The long-awaited memoirs of legendary communist leader Chin Peng - Malaysia's most wanted man for 40 years - has finally been published and will soon be available in our bookstores.

Titled 'My Side of History', the 527-page book is published in English by Singapore's Media Masters.

Chin Peng, a nom de guerre of Ong Boon Hua, 79, is the 11th secretary-general of the once powerful Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) which fought against British colonialism, the Japanese occupation and the newly independent governments of both Malaysia and Singapore for over half a century.

The party's armed struggle, which began in June 1948, ended with a peace agreement signed between CPM and the governments of Malaysia and Thailand in 1989.

In the peace agreement, CPM pledges loyalty to the constitutional monarchy and declared the cessation of armed struggle.

As quid pro quo , the Malaysian government promises to allow the combatants, who were living in jungle camps in southern Thailand, to return home.

However, the government's foot-dragging with Chin Peng's application to come back to Malaysia has resulted in the former communist leader staying put in Thailand, who now lives in Bangkok.

From war hero to 'terrorist'

Ironically, Chin Peng and his compatriots were once regarded by the British as war heroes.

During the Japanese occupation in World War Two, Chin Peng and his fellow communists joined forces with British, Australian, Indian and Gurkha troops to fight against the invaders.

As a result, Chin Peng was decorated with an Order of British Empire as well as two other military medals soon after the liberation of Peninsular Malaya and Singapore in August 1945.

However, the awards were later revoked after the British, with the advent of the Cold War, declared an anti-communist 'Emergency' in June 1948.

Chin Peng was to become the British Empire's most wanted 'terrorist'.

The 'Emergency' which lasted for 12 years, saw the British and the newly independent Malaysian government successfully confining the once feared communists to a spattering of jungle camps in the Thai-Malaysian border.

Soul-searching thoughts

Chin Peng's memoirs was co-written with husband-and-wife team Ian Ward and Norma Miraflor, two veteran journalists who now live in Singapore.

Divided into 32 chapters, the memoirs combines many historical details of events as understood by Chin Peng, as well as his personal recollection of opinions and sentiments expressed while he was a guerilla leader.

In the first few chapters, Chin Peng remembers his childhood and gives an account of his "personal passage to communism".

He joined CPM at the tender age of 15 and became leader of the party at 23.

In an exclusive interview with malaysiakini in 2002, Chin Peng said that his memoirs would map out the history of the party's struggles, starting from its inception until it agreed to disband its armed units after signing a peace treaty with Malaysia and Thailand in 1989.

He said his book would recount his "soul-searching thoughts" on the victories and mistakes committed by the pro-Beijing CPM, provide analyses on why the communist bloc collapsed in 1990, and how the event has affected communist parties globally.

Click here to read more on malaysiakini 's special issue on Chin Peng and the CPM.