ID :
63051
Thu, 05/28/2009 - 17:59
Auther :

CHIN PENG A BRITISH NATIONAL, SAYS HISTORIAN



By Syed Azwan Syed Ali


KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 (Bernama) -- Chin Peng, the former secretary-general of
the outlawed Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), is not a Malaysian citizen but a
British national, according to historian Prof Emeritus Dr Khoo Kay Kim.

Dr Khoo said Chin Peng, whose real name is Ong Boon Hua, was born in 1923 in
Sitiawan which is in the Dindings District.

He said Dindings then was a part of the Straits Settlements which came under
the British colonial administration.

"Dindings was a part of the Straits Settlements since 1826 and was only
handed
over to Perak in the 1930s. The Straits Settlements comprising Penang, Melaka
and Singapore had been under British colonial administration between 1867 and
1941.

"According to these facts of history, Chin Peng is a British national and
not a
Malaysian citizen," he told Bernama when asked to comment on calls by several
people for the former CPM leader to be allowed to live in Malaysia.

Penang Gerakan chairman Dr Teng Hock Nan had asked the government to allow
Chin Peng to return to the country on humanitarian grounds as he was no longer a
threat to national security.

Teng's statement drew strong opposition from various quarters, particularly
members of ex-policemen's and ex-servicemen's associations whose relatives and
colleagues had fallen victim to the communist brutality during the Emergency
between 1948 and 1960.

Chin Peng's attempt to get to reside in the country through the process of
law also failed when the High Court dismissed his appeal because he did not
furnish his identification documents.

The Federal Court in April upheld two lower courts' decisions compelling him
to produce his identification papers if he wanted to enter the country. Chin
Peng is believed to live in Bangkok.

"There may be no problems if Chin Peng intends to go to Britain. But if he
wants to come to Malaysia, he has to prove that he is a Malaysian citizen," said
Dr Khoo.

He said many people assumed that only Malays were killed by the communists
during the Emergency but many Chinese and Indians were also murdered.

Thousands of civilians and members of the security forces were killed in the
guerrilla war staged by Chin Peng and his colleagues from the jungles between
1948 and until the CPM laid down arms in 1989.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said Wednesday the government
would not allow Chin Peng to return to Malaysia as it would lead to
dissatisfaction among the people, especially those who fought the communists and
families who lost their loved ones during the Emergency.

-- BERNAMA




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