The Malayan Scouts (Special Air Service Regiment), commonly referred to as the Malayan Scouts, was a temporary special forces unit established in 1950 by the British de facto protectorate government of the Federation of Malaya during the Malayan Emergency. Tasked primarily with conducting air assault and airborne operations, anti-irregular forces, clandestine operations, commando style raids, counterinsurgency, irregular warfare, jungle and mountain warfare, long-range penetration, maneuver warfare, and special reconnaissance in dense rainforest terrain, the unit's mission was to locate, harass, and neutralise insurgents from the Malayan Communist Party.

The Malayan Scouts were formed as a successor to the Ferret Force, an earlier but short-lived special force. Unlike the 21st Special Air Service Regiment (21 SAS) based in the United Kingdom, the Malayan Scouts initially operated as an independent entity with no formal affiliation to the existing SAS. However, their effectiveness in air assault and airborne operations, anti-irregular forces, commando style raids in mountainous forest areas, counterinsurgency operations quickly, irregular warfare, long-range penetration, maneuver warfare, and special reconnaissance earned them official recognition. On 22 December 1951, the British Army formally incorporated the unit into its order of battle, renaming it the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (22 SAS).

Despite the official renaming, the unit continued to be widely known as the Malayan Scouts throughout its operations in British Malaya. It was only formally recognised as 22 SAS after its headquarters was relocated from Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur, to Worcestershire in 1958 and later to Herefordshire in 1960.

The success of the Malayan Scouts played a pivotal role in shaping the future of British special operations. At the time, the British government had considered disbanding the SAS following the conclusion of World War II. However, the Scouts' performance during the Emergency demonstrated the enduring relevance and effectiveness of special forces in modern conflicts, ultimately securing the SAS's survival. Moreover, the Malayan Scouts served as the foundational model for several elite units around the world, including the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS), and the Rhodesian Special Air Service (Rhodesian SAS).

In 1945, Malaya plunged into armed conflict when one of Britain's former World War II allies, the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), launched an anti-colonial campaign against British rule. The insurgency was fuelled by various factors, including economic instability, high unemployment, and the MCP's desire to establish a communist state. The MCP's paramilitary wing, the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA), which had fought alongside the British against Japanese occupation, was reorganised as the Malayan Peoples' Anti-British Army and later renamed the Malayan Races Liberation Army (MRLA). The MRLA began targeting British colonial assets, attacking government buildings, rubber plantations, and tin mines.

The turning point came in April 1948, when MRLA insurgents assassinated three European rubber plantation managers in Sungai Siput, Perak. In response, the British de facto protectorate government of the Federation of Malaya declared a state of emergency in June 1948, marking the beginning of the Malayan Emergency.

The MRLA, well-versed in guerrilla warfare and jungle warfare and trained by the British Special Operations Executive's Far East branch, Force 136, proved to be a formidable force. Recognising the need for an effective counterinsurgency unit, Lieutenant Colonel Walter Walker, GSO1 of Malaya District Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, sought approval to form a specialised force to combat the MCP guerrillas. A veteran of the Burma Campaign, Walker aimed to leverage the experience of recently demobilised Force 136 operatives.

Established in July 1948, this unit—known as Ferret Force—was composed of former Force 136 commandos, including two troops each from the Royal Malay Regiment and Gurkha Rifles, as well as a combat support detachment consisting of Royal Signals personnel, trackers from the Sarawak Rangers, and Chinese interpreters from Hong Kong.