1968 - The Kroh Communist Ambush: The Spark That Started Malaysia's Second Emergency

1968 - The Kroh Communist Ambush: The Spark That Started Malaysia's Second Emergency

Background

After the First Malayan Emergency officially ended in 1960, the remnants of the Communist Party of Malaya (MCP) and its armed wing, the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), retreated to the Malaysia-Thailand border. There, deep in the jungles of Betong in southern Thailand, they regrouped, retrained, and reorganized for a new offensive.

On 1 June 1968, the MCP Central Command issued a new directive titled “Hold High the Great Red Banner of Armed Struggle and Valiantly March Forward!” - a clear signal they were ready to restart the war.

The Ambush - 17 June 1968

To mark the 20th anniversary of their armed struggle against the Malaysian Government, the MCP launched its first major attack.

The location was the Kroh-Betong Road, between the town of Pengkalan Hulu (then known as Kroh) and the Malaysia-Thailand border in northern Perak, now Federal Route 77.

A convoy of the Police Field Force (Pasukan Polis Hutan - PPH) was ambushed in a well-planned attack from the jungle. Official records state the ambush killed **17 members of the security forces. PDRM Special Branch records list 16 PPH personnel killed in that specific convoy.

This single incident is recognized by historians as the official start of the Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–1989), also known as the Second Malayan Emergency.

The photos you have are the aftermath: a Bedford army lorry riddled with bullet holes, windscreen shattered by automatic fire, abandoned on the laterite road surrounded by thick jungle.

Aftermath

After Kroh, communist operatives began to infiltrate the states of Peninsular Malaysia from South Thailand. The new insurgency coincided with renewed domestic tensions between ethnic Malays and Chinese and regional military tensions due to the Vietnam War.

MCP leader Chin Peng believed they could copy their Vietnamese counterparts to take over the government of Malaysia. The conflict dragged on for 21 years until the Hat Yai Peace Accord on 2 December 1989.

The Fallen Heroes

The memorial plaque in Pengkalan Hulu lists the names of those who died in Kroh. Al-Fatihah, May Their Souls Rest in Peace.*

- PMG/KPL. 14892 NIZAM BIN MOHD. ADAM

- PMG/KPL. 19839 ABDUL GHANI BIN MOHAMED

- PMG/KPL. 24008 MUSTAFA BIN HUSSEIN

- KONST. 1479 ABDULLAH BIN AHMAD

- KONST. 1509 LOH AH CHU

- KONST. 8365 JALIL BIN BACHIK

- KONST. 11401 ISMAIL BIN MAT SIDI

- KONST. 20239 ABDUL HAMID BIN ABU BAKAR

- KONST. 23086 CHAN ENG TECK

- KONST. 24827 MOHAMAD BIN OTHMAN

- KONST. 25200 HASHIM BIN ISMAIL

- KONST. 25700 ABDULLAH BIN ISMAIL

- KONST. 30449 ONG LOCK SAY

- KONST. 30758 MOHD. SALLEH BIN ABIDIN

- KONST. 30833 ISMAIL BIN AMIR

- KONST. 40281 ABDUL GHANI BIN DAUD

Inscription: *“Al Fatihah, Semoga Roh Mereka Dicucuri Rahmat Oleh Allah S.W.T. Bagi Mendiang, Bersemadilah Dengan Aman.”*

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

4 September 2026: 9.28 a.m