Extent of Communist United Front activities confirmed: PM Lee

The declassification of British documents from their archives and first person accounts by senior leaders of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) confirmed the extent of the Communist united front in Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said today (Dec 20) in a Facebook post.

He added that it leaves “no doubt that the Barisan was formed at the instigation of the CPM, and that Lim Chin Siong was a Communist cadre,”

PM Lee had visited the Battle for Merger exhibition in October, which carried the book of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s radio talks in 1961, explaining what the fight against the Communists was about, and why Singapore needed Merger with Malaya.

He said: “The Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) was a violent, illegal organisation. So it operated secretly, underground. But the Communists infiltrated open, legal organisations like trade unions, student associations and political parties. These supported the Communist cause, but denied that they themselves were Communist. (Mr Lee Kuan Yew) exposed this Communist united front tactic.”

PM Lee’s post also included a photo he took of an exhibit. It was a pair of original handwritten documents. One was signed by Lim Chin Siong, who was the leader of the Barisan Sosialis, and the other was a Communist study cell document signed by Wang Ming.

“The handwriting was identical. In fact Wang Ming was Lim Chin Siong’s party name; Communist cadres took party names to conceal their real identities. So Lim Chin Siong was a Communist, and the Barisan Sosialis was Communist controlled,” PM Lee said.

PM Lee’s comments follows a detailed government response to a commentary by Dr Poh Soo Kai, the former Barisan assisant secretary-general, which was published on the New Mandala website.

He said: “We have put together an account using evidence from the British archives as well as CPM sources, which confirm that Mr Lee Kuan Yew told the truth.”

PM Lee also noted that many old Communist and pro-Communist activists have reconciled with their past, and become good citizens.

However, he added, there are some hard core ones who still deny these historical facts.

“They don’t want to admit that they had fought on the wrong side, and that luckily for Singapore they lost.”

“Some ‘revisionist’ historians make this argument too. One motivation: cast doubt on the legitimacy of the PAP government, not just in the 1960s, but today.”