Into the wrong side of history

Chin Peng and CPM rebels who fought government forces during the Emergency were from the era of colonialism and class struggles which have no relevance to today’s generation.

By WONG CHUN WAI, The Star

IT’S an unfinished war for many older Malaysians but for the young generation, it is a war that they never knew.

As for those who fought against the communists, especially members of the security forces, they still have the physical scars to show for it.

The children of soldiers and estate owners speak bitterly of their parents who left home and never returned.

As such to allow Chin Peng, the head of the CPM, to return to Malaysia would be unimaginable; not in their life time, at least.

Following the court rejection of Chin Peng’s application to return to Malaysia, the Malay newspapers have highlighted this issue with stories of Malay veterans who suffered in the fight against the communists.

The impression, unfortunately, is that it is the Malays who cannot forget the Emergency.

We seem to have forgotten that the same sentiment is shared by many Chinese too as the campaign against the communists would not have been successful without the effective infiltration of the CPM by the Special Branch, comprising mainly Chinese policemen.

Secret wars

Until the 1970s, not many realised that secret wars were being fought between the police and CPM, even in suburbs like Petaling Jaya.

In 1974, Tan Sri Rahman Hashim, the Inspector-General of Police, was assassinated by CPM terrorists and an attempt was made to blow up the National Monument.

Those who remember these events would have to be in their late 40s and 50s – they are not even mentioned in our history books in schools.

The late Tan Sri CC Too, the head of psychological warfare for 27 years, refused to attend the Haadyai Peace Accord in 1989, to mark the end of the 41 years of armed struggle.

Until the last days, he was suspicious of the intentions of Chin Peng and CPM, saying the peace accord was not a CPM surrender but a truce and merely “temporarily suspending” its struggle.

The late Aloysius Chin, a former deputy director of Special Branch (Operations), reminded this writer that “Malaysians must remember that the final victory over the CPM is not yet over.” It was the same line he wrote in his book The Communist Party of Malaya: The Inside Story.

He wrote that “the avowed aim of the communists all over the world is to destroy the existing political and economic systems in non-communist countries and to replace them with a World Union of Communist Republics.”

Many of the key strategists in SB are no longer around. Chin Peng, or Ong Boon Hua, would be 85 years old this year.

The house where he was born, in Sitiawan, is said to be a Sports Toto outlet now. He expressed regret over this in his book Chin Peng: My Side of the Story.

In short, the world has changed. The Cold War – the continuing state of tension and competition between the Western world led by the United States and the Communists led by the Soviet Union – ended in the 1990s.

For the young generation, they only know of Coldplay – the British rock group led by Chris Martin, not the Cold War.

The Soviet Union has collapsed and the Russians have embraced capitalism. So has communist China – which ironically, is expected to rescue the world from the effects of the financial crisis.

No country including Malaysia can ignore China because it is one of the largest markets. Nearer to home, our investors have kept themselves busy in Vietnam, technically a communist state.

In Cuba, the days of Fidel Castro are numbered while Bolivian leader Che Guevera is certainly more iconic than Castro.

But if you ask the young Malay boys hanging around Pertama Complex who wear T-shirts with Che on them, they think he is a rock star or equate him with Bob Marley.

Today, most of the ex-CPM members who are still alive live in the Peace Villages in south Thailand.

Instead of the guns they once toted, they carry handphones. Many depend on small businesses and tourism for a living.

Academics specialising in alternative history have given them a lease of life over the past few years with books recording their side of the stories.

A blog has even been set up with blurry videos of their activities.

In many cases, it was abject poverty and alienation, and even failed love relations, which made them join the CPM.

It was not all about abstract ideology and the new generation of leftists would have to admit that Karl Marx, the father of Communism, got it all wrong in his 1848 The Communist Manifesto – he failed to see the birth and expansion of the Middle Class, which embraced consumerism and all things capitalist.

In short, the CPM veterans are people of a different generation and political setting, who were caught up in the world of colonialism and class struggles, which have no relevance to us.

World of black-and-white

Their world was of just black-and-white – like the classic movies of their era.

Today, Islamic radicalism has taken over where communists have left off, with security agencies tracking the likes of Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorists.

Courses in communism would probably be offered in the history faculty instead of the political science classes, where Islamic radicalism would be a compulsory subject.

The Malay CPM veterans – who would have once regarded themselves as atheists – have returned to religion, realising that they would soon be meeting their Creator.

In their last days on earth and for all the killings they have committed, it is best they seek peace and forgiveness.

They are probably too proud to admit that it was a serious mistake to chose the revolutionary path and too late to talk about “what if.”

Contrary to public perception, many ex-CPM members of Chinese origin have returned to Malaysia.

Some veterans become Thai citizens and have no problems returning to Malaysia as tourists.

In many cases, it was reported that their first visits were to pay respects to their dead parents’ graves in Malaysia and soon, they went on holidays to Europe, as a preferred destination.

In his book, Chin Peng said 330 ex-CPM members opted to return to Malaysia immediately after the peace agreement.

In the case of Chin Peng, he said he made applications in 1990 to return to Malaysia but the authorities disclosed that he did not show up for the interview.

Eventually, it became a court battle, which must have made it more difficult for the Home Ministry to meet his request. It is not clear what passport he is holding as he has made Bangkok his base.

Ironically, come December, it would be the 20th year of the Peace Accord in Haadyai, where the architects of the agreement are still alive.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his Thai counterpart, Chavalit Yongchaihudh played the leading roles while the police representatives were former IGPs Tan Sri Rahim Noor and Tan Sri Norian Mai, with retired Gen Kitti Rattanachayam representing the Thai army.

Chin Peng, in his book, said he wanted to die in Malaysia, which he said he was “more than willing to die for”. But for families of those who died in the fight, they have still not forgiven him.

It is a price he has to live with, even in his twilight years.