Publisher's Synopsis
This book is about the political evolution of plantation labour in Peninsular Malaysia. It focuses on how plantation labour was formed in the colonial period, how it was controlled, and the manner in which it resisted capital. It also discusses the emergence and demise of left-wing unions in the plantations and the nature of the colonial state's policy towards labour in the immediate post-war period. The events that led to the formation of the National Union of Plantation Workers are traced in detail as are the reasons for the emergence of alternative unions in the plantations in the 1960s, and the fundamental neglect of plantation workers. By looking at the role of the state and capital's relationship to the plantation social structure, the author comes to the conclusion that the state is basically autonomous and that capital that formed in the plantations cannot be defined as merchant.
