ABSTRACT
From the very beginning of the formation of the Communist parties of various Southeast Asian countries up to the end of the Cold War, ethnic Chinese played a very important role in the respective parties. For example, most leaders as well as members of both the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) and the North Kalimantan Communist Party (NKCP) were Chinese. It was common that in the earlier stages of the respective parties, leaders were dispatched by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which was formed in 1921. An exception was the Communist Party of Indonesia (commonly known as Partai Komunis Indonesia, PKI). As its establishment was initiated by the Dutch Communists in 1920, that is, one year earlier than the CCP, no Chinese members were there in the early leadership. Chinese leaders emerged later, and they were local-born peranakan whom the colonial authorities dared not repatriate to China.
