not completely isolated from their Malayalised brothers engaged in trade with the Malays. A minority of Orang Asli rejected assimilation including the indigenous tribes of the Malay Peninsula as well as the Orang Kanaq or the Orang Seletar who refused Islam. Colonial period The establishment of British colonial settlements in the peninsula brought further foreign influence into the lives of Orang Asli. The British colonial government began to recognise the Malays as "natives", and the Orang Asli as "aborigines", as the latter were subjects of the Malay rulers, marking the beginning of a policy of paternalism toward the Orang Asli. The British colonial administration formally banned all forms of slavery in the Malay Peninsula in 1884, but in practice, it continued to exist even in 1930. While the British authorities took little interest in the plight of Orang Asli, Christian missionaries began preaching to the Orang Asli. Anthropologists saw in the indigenous population of the peninsula an unploughed field for their study and an interesting subject for research. During British rule, the ethnic character of the peninsula population changed significantly. The development of the colonial economy caused a significant influx of Chinese and Indian people. Chinese traders also appeared in the settlements of the Orang Asli. Due to the traditional antipathy to the Malays, the indigenous Orang Asli were more inclined to improve relations with the Chinese, who were perceived as reliable trading partners. During the Japanese occupation of Malaya in the 1940s, most Orang Asli hid in the jungles bringing them into contact with the ethnic-Chinese Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army also taking refuge in the jungle. With the end of World War II, the British returned to the Malay Peninsula. The Malayan Communist Party tried unsuccessfully to gain influence over the post-war government, and in 1948 the Communists returned to the jungle to launch an armed uprising triggering the Malayan Emergency which lasted from 1948 to 1960. Many secluded jungle Orang Asli villages became strategic locations frequented by the communist guerrillas of the Malayan National Liberation Army increasing cooperation between the two. The positive attitude of the Orang Asli towards the Chinese, in comparison with the Malays, was noticeable. The British government understood the importance of the indigenous population in this situation and began to implement measures aimed at removing the Orang Asli from the influence of the Communists and encouraging them to support government forces. Strategically, the goal