THE EMERGENCY AND THE COMMUNIST THREAT The post-war Malay political goals and leadership were formulated with large degree of unity, but the battle to determine the agenda and leadership of the Chinese community was slow and bloody. The Chinese were a diverse community whose political interests, if they had them. had revolved around the power struggle in China. There was no"traditional" leadership in their community, and when the war was over, the direction of the community was up for grabs. At the end of World War II, the Chinese in Malaya were the wealthiest of the three Their superior average income and control of the retail trade however, disguised sections of their community that had serious economic grievances and were threatened the new order. Over 500,000 Chinese about a quarter of the Chinese population, were squatters who had fled the towns and cities as a result of hard times caused by the Great Depression and the Japanese occupation. Living on the fringes of the jungle, they had no title to their lands and were isolated from government influence and services. If