A Malay Communist Issue.

 

In 1939, the name of the former Straits Settlements was changed to Malaya and was a British Crown Colony consisting of 11 federated states in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula directly north of the island of Sumatra in the East Indies . Singapore , a fortified city enclave on the extreme southern tip of the peninsula, fell to the Japanese in 1942 (the emplaced guns all pointed toward the sea and the Japanese attacked from the landward side to the north). Soon all the rest of the peninsula fell to the invaders and was held by them until 1945.

Although there was constant battle offered throughout this period by British, Australian and Indian forces, the native population remained largely quiescent except for guerilla forces of the Chinese Communists. These never stopped and, after the return of the British in 1945, continued unabated. Finally, these forces were defeated in 1956 - but mostly because it was agreed that Malaya be granted independence, which was done Aug. 31, 1957, the name changed to Malayasia in 1963.

The above note is one of a series put out by a Communist guerilla force in 1955. Johore is the state comprising the whole southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, save the enclave of Singapore city. This note is a "5 Chiao" (or 50 cents) as indicated by the two vertical characters to the left. In the series, 5-, 10- and 50-(shown)cents as well as 1- and 5-dollars were issued. The line under the picture of Lenin reads: "North Johore Regional Committee of the Malayan Communist Party / issue (1955 hand-entered - as is the serial number).

Wayne Jacobs is numismatic expert. He is the award winning author of numerous articles. He is the secretary and editor of the "Mid-Island Coin Club Numismatic Journal"of Nanaimo, Vancouver Island , British Columbia. The MICC journal are hosted here: MICC webpages Copyright 2006 Wayne Jacobs. This article may be reprinted freely for non commercial purpose only if the resource box is left intact, linking back to us.