Pilihan Rasional: Minda Abdullah C.D., Pemimpin Komunis Melayu (Rational Choice: The Mind of Abdullah C.D., a Malay Communist Leader)

Abstract

Abdullah C.D. was the former Chairman of Malayan Communist Party (MCP) since 1968 and the de facto leader of the 10th Regiment of the Malayan People Liberation Army under the said party since 1949 until 1989. His mind – a combination of his own thought, consciousness and ambition, and the political ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism shaped his leadership and actions, which found expression in four decades of armed struggles. Abdullah C.D.'s political thought, consciousness and ambitions are explicitly expressed in three volumes of his memoirs (2005, 2007, 2009). Subjected to the changes of political scenarios at the national and international levels over the decades, Abdullah C.D.'s initial choice could be seen as a rational one given the fact that his involvement with the MCP coincided with the growth in the Federation of Malaya of political nationalism against British colonialism. However, when the Federation of Malaya achieved her independence in 1957, and the political influence of the MCP started to deteriorate, Abdullah C.D., as the political commissar and commander of the 10th Regiment, strove to reactivate the Regiment's armed struggle. This move was largely due to his dogmatic belief in the political ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, which, then, was his rational choice. Based on his memoirs, this article seeks to analyse Abdullah C.D.'s political mind within the framework of 'rational choice' as demonstrated by Theda Skocpol in her interpretation of the French, Russian and Chinese social revolution.

Keywords: Malays, communist, nationalism, rational choice, Abdullah C.D.

ABSTRAK

Abdullah C.D. ialah mantan Pengerusi, Parti Komunis Malaya (PKM) sejak 1968, dan pemimpin de facto Rejimen Ke-10, Tentera Pembebasan Rakyat Malaya di bawah parti berkenaan sejak 1949 hingga 1989. Minda beliau, iaitu gabungan pemikiran, kesedaran dan cita-cita peribadinya, dengan input ideologi Marxisme-Leninisme-Maoisme telah menjadi acuan kepimpinan dan tindakannya menerusi kegiatan bersenjata PKM selama empat dekad. Pemikiran, kesedaran dan impian politiknya ini terungkap dalam tiga jilid memoir beliau (2005, 2007, 2009). Bergantung kepada perubahan dalam persekitaran politik di Persekutuan Tanah Melayu dan politik dunia selama empat dekad itu, minda Abdullah C.D. boleh dianggap dipengaruhi oleh pilihan rasional ataupun dogmatisme ideologi. Pada mulanya, mindanya dipandu oleh pilihan rasional kerana keterlibatan beliau dalam PKM adalah dalam era gerakan nasionalisme menentang kolonialisme Inggeris sedang bersemarak di Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. Namun begitu, setelah Persekutuan Tanah Melayu mencapai kemerdekaannya pada 1957, dan gerakan PKM mengalami kemerosotannya, beliau sebagai komisar politik dan komander Rejimen Ke-10 telah berusaha mempergiatkan kembali gerakan perjuangan bersenjata rejimen tersebut. Hal ini terjadi kerana minda nasionalisnya telah pun terperangkap dalam dogmatisme Marxisme- Leninisme-Maoisme. Dogmatisme ideologi menjadi landasan kepada pilihan rasionalnya untuk meneruskan gerakan revolusionir bersenjata. Makalah ini bertujuan menyelami minda politik Abdullah C.D. menerusi analisis kandungan terhadap tiga jilid memoir beliau yang tersebut di atas. Isi minda Abdullah C.D. ditafsirkan berpandukan teori ‘pilihan rasional’ yang pernah diguna pakai oleh Theda Skocpol apabila menganalisis secara sosiologikal tentang revolusi sosial di Perancis, Russia dan China.

Kata kunci: Melayu, komunis, nasionalisme, pilihan rasional, Abdullah C.D.