I grew up in the era of Chin Peng and the Japanese Occupation. Unlike some others, my family did not "suffer" under Chin Peng.

He did not really espouse the doctrine of communism, but what he did in Malaya (at that time) was to fight for the downtrodden. Those who were "murdered", rightly or wrongly, were considered to have exploited their workers, especially, the estate workers and farm workers.

Of course, the government propaganda was to discredit Chin Peng at all costs, never mind the atrocities committed by the British themselves.

Remember the Batang Kali massacre of innocent Chinese civilians by British soldiers? This was made out to be carried out by Chin Peng's gang. Up to today the British have not compensated the descendants of those innocent victims. And our government helped too by not "pushing" the investigations further.

It did not help that the victims were Chinese. The victims of the Emergency were almost all Chinese. It must be remembered that Chin Peng's right-hand man was Abdullah CD, a Malay. There was also a Malay communist regiment.

What the government is worried about is that Chin Peng stood up for the downtrodden. If he were allowed to come back, he would immediately have a large following of the "downtrodden". That is the main reason why he is not being allowed to return home.

The memories of those who died under his "terrorism" are nothing compared with what the Japanese did to the Chinese in Malaya. Thousands died under their bayonets and samurai swords.

In Penang and elsewhere, the Japanese went hunting for government servants and were helped by certain segments of the population. This is the root of the racial animosity in this country.

My late father told me that he was with my elder brother in a lorry, to be taken somewhere. Out of nowhere, a Japanese officer suddenly told my father to take my brother and leave at once. This he did and survived. The others in the lorry did not. Perhaps that Japanese officer had a son of the same age back in Japan - who knows?

I was born during the Japanese Occupation and I still have flashbacks of trauma sustained during my early childhood. Today we drive Japanese cars, watch television with Japanese TV sets, eat Japanese food, go to Japan for holidays, etc.

Why can't we let Chin Peng come home? On the scale of atrocity, the Japanese are at 9 out of 10, and Chin Peng's gang, 3 out of 10. The Japanese can come in and out as they like, and do business as they like. Why can't Chin Peng?