Organisers of a dinner accused of links to the now defunct Communist Party of Malaya will be hauled up for questioning by the police, said Penang deputy police chief A Thaiveegan.

Thaiveegan said so far 24 reports, two from Johor and the rest from Penang, have been lodged against the organisers of the dinner held at the Multipurpose Hall in Butterworth on Saturday.

"The case will be investigated under Section 505 (b) of the Penal Code, for allegedly causing fear and confusion especially among the youths and public," he added at a press conference today.

Thaiveegan, however, declined to reveal the identities or number of the individuals who will be probed under the case.

"We will contact them directly, I do not want to mention names and I cannot say more than this," Thaiveegan (right) said.

"We will probe the matter from the beginning, how it all started, and we will inform you of the developments.”

He said the dinner was alleged to be related to banners promoting communism which depicted photos of the late CPM's secretary general Chin Peng found in Butterworth last week.

Chin Peng died in Bangkok last year on Sept 16 and the Malaysian government refused to allow his ashes to be returned to Malaysia to be buried.

Beside Chin Peng's photo in the banner was the message: "Parajurit Parti Komunis Malaya...Saya yakin penuh bahawa api perjuangan demi keadilan sosial & perikemanusian tidak akan padam" .

(CPM fighters…I am confident that our struggle for social justice & humanity will never be vanquished.)

Political figures

The banners also depicted photos of Penang executive councillor and Seberang Jaya assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin (below) .

Photos of PAS deputy chief Mohammed Sabu and Seberang Perai Municipal councillor Amir Ghazali were also printed on the banners.

The banner includes an invitation to the public to attend a dinner on Saturday at the Multipurpose Hall in Chai Leng Park, Butterworth.

Afif strongly denied being involved in the event and lodged a police report on the matter last Friday.

The Hatyai Agreement, signed by the Malaysian government and CPM in 1989, allowed the return of party members and their involvement in politics other than those related to communism.

However, the Malaysian government continues to fight attempts to revive communism in the country.

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