Saturday 27 December 2008

C. P. Lim's Lament




Thank you gosmusik for Gilbert O'Sullivan's Why Oh Why Oh Why.

One man's meat is another man's poison. One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist!!.. To the British, the IRA is a terrorist outfit but the Irish (at least the Catholics) have a different perspective on it. And by the way, the Irish troubles have always been dressed as sectarian violence, not religious, as between the Catholics and the Protestants. It's to do with the 'flexibility' of the English language.

Ong Boon Hwa, alias Lim Chin Peng, is a freedom fighter in the eyes of Western academics, old-fashioned Socialists, present day Liberals, chauvinists and self-loathing 'liberal' Malays. Let's chew on this a little:

The British Government, both Labour ( left-wing, so called) and Conservative (true blue right wing) were happy to bed with the Chinese Communists in Malaya when they were outclassed by the Japanese during the 2nd World War. It also became respectable for Winston Churchill, Roosevelt and de Gaulle to be holding hands with Stalin for the purpose of defeating Hitler. This is sleeping with the enemy under the 'selimut' (blanket) - cosying up before the knives are drawn once the alliance has outlived its usefulness. This was exactly what happened after the defeat of the Japanese in the Peninsula. The partners in this marriage of convenience parted and went on with their own agenda and guess who paid the price?
As early as 1943, MPAJA had drawn up a plan for a People's Republic of Malaya and it was endorsed by the international Communist setup. No Malay, be they the nobility or the rakyat, knew that their homeland had been given away without consultation or permission. And by the end of the war nearly 10,000 armed, trained and disciplined Chinese remained in the jungle.

Let's now look at LCP's credentials before we anoint him as the Malay Peninsula's liberation fighter. Born in 1924 in Perak, educated in Chinese and English, he joined AEBUS (Anti-Enemy Backing Up Society) to send aid to China in response to Japanese aggression in China. It's equivalent today to joining a Muslim Organisation to liberate Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and Palestine from the Alliance of Judaeo-Christian Nations! The MCP is not a Malay Peninsula political and national force . The leaders are Chinese with Chinese names. Albeit there are Malays in it, like the precursor of the Ali Baba Syndrome. However one only has to look at the table above and judge the involvement of the Malays in the MCP.
LCP and his setup are nothing like Gandhi's in India, Sukarno's in Indonesia, Ho Chi-Minh's in Vietnam or Garibaldi's in Italy.
It had no support from the Malay peasants - the proportion of Malay guerrillas was 1 in 20 and this figure does not indicate whether this was pre- or post-Japanese defeat. But certainly the MCP was supported by half a million Chinese squatters - and Chinese 'farmers' squatting in agriculture, of course, was rare before the Economic Slump of the 1930s.


We need to ask this question. When did the Chinese (or the Indians for that matter) begin to see the Malay Peninsula as 'home' - in the sentimental, spiritual and traditional sense? Or has it just been the Goose that laid the Golden Egg, a temporary accommodation for enterprise and profit, which by the way also benefitted the British. Again a flocking of similar birds of passage.
In fact in the 1950s the Chinese were claiming the right to be loyal to Malaya and China. The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce petitioned the Colonial Government for status to give them full citizenship rights in Malaya while remaining citizens of China - good try but the Brits were not buying.
If there was a negligible number of Malays in the MCP, this was paralleled by the scanty existence of Chinese in the Security Forces.Up to 1952, 20 Chinese enlisted in the Federation Regiment. Between 1 April to October 1952 there were 505 Chinese in the Federation of Malaya Police Force which is 0.089% of male Chinese population of 19 years and over. Before the Emergency, one could describe the attitude of the Malays to the Chinese as derived from envy. But now there was the element of anger. They bore the brunt of defending their homeland and protecting the British and Chinese Corporations from the terrorists. They had to leave their kampungs and agriculture unattended and the economic boom of the 1950s brought no benefit to them.

We all know what transpired with LCP when the Emergency 'ended' in 1960. He travelled to China to get permission for ending the armed struggle but Deng Xiaoping told him that "South East Asia was ripe for Revolution" and so the CPM maintained the 'war' for decades after. Following the 1966 Cultural Revolution in China, a sort of "verification" programme for Mao to purge his rivals, LCP's CPM in 1968 split into 3 factions accompanied by similar purges, mass trials and executions. Even though he was by now living in Southern China, Communist insurgency did not end. When the Cold War ended, i.e when the free market and capitalism did not remain a dirty word in Russia and China, LCP returned to southern Thailand for the 1989 Agreement. He vowed he was still a Marxist-Leninist, a dying breed in the rest of the world. He could claim to be so because Malaysia does not force people to recant, and publicly apologise and purge themselves of their 'sins'. He also wanted to carry on with his party activities.

Why does he want to come back to Malaysia? Leon Comber who served with the Special Branch during the Emergency had this to say.

I met Chin Peng in 1999 at a conference at Canberra.....He was like a towkay...spoke English, Malay and Chinese ...seemed forthright but who knows what he held back. In retrospect he was probably gathering information for his history (Chin Peng's book, 'My side of the Story' was published in 2003)
The problem with him coming back is that he is still adamant that he is a Marxist and unapologetic over the Emergency. My own view is that he just wants a place in history.


In October 2oo4 LCP was invited for a 3-day conference at Singapore's Institute of South-east Asian Studies and in June 2008 he failed in his appeal to return to Malaysia.

In May of this year at the street near my home in Leicester, Lely and I were confronted by racist taunts from 12-13 year olds , yes they were that young. They were half-black, half-Asian and full Asian kids. They yelled from across the street very proudly that they were "born in England". I replied and yelled "so are monkeys". I felt no pride in saying that because I was old enough to be their grandmother. They start very young nowadays.

There is a marked difference between being a person of Malaysian origin and a Malaysian citizen. You may have all the documents at hand but those years of insurrection and treason against the Malay Peninsula together with the deaths of 12,000 (?) civilians should make you a pariah and a persona non grata in any self-respecting nation.

LCP should just keep to writing and making speeches like ex-Prime Ministers and ex-Presidents do. He has a greater cache among the New Liberals and a more exciting tale to tell. If some Malaysians and Malaysian film makers are desperate in finding A LOCAL HERO, come and talk to Osman and Aisha.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

My dear Nor,

You know what ? You are beginning to remind me of Abah more and more..

"No Malay, be they the nobility or the rakyat, knew that their homeland had been given away without consultation or permission. "

I remember that sentiment from him. I was too young but he always had friends to talk to and I used to eavedrop their conversations. To me ( and I'm sure to you too) Abah had and will always be the greatest patriot in my life.

The trainings and services he gave to the Malay soldiers in the British Army , the spirit and support he gave to them as a civilian in the battle against the nation's enemies in the jungle -- the time he spent in the RAF and later the RAMC .....

..AND SOME BASTARDS ARE SAYING THAT THIS CHIN PENG WAS A FREEDOM FIGHTER ??

Thanks for the post . It would certainly help the younger generation of understanding the real history better --- and not some personal dubious agenda campaigns by certain groups .

By the way , I know of at least one " chauvinists and self-loathing 'liberal' Malays " who made a film championing this murderer cause , and in the process insulted the death of thousands of policemen, soldiers and civilians ---just so he could enjoy his life, be educated in a British University on scolarship from the very government of a country which he later condemned !

mus.
ps. pardon the many errors as this is written in anger ..

Unknown said...

Ms Hamid

Thanks for your efforts to further straighten out the lies spread by malicious quarters.

I could feel your patriotic heartbeat.

I hope the self-loathing 'liberal' Malays could take time to evaluate their views and perhaps face reality.

From the bottom of my heart, "Terima Kasih"

anak si-hamid said...

Thank you Mus and Omong for the kind comments. I should not have to do this at my age. Dammit, I'm 64 and should be in my rocking chair with a cat or cats on my lap, nurturing nostalgic thoughts and wait for the sun to set.

But I have to do this for Abah and the youngsters before they are totally lulled into the seductions of materialism and consumerism.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mak Ngah
1, Nice, well researched piece of work.Why can't history be this interesting back in school? Keeping this for my kids to read when they are old enough to understand.
2, Keep on writing - there's always something new from you that we could all learn from and..
3, Don't worry about not enjoying your rocking chair or the sunset. This kind of writing(mental exercise?) will make you young at heart....& mind.

Happy Maal Hijrah!

Azan.
ps: Work life balance = Work 8hrs + rest 8hrs + 'play' 8hrs divide by pray 24hrs :)

anak si-hamid said...

Thanks 'Zan,
I do agree wholeheartedly with the daily schedule. Is cooking and cleaning part of work or play?

Anonymous said...

"...the scanty existence of Chinese in the Security Forces.Up to 1952, 20 Chinese enlisted in the Federation Regiment. Between 1 April to October 1952 there were 505 Chinese in the Federation of Malaya Police Force which is 0.089% of male Chinese population of 19 years and over...."

A lot of 'this' type of writings floating among the Malay blogsphere, history has been twisted!

The lack of the Chinese in the police & arm forces during that period (40s-50s)was simply due to;

1) the British has made a pact with the Sultants to ensure that Malays has the majority of the civil servant posts. Some medium, top posts were given to the royal elites, while most of the other incidental posts were subscribed to the Malays.

2) The British didn't trust the Chinese Malayans because of MPAJA.

Before u made peace with yr god, do consider that a coin has both sides. & bigot always look at the side that reflects his/her face ONLY!

anak si-hamid said...

To Anonymous,
1.Please do not bring God or religion into the picture.
2. And if the Brits did not trust the Chinese, why did they award C.P. Lim the Order of the British Empire?
3. Thank you for your comment. It's always good to have an intelligent dialogue.

Anonymous said...

1) My mentioning of god here is purely as a standard english expression! u can as well changing the expression to made peace with yourself.

2) Chin Ping was awarded an Order of the British Empire because of his working contributions in fighting the Japanese occupying forces in Malaya, together with the outside British support. Nothing more nothing less. There was NEVER any trust between the British & the MCP. In fact the MCP was hunted down like rabbit after the British's return. The British was only using the MCP as their 'fighting men' at the front-line while 'sitting pretty' at S'pore/Australia.

I'm just a simple passerby, who reads history like His-story!

Ciaos!

Anonymous said...

to anonymous
9.54 pm.

'& bigot always look at the side that reflects his/her face ONLY!.

1. Your writing proves it as well ! But really---your sweeping statement like "A lot of 'this' type of writings floating among the Malay blogsphere, history has been twisted!" without proof also shows the bigotry in you !

2.Likewise many others who proclaimed that Chin Peng was a freedom fighter in other blogs, (You should pay a visit to rockybru's blog).

it is indeed refreshing for once to read and know that 'a coin has both sides',as shown by anaksihamid rather than just the same side barked about by the same people !

Please substantiate your opinion on :-
1) the British has made a pact with the Sultants to ensure that Malays has the majority of the civil servant posts. Some medium, top posts were given to the royal elites, while most of the other incidental posts were subscribed to the Malays.

2) The British didn't trust the Chinese Malayans because of MPAJA."

-OR I WOULD JUST REGARD THEM AS RUBBISH as "A lot of 'this' type of writings floating among the non= Malay blogsphere, history has been twisted!

2. Incidently , I agree with the blogger that you should never bring in God in this discussion. The question of a person's death is not for you to even mention ! Its like my saying may you have a horrible end to your life -- a living death would be nice for you !

mus

Anonymous said...

to anonymous
9.54 pm & 12.21am

1, I don't see any reason to take this argument further.The key word here is TRUST.

2,There must be good reasons then(shall I elaborate?)why not just the locals but even the colonial masters feel that way. Sad to say, Dong Jiong made the feeling eternal.

Azan.

Anonymous said...

1) A caveat - I just happen to pass-by this part of the world for holiday.

2) I don't care about how M'sia is going to end up - a la' Yugoslavia or what. This is the choice of the locals.

3) mus - u wished too much! I've done years of history researches on SEA. I have access to the huge contents of the British Museum library. Suffice to say that u might ended up with yr sky-ward spit on yr face.

4) Indeed it's TRUST! The British didn't trust the MPAJA/MCP because these groups of people wanted to break away from colonial power, whether it's Japanese or British. While the 'majority' of the Malays then only wanted to sit tight, laid-back & be happy as a colonial side-kicks.

Merdeka? What merdeka? Go & read some real history to find out that ONE of the major reason for the British to grant independence to Malaya was the 'wash hand quick' feeling back home! The WW2 had made the British populace very inward looking & demanded the govt to look after the homeland FIRST.

The British learned the lessons from the India/Pakistan independence such that they didn't trust the local Malays to be able to administrate the young nation. Thus the insistence of the participation of other races in forming the govt.

Anyway, I'm not here to give history lectures. Go & find out yrselves. BTW make very sure to read between the lines & cross-references with sources from friends & foes!

This land is beatiful BUT the people... It might as well be inhabited by the orangutan alone!

Anonymous said...

1, A caveat - well read doesn't always equal full understanding.Care to challenge this??

2, There you see: 'I don't care how the nation turns out to be' and yet you have the cheek to make condemning remarks. Fyi the rest of us really2 care how the country will turn out to be, thus we talk facts.
Here again I'd like to emphasize well read doesn't mean well understand, esp when a person have a preset idea.

3, Your definition of TRUST remain yours based on your 'well read' perception which I'd really like to know which scholar wrote as such based on what facts.

If I take all the arguments above (esp the I don't care attitude) it just re emphasize my point before on TRUST. Too bad this come out from a well read person.

Azan

Anonymous said...

to anonymous 5.57.

For you--its never too much -- if it lands on my face --its MY spit anyay and about MY country. All I need is just ONE drop on yours.

blah blah blah , cross referncing , british musuem library--all nice and maybe even impressive --but totally meaningless if its stll under anonymity -- or havent you noticed it yet?

"I don't care about how M'sia is going to end up - a la' Yugoslavia or what. This is the choice of the locals."

The above say it all ! So just pack up and shut up and shoo ! shoo! be on your way and go back to your country --oh ! do you have any ? or are you poaching on someoneelses'?

I'm glad you noticed about the beauty of OUR country ! Sticks and stones may break our bones..... So keep your name-calling to yourself .

mus


by the way--your kind of 'history' as you call it --- you know what you can do with it !

Anonymous said...

to anon. 5.57.

1. ‘Merdeka? What merdeka? Go & read some real history’ – ‘real” ---by your definition ? --- I cannot believe anyone can be so self-rightous !!!


2. ‘Merdeka? What merdeka? Go & read some real history to find out that ONE of the major reason for the British to grant independence to Malaya was the 'wash hand quick' feeling back home! The WW2 had made the British populace very inward looking & demanded the govt to look after the homeland FIRST.’

--what reference ? what book ? whose writing ? This is what I mean in my first comment . Substantiate your statement--- otherwise its just rubbish from rubbish !


3. ‘Thus the insistence of the participation of other races in forming the govt.’

Again unsubstantiated ! This is definitely rubbish. I mean I don’t have access to the “British Musuem Library “ ---but let me tell you that I have never heard such opinions before !!

So far , all I heard from you are just opinions , opinions and opinions !

My advice to you is , do some cross referencing with friends and foes before you give such opinions again.]

No thank you--- like I said before –you can shove your history lessons and of course you will run and hide under your anonymity.

mus -

anak si-hamid said...

To Anonymous 5.57,

1. As for your first point - come on, pull the other leg.

2. As for your other points : thank you for visiting this blog site and you are welcome to write in with facts or distorted facts.

3. As for your last point, this is beneath contempt, even for someone who "has access to the huge contents of the British Museum Library" ( "access"? - are you one of the cleaners?)

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous 5.57,

This will be my last message to you as obviously you are not worth my time.

The truth of the posting by anaksihamid must have really hurt your ass ya ! Too bad !

Before u made peace with yr god, do consider that a coin has both sides. Not just the well-publicised one only.

& bigot always look at the side that reflects his/her face ONLY as you have so tried to do !

Anonymous said...

anonymous
5.57pm

Hello! I just happen to pass by and dropped in your blog thru rockybru's.
One of the comments really got me thinking.

Si beruk ni orang Malaysia ke ? Saya rasa dis orang tempatan tapi berangan nak jadi mak salleh kot!
Hey--boleh belah ! Nak pretend jadi orang negara asing---tch !

Tenguk kat cermin --tah2 muka berwarna coklat, kuning atau hitam ! Porrdah !

Cakap berlagak macam professor--tapi tulisan xde unsur2 academic pun. Grammar pun ada banyak error---error 'tempatan' - that means common malaysian mistakes in English !

Hoi--see yourself in the mirror dan cuci muka tu dengan acid !


Mr justhappetopassby hahahah.

Anonymous said...

One of your commenters wrote this.

"I'm just a simple passerby, who reads history like His-story!"

I dun get it ! "His-story" ? Is this a joke ? Is it an attempt to put in humour in the writing ?

I'm sorry for bringing this up. You see, i'm a primary school teacher and my students are always using this 'his story' as a joke --and i kept telling them not to be childish. You see, these kids are in the year when they are preparing their Primary school certificate exam.

Anyway--- just want to tell you that.