The government should establish a museum on the Emergency as part of the efforts to commemorate the fight and victory against the communist insurgency.

In making the call, the executive chairperson for the Malaysian History Association (PSM) Omar Mohd Hashim said: "The move would also be a tribute to the nation's warriors and the unsung heroes like the soldiers, police and special constables, members of the Home

Guards as well as the British, Gurkha and Commonwealth troops."

On why the association made the call, Omar told Bernama in an exclusive interview that the nation needed an everlasting remembrance on a major event.

He said the museum would serve as a 'living institution' that will dispel any attempt to either twist or distort facts on the real causes behind the communists' recalcitrance.

chin peng and communist malaya Omar said the museum would shed the light for the younger generations to know who are the real heroes and traitors in Malaysia's quest for independence.

He said even though many of those who had fought the communist terrorists had died, there are others who are still alive.

Those who are alive could relate their experience on the struggle against the communists and their experience can be documented as well as recorded and stored in the emergency museum.

"The war against the communists is imperative and should be a lesson on the enemy within. The experience of those who battled the insurgents is important in the nation’s history should be documented and kept.

"If they are no more around (alive), their experience is prove enough of the communists viciousness and brutality," he said.

Emergency an important segment

Omar said the emergency was an important segment of the country’s history.

He said the nation took about 41 years from 1948 to 1989 to subdue the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) under the leadership of its secretary-general Chin Peng.

The guerillas, dubbed by the locals as 'Bintang Tiga', due to the three stars imprinted on their peak caps, went on a rampage during the two weeks after the Japanese surrender in the Second World War and before the return of the British troops.

The British colonial government declared the emergency on June 16, 1948 after communist guerillas murdered three European planters in Sungai Siput.

This period of turbulence ended on July 31, 1960 when the Malayan government declared that the episode was over. The strife had a heavy toll on life and money.

Despite the defeat in 1960, the communists under Chin Peng continued to wage their revolt from 1967 until the 1989. This period was known as the communist insurgency.

Commenting on this, Omar said: "The emergency had cost the government between RM130 million and RM150 million a year. I remembered during my days in the Penang Free School, the

teacher told us that the war against the communists cost the Malayan government RM1 million a day."

He said Malaysians should be proud over the country's success in battling the communists.

"This was the first time that an independent country had managed to defeat the communists. Malaysians should not stop short of only being proud, they also should not take lightly the sacrifices made by people who stopped the communists from ruling the country.

"The people should be aware that the danger lurks anytime particularly when we get too relaxed and view casually on the country's security situation.

"Thus, PSM fully supported the government's decision not to allow the return of Chin Peng."

On Chin Peng's return

Voicing his frustration and disappointment on the issue concerning Chin Peng's return to Malaysia that had recently resurfaced, Omar said the PSM had made its stand on the issue since it first came to light in 2003.

Omar cited two reasons on why the issue resurfaced.

First, the new generation that capitalised on the government’s open policy and had tried to seek another way to pave the way for Chin Peng's return. Second, there are parties that are out to 'fish in troubled waters'.

"It is also due to those who have lack of knowledge on the history of our country and never experienced the brutality of the communists," he said.

For Omar, Chin Peng should not be allowed to set foot in Malaysia and instead, the former CPM secretary-general should be on trial as a war criminal.

Omar also commented on Chin Peng's memoirs that claimed the CPM guerillas were actually radical nationalist fighters that fought against the British imperialists and British colonisation.

"This is a big and blatant lie. He tried to twist facts and conceal the facts about the cruelty, brutality and sins that they had committed.

"Since 1930, CPM had planned to establish a Communist Republic in the Malay states with outside help. A republic means there are no Malay rulers and no special rights for the Malays. Communists are anti-Islam," he said.

Threat is still there

Omar reminded Malaysians that the communist threat is still in existence despite their struggle had been defeated.

"The communists (threat) will never be eliminated. Like in the paddy fields, there are various fish like (haruan, catfish) and eels. If there is no water, the fish will bury itself in the mud but when the water is there, they will burrow out.

"We have studied how the communists behaved worldwide. It is the same. They would discreetly infiltrate any organisations as well as cultural and music associations. When they are strong, they would take over the organisations and expand their wings.

"I am sure there is an effort to revive the communist ideology as the ideology will not be allowed to simply fade and die," he said.

He also referred to the rise of the rule of socialism, a branch of communism, in South Africa.

Omar said once a person is a Marxist communist, then he would be forever a Marxist communist.

He said history had shown that there were 'dead' communists who returned to infiltrate and intruded when there were weakness, negligence and opportunity.

"Do not let history repeat itself. I call for a stop on the issue of Chin Peng’s return to Malaysia. It should be treated as a closed book.

"Instead, we should be moving forward and focus on how to deal with various problems developing and bringing progress to the country," he said.