ISA – Giving a ‘Positive Picture of Communists’?

It is deeply distressing, and indeed regrettable, that the distinguished senior Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim should have indicated his intention to raise at Cabinet level, the possibility of the ISA being used “against those who tried to give a positive picture of the communists ”Sun 26/5).

By Dr. Collin Abraham

Such an extreme statement obviously does not merit serious academic or professional discussion; but in the interests of objectivity it is important that the question of Chin Peng’s return should be seen in proper perspective.

In the first place, the question of his being allowed to return is a legal matter only relevant to the terms and conditions of the Peace Accord to which the Malaysian Government and the MCP were signatories. Therefore, since all legal avenues have now been exhausted, “those giving a positive picture of the communists” are in effect merely appealing to the Prime Minister to allow Chin Peng to return on compassionate grounds, foremost among which is the fact that only the MCP led the “armed struggle” against the British Colonial Government for political independence.

It is consequently regrettable that Minister Rais Yatim (who also holds the prestigious Doctorate degree) did not relate to the overall wider perspective of the contribution of Chin Peng as leader of the MCP (CPM), especially as the first political party to call for independence in the nationalist struggle against the British colonial power. The moot point is that surely this, together with the taking up of arms, recognized by the British as important milestones in ‘hastening ’the granting of independence, should now be highlighted under the ‘positive picture‘ on ‘compassionate’ grounds.

The historical record is also well documented that Tun Dr Mahathir, recognized as the foremost Malaysian nationalist, fully acknowledged the strong anti-colonial nationalist contribution of the MCP, by himself single-handedly initiating and orchestrating the entire peace process leading to the successful Peace Accord. Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim therefore must have read the book “The Finest Hour: Malaysian-MCP Peace Accord in Perspective” (two complimentary copies were forwarded to YB) because the main arguments presented were that the MCP represented an intrinsic component of a conglomerate spectrum of nationalist, left and Islamic parties that adopted the strategies of protest and revolution in fighting for, and ultimately achieving, political independence and peace for the country. 

I feel certain that Datuk Seri will want some mention of the significance and relevance of this book especially since Tun Dr Mahathir and Datuk Zaid Ibrahim contributed highly acclaimed lead Forewords. Tun identified and acknowledged that Malay Islamic political parties and other left Malay social movements recognized the contributions of the Chinese and Indian immigrant communities in the struggle for independence and nation-building, and accordingly argued, that these groups had earned legitimate recognition for a political stake in a sovereign independent Malaya/Malaysia. This Foreword therefore, coming as it does from the very Prime Minister who in fact successfully negotiated the Accord which brought peace and economic prosperity, is therefore ample testimony that the debate goes beyond merely appealing for Chin Peng to return by painting a so-called “positive picture of communists”.

Zaid Ibrahim pointed out that (because of British propaganda) the cooperation between the Malays and Chinese particularly in the MCP’ militant activities, were totally ‘blacked out’ so that like most Malays, he himself was oblivious to this racial unity that existed in the revolutionary movement for political independence. 

Finally, the decision by Blackwell’s (Oxford) to include an insertion from this book for the Encyclopedia on Protest and Revolution (2009) as the only relevant reference dating back to 1500 strongly acknowledges for the very first time ever, that it was the protest and revolutionary movements that finally led to the signing of the Peace Accord .Accordingly, the Accord was a clear endorsement that, despite cultural differences and the overwhelming civil suppression and outright military onslaught not only from the British Army but also from the armed forces from other Commonwealth countries, full political freedom and peace was finally achieved. 

Now for the first time, the Malaysian shared experience of “blood, sweat and tears” will be brought to the intellectual, academic, and indeed the world community. This is only the beginning of the struggle for nation-building, but an absolutely important first step in Malaysia’s journey forward. Clearly, the documentation of relevant experiences based on research scholarship in this book, considered by the Editor as “helping to produce a truly outstanding reference resource” can go a long way towards achieving this objective. 

I firmly believe and appeal to Datuk Dr Rais to kindly follow up on his strong assertions by recommending to the Prime Minister that the “Finest Hour’ be translated to BM, Chinese and Tamil and referenced as “required reading” for all Colleges, Universities, and Centres of Higher Learning.