it at the policeman, ordered him to hand over his revolver.
“The policeman dismounted from his bicycle, took out his gun and promptly opened fire at them.
“During the gunfight all three men panicked and fled. Other policemen in the vicinity rushed to the scene to assist their colleague.”
They cornered one gunman who ran into a primary school on the first floor of the building, ready to shoot the first policeman to appear in sight.
Just as the police were about to charge up the stairs, a schoolteacher calmly walked out of a classroom and told both parties to stop shooting as he had a classroom full of young children.
Recalling the incident, my father said: “Strange as it may seem, both the armed youth and the police party agreed to a ceasefire until the children could be evacuated from the building.
“The teacher then returned to his classroom and calmly herded his pupils out of the building and sent them home.”
At this very time, my father was on his way to the court to prosecute a case, but on hearing the commotion went to the scene to give assistance.
He added: “When I arrived, the gunman fired a warning shot. I crept into the building and was about to crawl up the stairs while the other policemen were waiting below.
“Several policemen then joined me as they charged up the stairs and found the gunman lying dead on the floor.
“Finding his position hopeless, he had shot himself in the head.”
The gunman was a member of a communist killer squad operating in Penang.
The conduct of the schoolteacher, who had so bravely led his pupils from the school, earned him a great deal of praise and he was presented a letter of appreciation by the police.
The policeman who had refused to surrender his gun also received a letter of appreciation for his fearless reaction.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
