Dewan Rakyat erupts over news of Chin Peng’s ashes brought back to M’sia
KUALA LUMPUR: Cameron Highlands MP Ramli Mohd Noor said he was upset when he heard that the ashes of former communist leader Chin Peng was brought back to the country secretly.
Ramli said the issue affected him so badly and he was moved to tears.
“As a former police officer, I can related to what Santubong (MP) is feeling when Chin Peng’s ashes was brought back here.
“I was crying,” he said.
Ramli said this when he rose to intervene Santubong MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar’s debate at the Dewan Rakyat session today.
Malaysiakini reported yesterday that several groups have brought back Chin Peng’s ashes from Thailand to Malaysia two months ago.
The group told the online news portal that the former communist leader’s ashes were discarded at the sea near Lumut and Banjaran Titiwangsa.
Touching on the matter, Wan Junaidi shared his own experience in battling communist insurgency in the jungles during his time serving as a police officer.
“I was only 24 years old.. five years in the woods. I saw how friends and civilians were killed,” he said.
Wan Junaidi said there was no need to refer to history in regards to the communists’ brutality as he himself was a witness.
“We are saddened by this issue. There are people who want to glorify the communist struggle and deify its leaders,” he said.
However, Padang Serai M Karupaya defended the move to bring back Chin Peng’s ashes saying the communist leader was dead.
“Even if we bring back the ashes, it means nothing to us. We just respect him as he was born in Malaysia, even though he was an enemy,” he said.
However, Lenggong MP Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah reprimanded Karupaya and asked the PKR lawmaker whether he supported the controversial move.
Kapit MP Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi,” Padang Serai seems to be insensitive of the lives lost due to the communist insurgency.”
By irman Hashim
