All parties must step in to tell the true facts

Malayan police on patrol when fighting against communists. Picture courtesy of National Archive.

I REFER to Ismail Mina Ahmad’s (chairman of Gerakan Pembela Ummah) reported comments about Malaysian history recently. He apparently said that “only the Malays resisted British colonists, Japanese occupiers and the communists”.

His comments are grossly inaccurate, racist, irresponsible and seditious in nature.

The non-Malays too resisted British rule in Malaya. For example, the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action (AMCJA) – a federation of mainly political parties and trade unions formed in 1946 – championed for a united Malaya including Singapore; a popularly elected central legislature and state councils; and a citizenship granting equal rights to all who made Malaya their permanent home and the object of their undivided loyalty.

Indeed, AMCJA together with Putera (Pusat Tenaga Rakyat comprising Malay left-wing parties such as Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya, Angkatan Pemuda Insaf and Angkatan Wanita Sedar) organised a Malaya-wide hartal on Oct 20, 1947 to demonstrate their opposition to British rule.

The hartal has been described as “the first political strike in Malaya to be observed by all sections of the people” which “brought commercial and social life in Singapore and Malaya to a standstill”.

Regarding resistance to Japanese rule, the non-Malays too played a major role. For example, the Chinese in Sabah formed an anti-Japanese movement known as Kinabalu Guerillas under the leadership of Albert Kwok Fen Nam which was also supported by the indigenous people, Eurasians and Sikhs (including Subedar Dewa Singh).

On the night of Oct 9, 1943, the Kinabalu Guerillas attacked the Japanese soldiers and managed to capture Tuaran, Menggatal and Jesselton (present-day Kota Kinabalu). More than 50 Japanese soldiers were killed. The Japanese launched a counter attack on Oct 13 and quickly recaptured these three towns.

One must also not forget the role played by Sybil Kathigasu and Gurchan Singh (Lion of Malaya) who supported the resistance during the Japanese Occupation of Malaya.

Ismail Mina’s unkindest cut of all was to assert that “only the Malays had battled the communists”. Malaya’s then multiracial military and police forces fought gallantly against the communists.

Many Chinese officers with the Malayan Special Branch too sacrificed their lives in gathering information about the communists. British and the armed forces of other Commonwealth countries (including Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Rhodesia) also played a major role in quelling the communist rebellion.

Enough is enough! It’s time to act. I believe that all necessary parties will have to step in and take the necessary action so that the true history of our beloved nation is told to our young.

DR RANJIT SINGH MALHI

Kuala Lumpur