Time to reclaim our true history
Prof Zainal Kling (right) first dropped the bombshell when he said several days ago that Malaya was never colonised.
He said under the British, the Malay states were merely protectorates because the Malay rulers retained their sovereignty. Only Singapore, Malacca and Penang, known as the Straits Settlements, were colonies.
He said Malaya was colonised by the British for only two years, during the Malayan Union period from early 1946 to the end of 1947, and by the Japanese during the Second World War. Wow!
And here’s his punch line – it is therefore wrong to say that the police, political leaders and Malay officers before 1957 were subservient to the British.
Ah! That’s the main point, isn’t it? He brought all that up to discredit what PAS deputy president Mohamad (Mat) Sabu (left) had recently said about the attack on Bukit Kepong, didn’t he?
Mat Sabu had said that the real heroes of that incident were not the police who defended the Bukit Kepong police station because they were serving the British, but that the credit should go to Mat Indera, the communist who led the attack, because he was fighting against the colonialists.
Mat Sabu’s remarks have created a storm since, and both sides of the political divide have been drawn into it. Their supporters have also entered the fray, either voluntarily or through being instigated to do so. Even ex-servicemen have joined in.
But supposing what Zainal has said is true – that we were never colonised – why did he wait till now to point this out? Why did he keep it secret from the whole country and allow the government to continue to celebrate Independence Day every year when there was really no liberation from colonialism to begin with? Why did he let Malaysians put up with this masquerade?
Something doesn’t add up.
By withholding this crucial piece of information from the nation, is Zainal Kling being a true Malaysian? Why has he waited till this politically opportune time to drop the bomb?
Semantic quibble
The other professor who has come out to say the same is Prof Emeritus Khoo Kay Kim. He corroborated Zainal’s viewpoint by saying that “the British never ruled the country”. They had “merely taken over the administration of our country”, he added.
Excuse me! Is there a difference between “ruling” and “administering”?
This whole thing sounds like a semantic quibble – the British merely administered, they did not rule; we were not colonised, we retained our sovereignty; we were a protectorate, not a colony.
Khoo (right) said that from a legal point of view, Malaya was never colonised because the British made treaties with the Malay rulers before taking over the administration. That may be the form, but let’s not forget the substance.
In being a part of this ‘conspiracy’ of silence together with Zainal until this politically opportune time, Khoo’s status as a true Malaysian must also be viewed with suspicion, mustn’t it? Are there other professors involved in this ‘conspiracy’?
Suaram president Kua Kia Soong hints that the professors’ response to Mat Sabu’s remarks is “sickeningly deferential”. This seems to imply that they have been put up to it. And if so, their academic integrity would have to be questioned too, because aren’t academics supposed to be above politics?
The great sin for professors, especially History professors, would be revisioning history to serve political purposes. Or to be deferential to the government of the day.
As it is, Malaysian history as presented to Malaysians has been little more than a construct designed to aggrandise the ruling party, especially Umno. The real history has not been fully told. And the reason for this is that the ruling party has been adept at manipulating historical facts, including omitting important ones, to present a story that glorifies the party itself and promotes Ketuanan Melayu.
To be sure, Umno was not the only party that engaged in the movement for independence. It was not even the first on the scene. Others came before it.
Baling Talks meant to fail
Watch the documentary ’10 Tahun Sebelum Merdeka’ by the film-maker Fahmi Reza and learn about the struggles of the multi-racial Putera-AMCJA for independence 10 years before 1957.
Learn about the People’s Constitution they drafted, the successful country-wide ‘hartal’ they staged on Oct 20, 1947, to protest against the Federation of Malaya Constitutional Proposals made by the British. Guess who staged a counter-protest to the ‘hartal’ in some rural areas like Senggaram and Bagan Datoh?
Umno! (Doesn’t it remind you of Umno Youth counter-protesting againt Bersih 2.0?)
Read about the struggles of Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM), which came into being seven months before Umno was formed.
Read about the fight against colonialism by the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), founded in 1930. Yes, the communists were freedom fighters. Anyone who says “those who regard the communists as freedom fighters are traitors” (like retired lieutenant-general Ja’afar Onn) is talking rubbish.
Who fought the Japanese when they invaded Malaya? And after the war, when the communists went about killing people, whom were they targeting? Those who had collaborated with the Japanese.
In 1945, the CPM opted to work for national independence using legal means. But in time, the British began cracking down on what they considered radical factions opposing its rule. The CPM was declared illegal in 1948. Then the Emergency was declared as the CPM mounted an armed struggle against the British colonialists.
In 1955, the CPM made overtures to Tunku Abdul Rahman’s government to negotiate peace. That led to the Baling talks (right).
If you were to read the transcripts of that negotiation carefully, you would realise that Chin Peng, representing the communists, was sincere in wanting to lay down arms and be part of the legitimate political movement towards independence because he acknowledged that the government was now an elected one and as such he was no longer fighting the British.
It was the Tunku who made things difficult for the communists by demanding total surrender and subjection to a period of detention for them to be investigated. This scuttled the talks.
When journalist Said Zahari asked the Tunku right afterwards if he was disappointed that the talks were not successful, the Tunku gave an astoundingly revealing reply. “No, no, not at all,” he said. “I never wanted it to be a success.”
Twisted history
These are not what have been taught in our schools. And so for generations, millions of Malaysian students have graduated not knowing the full story. Only the story that Umno wants them to know. And Umno has been revisioning history too, downplaying the contributions of the leftists and the non-Malay communities.
Just visit the Independence Memorial in Malacca and see for yourself.
This is not unexpected. Our leaders have been twisting things to suit their political agenda for decades. And historical facts are not spared. But the spin against Mat Sabu has gone out of whack. His opposers have even extrapolated the meaning of his remarks to imply that he does not appreciate the sacrifices of the police and the armed forces. This is certainly not true. There is no such implication.
By saying that the Bukit Kepong police were serving the British, he did not say that the whole armed forces of this country from that era till now are worthless. No logical person would see such an implication in what he said – unless their agenda is to shoot him down regardless of logic.
All told, there has been a lot of vitriol thrown at Mat Sabu, and consternation expressed at the ‘revelations’ of Zainal Kling and Khoo Kay Kim, but there is also an upside to the whole episode.
It is opening up a new public debate that is much needed. And the theme of that debate is the reclaiming of our true history. Forums are being held, including one discussing the role of the leftists in the struggle for independence, featuring eyewitness Said Zahari (left) himself.
More history experts should be joining in. As well as more chroniclers of those times. The Malaysian mental revolution starts now. And the reclaiming of our true history is its catalyst.
