1955: The Year in Malaya provides a valuable historical record of two seminal moments in Malaya’s moves towards independence. Labelled the ‘best anti-communist film’ made by the MFU, it was intended for screening not only within cinemas, but within new villages and through the mobile circuit, as it sought to appeal directly to the ‘Communist Terrorists’ (CTs). It attempted this primarily through the image of Tunku Abdul Rahman, whom it presents as a powerful, elected national leader, uniting the races and leading Malaya towards independence.

The first line of commentary within the film states ‘There’s no doubt about it, it was the Tunku’s year’, and from the outset he is presented as the main protagonist, endorsed as a national leader and statesman. He is shown delivering speeches in front of cheering crowds, organising his cabinet, as an international statesman (visiting Indonesia) and within the context of other national leaders, including Nehru and Anthony Eden. The film shows him campaigning for independence and outlines his plans to secure in London a confirmed date for the handover.

Hassan Abd. Muthalib, writing of the MFU’s subsequent documentary Merdeka Mission, which reported on the Tunku’s trip to England in early 1956, argued that the MFU celebrated the Tunku as a ‘heroic figure’. This, he suggests is achieved both formally – low-angle, close shots framed against the sky, the spatial relationship between him and the British leaders – and through the celebratory scenes upon his return, in which he is garlanded by a non-Malay, as an indication of his acceptance within the non-Malay community (Muthalib, 2009, 60). The Year in Malaya similarly represents the Tunku as a powerful leader – for example, he is shown pointing his finger at Chin Peng during an exchange – and sees the failure of the talks as a sign of his strength and defiance (he will not ‘yield an inch’). The film also emphasises, through the structure of the newsreel, the authority and support that the Tunku enjoys from ‘people of all races’.

The opening election sequences, and the subsequent footage of road building, the new state capital, the consecration of the first Malayan Bishop and the opening of the Kolej Islam Malaya, all inform the final item on the Baring talks. They present the peoples and cultures of Malaya united through the Tunku and, after highlighting the developments within Malaya over the course of the year, position the Communists as an ‘obstacle’ to this ongoing ‘progress and prosperity’. In particular, these earlier sequences illustrate the country’s move towards self-government and emphasise that Malaya is now run by elected leaders and not by the British government. The Tunku goes to Baling ‘with the people behind him’, displaying ‘complete confidence in their elected leader’. The commentary repeatedly refers to the ‘elected men’, speaking ‘with authority on behalf of the Malayan people’. The Communists are now opposing the Malayan people (shown attending an anti-Communist demonstration), not the British government. The film appeals directly to the ‘CTs’ here (to use the British terminology) in showing the widespread support for the Amnesty and urging people to come out of the jungle ‘while they still have the chance’.

In contrast, the film presents Chin Peng’s dislocation from the Malayan public. Over footage of children leaning against barbed wire fencing surrounding the school, the commentator states that the Communists ‘have no care or feeling for the ordinary people who long for the end of terrorism’. In directly appealing to ‘CTs’, the film attempts to distance Chin Peng from this audience, by suggesting, somewhat flippantly, that he does not represent them either: ‘However starved his rank and file may be, it’s obvious that the boss has been living well in his Siamese hideout’.

However, despite the MFU’s representation of Chin Peng, reports noted that some cinemagoers cheered his appearance. This reaction illustrates a well-established problem for propagandists, unable to control the division between the film text and the audience. This audience response may simply be credited to an inevitable show of support (regardless of the representation), but the way in which Chin Peng is introduced certainly does build up suspense and excitement at his appearance. ‘All necks crane for a glimpse of the number one terrorist. There he is. That’s him, Chin Peng’. Ultimately these audience reactions, however overstated, restricted the exhibition of the film. Nonetheless 1955: The Year in Malaya remains a valuable example of the ways in which the MFU sought to appeal to the Malayan public and specifically the ‘CTs’ through film.

Tom Rice (February 2010)