This essay examines the United States response towards the implementation of the Emergency administration by the British in Malaya from 1948 to 1960. The main argument is the US was very positive and supportive to the initiatives and actions taken by the British in Malaya to combat the Communist insurgency. A historical analysis from various archival records proven that the economic interest was one of the major consideration which influenced the US reaction towards the Emergency. Undoubtedly the inclination to protect the production of primary commodities such as rubber, tin and rice from Malaya and Southeast Asia contributed significantly in shaping the US attitude during the Cold War era. In addition, Malaya’s geostrategic position in the centre of mainland Southeast Asia with Singapore at the south and Penang at the north as the international ports and trading midpoint, the importance of the Straits of Malacca as a vital shipping routes and the key location of Thai-Malaya border justified this conclusion. Despite a fewer attention given by the previous historians to study the US links with the Emergency in Malaya as compared to the British who was the former colonial administrator; this research proposed a fresh paradoxical interpretation instead.
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In-Text Citation: (Zakariah, & Ismail, 2019)
To Cite this Article: Zakariah, M. H., and Ismail, N. (2019). The United States Economic Interests in Malayan Emergency of 1948-1960: A Historical Retrospectives. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(12), 309–322.
Copyright: © 2019 The Author(s)
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