GEORGE TOWN, Sept 25 —The two men detained at the Penang International Airport last night were questioned at the Bayan Baru police station and released about four hours later.
The two men, 66 and 59 years old respectively, were initially detained for suspicion of smuggling in former Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) secretary-general Chin Peng’s ashes but police only found booklets, trinkets and VCDs on Chin Peng in their luggage.
According to Southwest District police chief Supt Mohd Hatta Mohd Zain, the men were released at about 3am after they were brought to the Bayan Baru police station for questioning.
“They were not arrested, we merely questioned them and released them after that,” he said.
The duo, a Malaysian and a Hong Kong national, had arrived on a 9.55pm flight from Bangkok last night but were detained at about 10.30pm at the airport.
They were believed to have attended Chin Peng’s funeral at the Wat That Thong Buddhist temple in Bangkok on Monday.
Police found a number of booklets, souvenirs, a cap and eight VCDs featuring Chin Peng in their luggages and these items were seized under the Printing Presses and Publications (Amendment) Act 2012.
Last night, during a press conference, Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi reportedly said the two men were detained for having those materials in their possession.
He also confirmed that no ashes were found in the men’s luggage.
Chin Peng’s body was cremated at the Bangkok Wat That Thong temple in Bangkok at about 6pm on Monday.
He had reportedly died in a Bangkok hospital on September 16 at 90 years old.
The leader’s death sparked controversy here, with several Umno leaders condemning him as a terrorist and others stressing his role in liberating the country from British colonial rule.
Umno-aligned broadsheet Utusan Malaysia claimed over the weekend that Chin Peng’s date of death had been manipulated to coincide with Malaysia Day to make it a memorable event, saying that he had actually breathed his last on September 15.
His family has since rubbished the claim.
Putrajaya has also insisted on prohibiting Chin Peng’s ashes from being brought into Malaysia, despite his last wish to be buried in his hometown in Sitiawan, Perak.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi reportedly said that Chin Peng was not a Malaysian citizen, and that allowing his remains into the country would lead to his veneration.
The MCA, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and even former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor, however, have told Putrajaya to respect the 1989 Hat Yai Peace Accord signed between Malaysia, Thailand and the CPM that allowed CPM members, who laid down their arms, to return to their homeland.
Lawyers have also said that there is no specific law that Putrajaya can use to bar Chin Peng’s ashes from being brought into Malaysia.
But Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had emphatically said that this would not be permitted.
