7 4 Talk twat The Baling Talks in Perspective ; : oo Perhaps one useful way to approach an analysis on this topic is to ascertain what each of the three main groups involved hoped to achieve at the talks. Of course it should be made clear that from al] accounts the underlying objective was not to discuss peace as such, but rather to ascertain the position of each group in terms of the necessary conditions to halt hostilities that might ultimately lead to peace. Therefore, it is incorrect to raise the expectation that the talks were aimed at achieving “peace”. Rather, the immediate task at hand was merely to identify the maximum and minimum positions of the respective groups involved and to work towards common ground if possible. This, the talks failed to achieve. Another important dimension in the analysis is to consider some of the more important relevant background factors that contributed towards the talks being initiated in the first place. This is particularly important because the rapid change in events preceding the talks effectively hastened the overall process and made it inevitable that the different groups take stock of their respective positions in order to agree on common preconditions to achieve peace. For purposes of analysis it might be useful to take the year 1955, after the general elections dramatically consolidated the power of the Tunku as the leader of UMNO and the Alliance, as the cutting off point leading to the organisation of the Baling Talks. A starting point must surely be the emergence of Tunku Abdul Rahman as the acknowledged leader of the Malay political party. UMNO. Chin Peng acknowledged that the “Tunku had emerged all powerful — (and that) there was (now) only one camp (among the Malays) and the Tunku led it.”! Indeed there was considerable nificance in this statement because it was tantamount to recog that the Tunku was not a “running dog of colonialism” and that the former was prepared to meet the Tunku despite the fact that the British were still very much in political control. This made it possible for the first time for a face-to-face meeting between the MCP and the leader