The special operations executive in Malaya: World War II and the path to independence

During World War II, agents of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) infiltrated Japanese-occupied Malaya.

There they worked with Malayan guerrilla groups, including the communist-sponsored Malayan Peoples Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA), regarded as the precursor of the communist insurgent army of the Malayan Emergency.

This book traces the development of SOE's Malayan operations, and analyses the interactions between SOE and the various guerrilla groups.

It explores the reasons for and the extent of Malay disillusionment with Japanese rule, and demonstrates how guerrilla service acted as a training ground for some later Malay leaders of the independent nation.