A step back into history: The CPM tunnel complex in Sadao Thailand
A step back into history: The CPM tunnel complex in Sadao Thailand
Make the visit part of your Hat Yai trip
There is an almost forgotten piece of Malaysia’s history, just across the Bukit Kayu Hitam-Sadao border post, on the wat to Hat Yai. If you are driving up to Hat Yai for a weekend of shopping and makan, the defunct Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) 8th Battalion camp and tunnel complex, just a 30 minute scenic drive to the 2,000 metres high Khao Nam Khang National Park is the place to go.
Coming from Sadao, at Khao Nam Khang turn right onto a small road that takes you straight to the Friendship Village, where the camp site of the former CPM 8th Battalion is situated. The whole site sits adjacent to a mountain, where a one kilometre long network of tunnels has been carved out of the rock inside the mountain.
The Khao Nam Khang tunnel complex was built by 200 cadres, under the supervision of Huang Yi-Jiang. Within the tunnel network, food storage, emergency cooking facilities, a telegraph post, ammunition storage, a shooting range, sleeping births, and place for medical surgery are housed. The complex has 16 entrance/exits for ease of movement. Being solid rock, the complex can withstand direct bombings from the air.
The area was the site of a battle with the Royal Thai Army in 1977, where there were no deaths. You can still see the bomb craters around the site.
The 8th Battalion signed a peace agreement with the Thai Government in 1987, and participated in Chen Ping’s remaining forces peace with the Malaysian and Thai governments in 1989. At the peak of the struggle, the 8th Battalion had a 2,000 strong force.
About half the cadres returned to Malaysia, while the other half were granted Thai citizenship and given plots of land to farm, by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Many of the cadres’ descendants farm durian and have rubber plantations in the area.
When you observe the jungle surrounding the site, try to imagine how difficult it was for the cadres to walk to the border. Operations into Malaysia could take up to a month, before the cadres returned to Khao Nam Khang camp. In those days, food and other supplies to the camp would also come by foot, as there were only trails, no roads at the time.
Today, the camp site was tirelessly developed for tourism by former cadre Mr Liang and his group for tourism. The complex opened to the public back in 1997. At the start of the visit, you will watch a 20-minute film in Mandarin/Malay/English providing an excellent recap of the history of the emergency and struggle of the CPM. After, the film there is a museum and photo gallery with lots of rare pictures and maps. Then before travelling to the tunnels, you will pass a memorial for the fallen cadres during the struggle.
The complex was closed to the public in early 2020, due to Covid-19, and only reopened at the end of 2022. This year, the tunnel complex has been slowly seeing an increase in visitors again. Besides private vehicles, buses are starting to make the trek to Khao Nam Khang once again.
Unfortunately, the Khao Nam Khang tunnel site is not as well known as the 12th Battalion located just outside Betong, where hundreds of Malaysians visit everyday. The Khao Nam Khang site is just as spectacular, with just as much history, very accessible when travelling between the Sadao border and Hat Yai.
The attraction is not crowded, well worth the extra drive, if you have the time. You will see a part of Malaya’s and later Malaysia’s history that stretches from the Japanese invasion to the late 1980s.
Originally published in My Sin Chew 11the July 2023
The manager Thai Liang and myself
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Murray. Fantastic heads up and perfect timing. I’m heading that way in august.
The Thai southern command realised that the CPM was not their enemy. The CPM was not anti Thai. So the Thais signed a peace agreement with them. Dr M realised that the CPM would then turn its attention southwards and also negotiated with chin Peng for a peace deal. But CP snubbed him which forced Dr M to go to Beijing to do the deal. Still Dr M showed his Machiavellian side by refusing to let CP return to Malaysia. For more details, read CP’s book.