My Final Message – Chin Peng
Published by Media Masters, Singapore, 2003. 527 page
(The Unsung Hero To Return?)
[UPDATE: BANGKOK (AFP) – Malaysia’s renowned former communist fighter Chin Peng, who led a guerrilla campaign against British colonial rule, died in exile in Thailand on Monday, 16 September 2013 according to his military liaison. The 89-year-old, who left Malaysia around five decades ago, had been hospitalised in Bangkok for several years.
“He died this morning of cancer,” said General Pisarn Wattanawongkiri, a former Thai military commander and point of contact between Chin Peng and the authorities.
Born Ong Boon Hua in Malaysia’s north, Chin Peng was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and won two medals for helping the British fight the Japanese in Malaya during World War II.]
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Essentially, we all live in a cosmopolitan world comprising of every colour, race & creed – tall or short, big or small. Without exception, east to west, north to south, no country is mono-ethnic any more . . . what with international migration & mobility, influx of refugees brought on by wars, changing economic circumstances & opportunities, rapid transport & communication, most national populations are constantly in a state of flux & movement.
Under such circumstances, the difficulty of claiming where you belong stands supreme. However, if you owe allegiance & loyalty to where you are then the right of living in the country of your adoption should raise no question. Of course, for those living in the place of their birth, all legitimacy of being sons of the soil (termed “bumiputras” as in Malaysia) goes without any dispute or gainsaying.
Most of the original inhabitants of a place are often lost by way of domination & even marginalised by the superimposition of the higher culture. We see good examples in North & South America, Canada and Australia.
All human beings are the same the world over with the same hope, dreams & aspirations. All discriminations, oppression & domination should be ruled out. US, the greatest democratic nation in the world, so proclaimed & enshrined it in its constitution that “all men are equal”. Yet utterly unbelievable & shamefully, it is promoting domination rather than advocating peaceful co-operation & harmonious living.
With reference to Malaysia, whatever promotions the “Barisonputras” undertake like the recent Astro TV screening of “Unsung Heroes”, strong political overtone & hidden agenda are clearly & evidently attached. Why only involved the selected Indian community? Aren’t there no other unsung heroes from the other communities? Ironically, the 1Malaysia Policy is setting racial communities apart causing polarisation. Divide & rule is the name of the game.
I can think of many “unsung heroes” but suffice right now for me to mention just one man – Chin Peng, a true national patriot whose cause for national sovereignty & security caused him a lifetime of struggle & suffering. By any definition, he is an unsung hero, devoting his life to fighting against the Japanese invaders of Malaya (then known, now Malaysia) during WW2.
The British colonial masters were already driven out of the country by the Japanese leaving it defenceless.
For his part in the Japanese defeat, Chin Peng was awarded the OBE by the British Crown & two war medals in January 1947.
A nation like a tree got to have roots. The deeper the roots are the stronger the tree will be to weather the storm & withstand the test of time. Culturally, nationals must know their roots, with warts and all like China, before finding their wings to fly & soar. You can’t change history nor can you cover it up. Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat & other Malay folk heroes, whoever they were, their bodies may be dead & buried, but their spirits live on. Why would politicians take them off from the school history text books? What shame & hurt will the “Barisonputras” want to hide & erase history’s past? This is a serious indictment indeed!
Chin Peng (aka Ong Boon Hua) OBE. Born October 22, 1924. Age 89 Still living in exile in Thailand
Chin Peng (Chinese: 陳平, Mandarin Chén Píng), former OBE, born Ong Boon Hua (Chinese: 王文華, Pinyin Wáng Wén Huá) in 1924, was a long-time leader of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP). A determined patriot fighter & anti-colonialist, he led the party’s guerrilla insurgency first against the Japanese in WW2 & in the Malayan Emergency, fighting against British and Commonwealth forces in an attempt to establish an independent Communist state.
After the MCP’s defeat and subsequent Malaysian independence in 1957, Chin waged a campaign against the new state of Malaysia in an attempt to replace its government with a Communist one from exile, until signing a peace accord with the Malaysian government in 1989. (Wikipedia).
Chin Peng’s Ancestral Home in Putian, Fuzhou Province, China (Courtesy of Francis)
Chin Peng was born (October 22, 1924) in Sitiawan, Perak (residents refer to it as City-A-One) , the same birth place as the ex-MCA president Dato Dr Ling Liong Sik. He’s a genuine son of the soil – Malaysia’s very own.
Following briefly is the chronological main events in his life:
January 1940: Accepted as probationary member of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM); put in charge of Communist members in Sitiawan.
July 4, 1940: Leaves home.
December 1941: Communists’ offer of help accepted; joins the fight against the Japanese.
January 10, 1942: The first batch of the Malayan Peoples Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA)
1942: Meets future wife, Khoon Wah.
1945: World War II ends.
January 1946: Awarded 2 war medals; boycotts tour of British bases; forced to sign letter of apology. Later, Chin Peng is elected secretary-general of MCP.
December 28, 1955: Baling Talks held with David Marshall and Tunku Abdul Rahman, unsuccessful because of surrender terms. After the Baling Talks, Chin Peng retires to Thailand. Ah Hai replaces him as acting Secretary-General in Malaya.
1960: The Emergency is officially declared at an end. However, fighting still continues. Special Malaysian government troops going by the name “Senoi Praaq” prove to be a thorn in Chin Peng’s side.
December 2, 1989: A peace treaty is signed between the communists, Thailand and Malaysia. The long, hard war the British had preferred to term an Emergency was over.
#A point of interest here: Chin Peng’s story & his dealings with the British sound like opening the pages of the same as with Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden. Once the purpose is served, people can easily be dispensed with.
October 6–8, 2004: Chin Peng visits Singapore for 3 days to speak at the Institute of South-east Asian Studies (ISEAS).
2005: Chin Peng is pending to return to Malaysia. His hearing was scheduled for May 25, 2005, and the High Court postponed it to July 25, 2005. This application was subsequently rejected.
June 2008: Chin Peng’s lost his bid to return to Malaysia when the Court of Appeal demanded he showed identification papers to prove his Malayan citizenship. (Source: Wikipedia)
Malaysia a modern democratic nation. Pernas Twin Towers in KL
Now what kind of law & justice is this rejecting Chin Peng from returning to his homeland Malaysia, a place where he fought to preserve? He is 89 now & in the twilight years of his life. He wants to return home rather than living in exile in Thailand. His return – one of the terms of 1989 peace agreement – is unfairly denied.
This is Malaysian justice rejecting its own son from returning home to roost. The worst scenario is that the “Barisonputras” would shamelessly accord citizenship freely to foreigners from Asia & the right to vote to ensure their permanent grip of political power.
Let’s live in peace & harmony
Let Chin Peng return home.
You be the judge & jury!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NydPyN-f6iw&feature=share&list=PL00907FBF6FB8CEF6
© Paul Chong
A Chinese by Descent
An Australian by Consent.
23 July 2013
SFI – Senior Fellowship Initiative
Paul Chong's Blog 