The Malaysian Insight

THE Home Ministry has ordered police to investigate an alleged gathering of former members of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) said to have taken place yesterday n Kajang.

Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Special Branch has been told to commence investigations at once.

“They will investigate the gathering objectively, whether it was held openly or in secret, whether the authorities had been informed about such a gathering or not.

“We will have to wait for the investigation report before any decision can be made on subsequent action. It should be completed within the week,” Muhyiddin said, at an Immigration Department event in Putrajaya, today.

Yesterday’s gathering is reported to be to commemorate the anniversary of the Hat Yai Peace Agreement, which was signed on December 2, 1989.

According to Malaysiakini, it was attended by around 300 people, most of whom were in their 80s.

The treaty had ended 21 years of the communist insurgency in Malaysia and Thailand.

The gathering yesterday followed the return of CPM secretary-general Chin Peng’s ashes to his home state, Perak, which had riled up members of Umno and PAS.

Muhyiddin said there had never been any public gathering of this sort in Malaysia.

“As far as I know, such a gathering like this has never happened here, and even if there was, most people do not know about it

“Police will investigate whether it was just meant to commemorate the Hat Yai peace treaty, or if there were other efforts to revive communist ideology

“While Malaysia is now independent, and everyone is free to assemble, there are still certain sentiments which should not be encouraged and which need not be raised,” he said.

Sungai Pelek assemblyman Ronnie Liu,  PKR veteran Syed Husin Ali, PSM’s Dr Michael Jeyakumar and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia professor Abdul Rahman Embong were among those present at yesterday’s event, according to Malaysiakini.

On about Liu’s attendance, Muhyiuddin said police would be looking into the DAP rep’s motives for his presence.

Liu had told the media yesterday that he was there in his personal capacity. – December 2, 2019.