COMMENT Driving me to the airport en route to  Bangkok for the man's funeral, my brother asked me: "Why is there such a big fuss over Chin Peng's death?"

Born in 1988, my brother, like many in our generation, was still in diapers when Chin Peng - the last leader of an armed struggle of his era in this region - signed the Hatyai Peace Accord with the Malaysian government.