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Hatyai, Mon 30 Nov - Former Communist Party of Malaya (CPM)
secretary-general Chin Peng (picture) said he would not use a third party but would
instead use the "necessary channel" to convey his wish to Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Najib Tun Razak to be allowed to return to Malaysia.
If possible, he hoped to meet Najib when the latter visited southern
Thailand, scheduled for the second week of December, the former guerilla said.
On former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Norian Mai's statment that he
had waited too long and now it was now too late for him to return, he said he di
not want to argue with Norian, who was one of the key negotiators in the talks
between the CPM and the Malaysian government.
"...but the fact is, I went to an appointed place to meet government
representatives. I can't remember the exact location, but it's near Hatyai. But
I could not find them, then someone told me to move to another place and then
another place...alas I could not find them and it remains a mystery to me up to
now," he said.
Chin Peng reiterated that all he wanted was to return to Malaysia to see his
family and pay respect to his ancestors in Sitiawan.
"I am an old man, 85 years old. As an old man, I wish to see my family and
pay respect to my ancestors. This is my last chance to go back home. My return
home is not to create trouble," he said in an interview at the
Lee Gardens Hotel here where he led the CPM leadership to sign the Dec 2, 1989,
agreement which ended the communist armed revolt.
He has a son in Malaysia while his daughter is in Australia.
Asked why he had kept a very low profile despite being a well-known figure
in Malaysian history, Chin Peng, who wore a batik shirt and had to be assisted
when moving around, said he was not after publicity, unless it was unavoidable.
After the CPM was outlawed in the 1940s, he made his first public appearance
in 1955 during the aborted Baling Talks where he met the country's first prime
minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, before coming out again to sign the Peace
Accord in 1989, but remained elusive until a few months back.
Chin Peng, who was given an alien passport by the Thai government, said he
had been staying in Bangkok for the past few years, but was never involved in
any business activities.
The CPM ceased to receive any assistance from the Communist Party of China
after the peace signing, he said, adding that there was no reason to ask for
help from them after that.
He said that from feedback he had received, most of his former comrades who
had returned to Malaysia are doing well in their new lives.
"They are doing well, but not everyone," he said, adding that there were
also many living in the four peace villages established by the Thai government
in Yala province bordering Malaysia.
Under the peace accord, 339 former CPM members returned in 13 groups to
Malaysia from the Thailand-Malaysia border between August 1991 and December 1992
while some settled down in several peace villages established by the Thai
government in Yala province.
On reports that there are former CPM members involved in the ongoing
insurgency in the Muslim-majority southern Thai provinces, Chin Peng said the
conflict had nothing to do with them.
"I am not aware. As far as my information and reports from my Malay comrades
there are concerned, there was no problem...no reason to join the insurgency."
he said.
Asked what had become of the CPM after laying down arms for the last 20
years, Chin Peng maintained that the party was still alive, but not posing a
threat to anyone as it was in hibernation.
"Yes, the CPM is still alive...in hibernation. We are not active anymore,
just some reunions among our comrades," said Chin Peng who led a jungle guerilla
war against the Malaysian government which lasted several decades.
He said that since the signing of the peace accord, he believed both parties
had met most of their obligations set out in the agreement, but the decision to
bar him from returning home remained a sticky issue.
He said Monday's ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the historic
signing could be his last public appearance in Thailand.
Monday's event was organised by the 21st Century Friendship Association of
Malaysia comprising former CPM members who have settled down in Malaysia after
the peace accord.
Chin Peng can't recall why the infamous 1955 Baling Talks had failed.
The 85-year-old former guerilla said he could not recall as it happened some
54 years ago, which also was the last time he set foot on Malaysian soil.
To a question whether he regretted his past actions or wanted to apologise
for them, Chin Peng paused for a while, before answering, "if I say regret, some
people will interpret in a different way".
"But if those innocent people were really killed by us, wrongly killed by
us, of course I will," he said.
Chin Peng was in town for a reunion of former comrades in conjunction with
the 20th anniversary of the historic peace accord signed between the CPM and the
governments of Malaysia and Thailand in 1989.
When the then Malayan federal government declared amnesty to the communists
on Sept 8, 1955, only a few surrendered.
Chin Peng, then about 31 years old, in realising that the armed conflict had
not brought any progress, sought a referendum.
The peace talks then took place at a school in Baling on Dec 28 and 29. CPM
was represented by Chin Peng, Rashid Maidin, a senior member of the party, and
Chen Tien, Chin Peng's second-in-command.
The federal government was represented by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the country's
first prime minister who was then chief minister, MCA president Tun Sir Tan
Cheng Lock, Singapore chief minister David Marshall and Too Joon Hing, the
assistant minister of education.
At the talks, it was reported that Chin Peng asked Tunku to explain the
actual meaning of "loyalty to Malaya".
Tunku stated that one of the things that Malayans expected was that the
communists should give up their communist activities and that loyalty to Malaya
would include acceptance of the position of the Malay Rulers and agreement to
uphold their dignity.
Tan said that if a man wanted to live in Malaya, he should assume the
responsibilities and duties of a good citizen while Marshall defined loyalty as
"loyalty to the government of the day, and loyalty to the constitutional
processes in bringing about such changes for the welfare of the people".
When asked by Chin Peng by what other means the emergency could be ended,
Tunku said the insurgents give up their communist activities and prove
themselves loyal to the country.
Tunku also reiterated that the federal government was not prepared to
recognise the CPM because communist activities in the country had been
associated with various atrocities and violence.
"We want to extract a promise from you that you will not carry on your
activities, which we say are not loyal to Malaya and are prejudicial to the
interests of Malaya and Malayans. We will want you to sign a declaration to that
effect," Tunku had said.
It was reported that Chin Peng refused to accept this and the talks broke
down.
The communist fighter considered surrender a humiliation and reportedly
said, "If you demand our surrender, we would prefer to fight to the last
humiliation. If you demand our surrender, we would prefer to fight to the last
man."
Before the talks ended, Tunku appealed to Chin Peng to think of the general
welfare of the people and if the communists were prepared to show any change of
attitude, they should not consider their pride at the next meeting.
It was reported that another meeting was scheduled for November 1957 but it
did not take place as Chin Peng still maintained his principle of not
surrendering.
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