KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 — A coalition of retired police officers’ associations has called upon the government to do whatever is necessary to prevent the return of communism to Malaysia’s shores.

Retired Senior Police Officers Association of Malaysia (Respa) president Tan Sri Ismail Che Rus said a thorough and detailed investigation ought to be conducted against the organisers of two ceremonies commemorating the 1989 Hatyai Peace Agreement on November 29 in Sepang and December 1 in Kajang.

“I understand that during the ceremonies, speeches were made that painted the communists insurgents in a heroic light, or attempted to justify the terror they inflicted upon the populace as part of the struggle to gain Malaya independence,” he told reporters following the ceremony by Respa to mark the 30th anniversary of the Agreement at Padang Merbok along Jalan Parlimen.

Ismail said anyone who sought to lionise the Communist Party of Malaya's (CPM) actions, its leadership and members, should be warned by the Home Ministry against doing so.

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“We also call upon the government to amend existing legislation with clearer wording so as to prohibit the CPM and any of its subordinate groups from ever being legalised.

“This includes attempts to revive the communist ideology in Malaysia, which is offensive to the memory of those who protected the country from it with their own lives,” he said.

Former IGP Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar at the anti-communism rally in Padang Merbok, Kuala Lumpur December 24, 2019.
Former IGP Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar at the anti-communism rally in Padang Merbok, Kuala Lumpur December 24, 2019.

Former Inspector-General of Police Tun Hanif Omar, who served from 1974 to 1994, was also present at the gathering. He said the recent incidents such as the return of former CPM secretary-general Chin Peng’s ashes to Malaysia in September and disrespect of the national flag, unknowingly or otherwise, had left a sour taste in the mouths of the veteran police officers and soldiers who fought against the communist insurgency.

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When asked if this alleged attempt to revive communism in Malaysia could be due to influence from China, whose government had supported CPM in its early years, he said it is unlikely.

“Most probably it is by former CPM members who were allowed to return to Malaysia after the Agreement. They could be the ones trying to rehabilitate Chin Peng and defend the party in history.

“Such actions indicate their ungratefulness. We took them back in after they surrendered, helped them to rebuild their lives. And this is how they repay us?” Hanif said.

Respa led 10 other retired police officers associations, including former special forces members, commandos and squad operatives, in the commemoration ceremony. Some of the retirees in the 500-strong crowd came from as far as Melaka and Johor to attend.

The Agreement, signed on December 2, 1989, between the CPM and the Malaysian government, marked the end of the 21-year insurgency which began in 1968.

Considered to be a continuation of the Malayan Emergency which began in 1948 until 1960, the conflict claimed thousands of lives, both civilians and combatants.

Retired senior police officers hold a banner during the anti-communism rally in Padang Merbok, Kuala Lumpur December 24, 2019.
Retired senior police officers hold a banner during the anti-communism rally in Padang Merbok, Kuala Lumpur December 24, 2019.