The defendants in communist veteran Chin Peng's application to return to Malaysia have yet to file any affidavits, according to sources.

The application filed on March 4, 2005, which has been delayed and postponed several times since then, is scheduled to be heard again on Feb 2 at the Kuala Lumpur Civil High Court.

The defendants named by Chin Peng in his affidavit are the Government of Malaysia, the Home Minister, Inspector-General of Police and the Chief of Defence Forces.

On April 29 last year, Chin Peng issued a statement through his lawyer Darshan Singh Khaira setting last May 28 as the deadline for the government to respond to his application to return in fulfilment of the letters and spirit of the Peace Accord signed between the government and Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) on Dec 2, 1989, in Thailand.

Besides Chin Peng, the two other CPM signatories to the 1989 Peace Accords were Abdullah CD and the late Rashid Maidin. The trio signed as party secretary-general, chairman and central committee member respectively.

Dragging its feet

In the April 29 statement, Chin Peng, 82, accused the government of "dragging its feet" and "placing obstacles" in his way such as claiming that the1989 Peace Accords be covered under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and instructing the Malaysian Embassy in Bangkok not to attest his affidavits for the case.

However, Chin Peng reiterated his intention to resolve the issue "peacefully and amicably" and warned that if the government continued to delay the matter, he would take it to the International Court of Justice and European Court of Justice.

It is argued that the 1989 Peace Accords clearly provides for the entry of CPM members residing outside Malaysia for visit even though they have never been citizens.

In their memoirs, CPM veterans Abdullah CD, Rashid Maidin, Suriani Abdullah aka Eng Ming Ching and Abu Samah Mohd Kassim write about their visits to Malaysia in 1990s. Some other veterans like Ibrahim Chik now live in Malaysia.