September 02, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) has
praised PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu for inspiring youth to look
deeper into the nation’s history beyond allegedly biased official
accounts with his controversial remarks on the Bukit Kepong incident.
Federal Territories SAMM chief Shariful Azmir Mustafa said too many Malaysians believed the communists who attacked the Bukit Kepong police station in 1950 were terrorists and traitors when in fact it was the police officers on duty that day who were working to protect the interests of British colonialists.
“Was the police force during the British colonial period displaying loyalty to the Queen of England when the [British national anthem] ‘God Save the Queen’ was played every time a high-ranking British officer visited?
“This is a question that should be revisited so that the people know the true history of our fight against the colonialists,” he said in a statement today.
Shariful Azmir lamented that many of those who fought to free the country from colonial rule were sidelined by an overly narrow interpretation of history which only benefited Umno, one of the few organisations not made illegal prior to Merdeka.
He questioned why only Umno was allowed to campaign for independence when many other groups were fighting for the same.
“Did Umno allow itself to become a British stooge so that independence was achieved according to the colonialists’ mould?” he asked.
He said Malaysia’s history should be re-examined by historians who had no other interest than recording facts, and not by “paid historians” who based their accounts on what is demanded by the victors in an effort to hide the truth behind the nation’s independence struggle.
Former PKR central committee member and SAMM president Badrul Hisham Shaharin earlier today also praised Mohamad for breaking the longstanding taboo surrounding Malaysia’s fight for independence and opening it up to public scrutiny.
“Every time we celebrate independence we are fed with [stories about] Datuk Onn (Jaafar), Tunku Abdul Rahman until (Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak). Are these the only heroes we have?” he said on his blog.
The Rembau PKR division chief also questioned if Umno’s animosity towards the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) stemmed from opposition to the latter’s communist ideology or was it inherited from British colonialists, citing Umno’s party-to-party links with the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Badrul Hisham said Malaysia had recently sent Muslim Uighur political refugees back to China at the CPC’s behest despite the likelihood that they would face torture and even death there for their alleged involvement in a secessionist movement.
“Who is really pro-communist?” he asked.
Umno has gone on the offensive since Utusan Malaysia reported last Saturday that Mohamad, popularly known as Mat Sabu, had allegedly described those who attacked the Bukit Kepong police station during the pre-independence communist insurgency as heroes.
The Umno-owned daily had accused him of disparaging the country’s armed forces and expressing support for communists but Mohamad has denied mentioning communists and has threatened to sue the newspaper.
Federal Territories SAMM chief Shariful Azmir Mustafa said too many Malaysians believed the communists who attacked the Bukit Kepong police station in 1950 were terrorists and traitors when in fact it was the police officers on duty that day who were working to protect the interests of British colonialists.
“Was the police force during the British colonial period displaying loyalty to the Queen of England when the [British national anthem] ‘God Save the Queen’ was played every time a high-ranking British officer visited?
“This is a question that should be revisited so that the people know the true history of our fight against the colonialists,” he said in a statement today.
Shariful Azmir lamented that many of those who fought to free the country from colonial rule were sidelined by an overly narrow interpretation of history which only benefited Umno, one of the few organisations not made illegal prior to Merdeka.
He questioned why only Umno was allowed to campaign for independence when many other groups were fighting for the same.
“Did Umno allow itself to become a British stooge so that independence was achieved according to the colonialists’ mould?” he asked.
He said Malaysia’s history should be re-examined by historians who had no other interest than recording facts, and not by “paid historians” who based their accounts on what is demanded by the victors in an effort to hide the truth behind the nation’s independence struggle.
Former PKR central committee member and SAMM president Badrul Hisham Shaharin earlier today also praised Mohamad for breaking the longstanding taboo surrounding Malaysia’s fight for independence and opening it up to public scrutiny.
“Every time we celebrate independence we are fed with [stories about] Datuk Onn (Jaafar), Tunku Abdul Rahman until (Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak). Are these the only heroes we have?” he said on his blog.
The Rembau PKR division chief also questioned if Umno’s animosity towards the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) stemmed from opposition to the latter’s communist ideology or was it inherited from British colonialists, citing Umno’s party-to-party links with the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Badrul Hisham said Malaysia had recently sent Muslim Uighur political refugees back to China at the CPC’s behest despite the likelihood that they would face torture and even death there for their alleged involvement in a secessionist movement.
“Who is really pro-communist?” he asked.
Umno has gone on the offensive since Utusan Malaysia reported last Saturday that Mohamad, popularly known as Mat Sabu, had allegedly described those who attacked the Bukit Kepong police station during the pre-independence communist insurgency as heroes.
The Umno-owned daily had accused him of disparaging the country’s armed forces and expressing support for communists but Mohamad has denied mentioning communists and has threatened to sue the newspaper.
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