Historical truth
By Lim Sue Goan
The first issue was provoked by the Utusan Malaysia with a report accusing PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu of praising communism. It has rapidly led to a war of words between Umno and PAS.
Mat Sabu was alleged to have called during a ceramah in Tasik Gelugor, Mat Indera, the man who attacked and killed 25 policemen and their families in the 1950 Bukit Kepong tragedy, an independent fighter.
According to the Wikipedia, Mat Indera was one of the Malay left-wing leaders confronting the British colonial government. At 4.45am on 23 February 1950, he led 200 guerrillas to attack the Bukit Kepong police station. A total of 25 policemen and their family members were killed, only four people survived. Mat Indera was arrested and being hanged in the Perak Taiping prison on 30 January 1953.
They are now arguing that Mat Sabu's praise to Mat Indera has hurt the families of the sacrificed policemen. However, Mat Sabu has denied that he had praised communism and belittled the police. He even cited history book Pengukir Nama Johor to show that Mat Indera was an independent fighter instead of an communist.
Leaving the political controversy aside, there are indeed some doubts about the Bukit Kepong tragedy.
Firstly, was Mat Indera a communist?
Secondly, was it a patriotic act to attack the police station? Was Mat Indera an independent fighter? The country had not achieved independence in 1950 and Mat Indera was confronting the British colonial government when he attacked the police station. However, communism remains a sensitive issue for Muslims and thus, it is still difficult to make a conclusion.
Without clarifying the doubts, all parties will continue making their own arguments and even DAP national chairman Karpal Singh has found it confusing.
The second issue the fight for justice for educationist cum social activist Lim Lian Geok.
Lim was a patriot, and as the Justice for Lim Lian Geok Movement Committee said, the two main goals of the movement are to reinstate the Malaysian citizenship of Lim and establish the Education Equity Act, which ensures a fair treatment for vernacular schools and protects their developments.
However, the issue involves politics and thus, it faces some difficulties, particularly from Malay rights group Perkasa and other racists.
The Malaysian citizenship and teaching licence of Lim were revoked on 21 August 1961 on the ground of confusing and distorting the government's education policies, inciting dissatisfaction towards the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the federal government, as well as spreading hatred among racial groups by making demands with racist sentiments.
Lim was among the front line fighters during the independence of the country. He called on the Chinese to apply for citizenship and be loyal to Malaya. How would such a patriot undermine the country?
To rehabilitate Lim, they must first prove that all the accusations are unfounded to convince officials of the Home Ministry.
The entanglement of the national independence history with politics has resulted in the growing gap between the government and the civil society. The historical truth will never be restored if the crux of the problems is not resolved.
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