The Bloody History of Sungai Siput Utara, Perak

Behind the small town of Sungai Siput Utara, Perak today lies a dark history that led to the 1948 national emergency. This event is always remembered by the older generation as it was the site of the bloody incident that caused the Federation of Malaya to be declared in a state of emergency.

It was triggered by the loss of life of three British planters at the hands of communist terrorists at Elphil Estate and Phin Soon Estate on June 16, 1948. The small town of Sungai Siput Utara, located about 30 kilometers from Ipoh and 19 kilometers from Kuala Kangsar, was greatly feared at the time. Just mentioning Sungai Siput would send shivers down people's spines due to the stories spreading about the incident. The surrounding dense forests were also strongholds for communist terrorists back then. In the bloody incident, the manager of Elphil Estate, Arthur E. Walker, 50, was shot at close range by three communist terrorists after they broke into the estate manager's office. Elphil Estate was one of the largest rubber plantations owned by a British company in Malaya at the time. The distance between this estate and Phin Soon Estate was only about two kilometers.

A communist force of 12 people then raided Phin Soon Estate and tied up the estate manager, John Munt Allison, 55, and his assistant, Ian Deare Christian, 21, before shooting them. This incident prompted the British High Commissioner in Malaya, Sir Edward Gent, to immediately declare a State of Emergency on June 16, 1948, in Perak and Johor, before extending it to the whole of Malaya two days later. The historical impact of these two bloody events is now commemorated at a monument and emergency gallery erected on the hilltop of Sungai Siput Estate by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).