YOURSAY 'Chin Peng and his loyal warriors have more dignity in their pinky nails than the entire BN cabinet from 1957 onwards.'

Four days in Bangkok, in different realms

Dont Just Talk : Aidila Razak, you have written a very detailed and balanced report of the late communist party leader Chin Peng's four-day wake.

Chin Peng was a freedom fighter, no more and no less, and he fought against the Japanese during the Japanese Occupation of Malaysia and later the British, and his efforts indirectly expedited the Independence of Malaya in 1957.

Ade007: Thank you for the report on Chin Peng's funeral in Bangkok, Aidila. I am hoping to see more mature and honest Malaysians in coming years to help shape the Malaysian future, which is currently driven by the politics of convenience.

Ray9393: An awesome send off for a freedom fighter. Living a dignified life is to me a dream that we should all strive for.

Black Mamba: Chin Peng and his hardy fighters would have laid down their arms at the Baling Talks if the Alliance under the directive of the British had not demanded their surrender and had instead treated them as equals.

All they requested was freedom to rejoin any political party after disbanding and assimilate into civilian life and not having to report to the police station on a weekly basis like criminals.

They would have laid down their arms and become useful citizens, but it was not to be. Old soldiers fade away graciously with dignity and will never surrender.

Cala: Context matters. Many Malays see Chin Peng as a Chinese and a communist. What they ignore are the historical developments that made Chin Peng the man he was.

First came the British colonisers who looked after their own economic interests. Then came the invading Japanese armies who recruited the Malays into their police force and in the process, divided the already segregated Chinese from the Malays.

When World War Two ended and the Cold War started, the coloniser British implemented several public policies calculated to marginalise the Chinese.

The setting up of new villages that condoned off 600,000 Chinese was one measure to drive Chin Peng and his troops up against the wall.

Senior: It was a divide-and-rule strategy by the British. They placed the Malays in the army and police but not the Chinese, so in the Emergency, which was in reality a war to liberate Malaya, the Malays fought for the colonial masters against the anti-colonialists.

So to say the Chinese killed the Malays during that time is not accurate, but also mischievous and serves the political agenda of Umno Baru.

Anonymous #02382443 : Chin Peng had a mind of his own for his beliefs and convictions, rightly or wrong. He stood for and fought for it, and the prize he had to pay was not being allowed to return to his birth place.

Who are we to judge him - to each his own. Now that he is gone, may he take with him his beliefs and ideals and be left to rest in peace.

Harapanbaru: Chin Peng and his loyal warriors have more dignity in their pinky nails than the entire BN cabinet from 1957 onwards.

These were men and women who understood early the terrible evils of unfettered and rampant capitalism and how it exploits and enslaves everything in sight, and then whitewashes its own insatiable greed and cruelty with expensive public relation campaigns.

Ubah lan: Let's put it this way, different people have different values and ideologies, there is no right or wrong. It all depends on which side of the fence you are standing.

At the end of the day, please do respect others though you may not agree 100 percent what they are fighting for, as you are not in their shoes.

My4hope: Aidila, thanks for your effort and a well-done task. Through your report we are able to see and feel the dignity of this old man and his comrades, a value so hardly seen here from the ruling regime.

Fair Play: Aidila Razak is a rare gem in her community. Forget about man-made law. To begrudge a person and deprive him a life of dignity (even in death) is perhaps the greatest sin one can commit.

'No law barring M'sians from practising communism'

Armageddon: We ordinary Malaysians are getting more and more confused with what is legal and what is illegal. At least we learned something new today.

Freethinker: Something is legal when they (the government) say so and illegal when they say so. They are not above the law, not below it. They ARE the law.

Baiyuensheng: If the government is worried about communism, they should probably ban all things related to China.

Stop doing business with them. Stop buying their trains. Stop the Chinese president from coming to Malaysia in coming months. Where is Perkasa when we need them?

Not Convinced: And not to forget - don't take their giant pandas too.

Fernz: In reality, collective farming, cooperative societies, the longhouse system, the 1.4 million federal government servants being on permanent dole are all examples of communism.

Angel: If god created religions, then god also created communism to control the fanaticism of religions.

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