Special Branch to probe ‘communist gathering’

PUTRAJAYA: Bukit Aman's Special Branch is investigating a recent meeting in Kajang allegedly involving former Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) members.

Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic) said the authorities were looking into whether the gathering was an attempt to “revive the old party’s ideology” in the country.

“The police and the Special Branch have been instructed to investigate the meeting. We want to find out what was the objective of the meet.

“Is it merely to celebrate the Hat Yai peace agreement? Is it an attempt to revive an old spirit of communism from back then?

“We cannot take these things lightly, as our country has enjoyed peace for a long time.

“Let the authorities investigate first, and once we have the report, we will know if the meeting was unlawful or if it is just a harmless event, ” he told a press conference after attending the Immigration Department Day celebrations here Monday (Dec 2).

Muhyiddin added that as an independent country, Malaysians are not prevented from gathering but certain “sentiments” should not be revived.

“People are free to believe in certain sentiments, I do not think we can stop that.

“But we have been a peaceful nation for a long time. Is it a good thing to revive something from the past that was linked to wars and killings?” he said.

A recent news report revealed that former members of the CPM had met in Kajang in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the Hat Yai Peace Accord, which was signed on Dec 2,1989, by the Malaysian government and the party.

The meeting came close on the heels of the controversial return of CPM leader Chin Peng’s ashes to Malaysia.