Rashid Maidin (1917-2006) Malaysian communist leader born in Perak into a poor family. Maidin dropped out of school at the age of 12 to start working and support his family. Maidin was active in trade union and anti-imperialist politics and in 1941 joined the Malaysian Communist Party as one of it's first Malay members. During the Japanese occupation he was active with the anti-fascist resistance movement. Now a leading figure of the Malaysian Communist Party, he helped lead the armed insurrection against the British when they re-occupied Malaysia. Captured and imprisoned by the British in 1948, he was able to escape three years later. Continued the armed struggle against the reactionary Malaysian government until the peace deal in 1989. Lived the rest of his life in southern Thailand, as he was banned from returning to Malaysia. He wrote a book, The Memoirs of Rashid Maidin: From Armed Struggle to Peace [106 pages] about his political journey.