At this point you may be asking what is the point of this long grandfather’s story? The point is this. The Malay traitors from Negeri Sembilan helped the Imperialist Dutch to kill a Malay warrior, Raja Haji, my forefather. So I am very sensitive about this just like some Malays are sensitive about Chin Peng.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Anwar’s stand on Chin Peng regrettable, says Hisham
KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was not considering the people’s sensitivities and feelings when he said that Chin Peng – the former secretary-general of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) – be allowed to return to the country.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said Anwar’s statement on the matter was regrettable because it was as though he wanted to forget both the history and the suffering and sacrifices of those who had died at the hands of the communist insurgents.
“The issue has been debated in the media and various quarters have given their views on the matter, while rejecting any effort to bring back Chin Peng,” he said in a press statement here yesterday.
Hishammuddin said allowing Chin Peng to return would only deepen the hurt of the people, especially the children and grandchildren of those who had fought to defeat the communist insurgency.
“Anwar should realise that his stance on the issue does not only cause uneasiness but also anger to various quarters,” he added.
On Saturday, Anwar said Chin Peng should be allowed to return to Malaysia to spend the rest of his twilight years, adding that this was also because the Malaysian and Chinese governments had long made peace with one another. — Bernama
I have no choice but to admit that this time I agree with what the son of Malaysia’s Third Prime Minister has to say. Anwar Ibrahim just does not understand the issue of sensitivities of children and grandchildren. And Hishammuddin has very aptly reminded us that we should at all times be sensitive to the feelings of children and grandchildren of those brutally killed in the past.
The problem is, Anwar may have gone to university but he did not major in history. If he did then he would have taken note of history before proposing anything as sensitive as calling for Chin Peng to be allowed back into the country. And to suggest that the government is denying permission for Chin Peng to return because he is Chinese while the others -- meaning Malay Communist leaders -- have been allowed to return -- and therefore this smacks of racism -- is not a valid argument. Read what the Menteri Besar of Pahang said about this issue.
"It’s different for Shamsiah Fakeh and Rashid Maidin, who were allowed to return as they were used by him.”
So there you have it, Anwar. Chin Peng was the user while Shamsiah Fakeh and Rashid Maidin were the usees. We can’t blame the usees as in most cases the usees allowed themselves to be used because the user tricked them into being used.
Okay, if you don’t know what I mean, let’s look at another scenario as a case in point.
The two police officers on trial for the murder of Altantuya is one such case in point. They are also usees. The two police officers were used to get rid of someone who was irritating certain people. So the usees are not to be blamed. We have to punish the user. But in the case of the murder of Altantuya we really don’t know who the user is and the High Court has ruled that Razak Baginda is not the user. And the Attorney-General, in all his wisdom, agrees with the court and that is why he has decided not to appeal Razak’s acquittal and for no other reason other than that.
If Anwar continues like this he would soon enough start losing credibility. Okay, maybe he is trying to ‘play politics’. But he should not allow politics to override other considerations such as the feelings and sensitivities of children and grandchildren. After all, are not children and grandchildren future voters? Are we trying to drive away these children and grandchildren into the waiting arms of Barisan Nasional?
I am a very sensitive person. In fact, I am very emotional and sentimental. I cry when I watch sad movies. Probably many already know that just by the manner in which I write and you may even regard that as something negative about me -- and probably not the only thing negative about me as far as you are concerned.
Of course, many women say that being emotional and sentimental makes me a good lover. But I would not like to elaborate on that matter lest you think I am trying to ‘market’ myself to the women or that I am blowing my own trumpet. It is better other people blow (I mean my trumpet) rather than I blow my own trumpet.
Anyway, back to the sensitive part. Many, Anwar included, do not understand matters related to sensitivities of children and grandchildren. Take me as one example. Being a self-confessed emotional and sentimental person, and being a child and grandchild myself (although I will be pushing 60 next year), I too am very sensitive about certain issues.
Let me elaborate on that lest you do not catch my drift. One of my forefathers, Raja Haji, was brutally murdered by the Dutch, who were then the rulers of Melaka. In case you do not know your history (as most Malaysians don’t), Raja Haji was nicknamed Raja Api (the Fire Prince) by the Dutch. And the reason is as follows:
The Dutch were the superpower in this region at that time. Even the English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and all those other European superpowers could not defeat the Dutch. But Raja Haji and his band of Bugis pirates were able to defeat the Dutch.
Raja Haji laid siege to Melaka until the Dutch ran out of food and water. The Dutch then called for a peace treaty to be signed and agreed that all the ships that passed through the Straits of Melaka, and which the Dutch plundered, they would share the spoils 50:50 with the Bugis.
So it was a great Ali-Baba arrangement. And Raja Haji was probably the first to introduce this concept of Ali-Baba long before the launching of the New Economic Policy by Tun Razak in 1971. The Dutch did all the work of plundering any ship that passed through the Straits of Melaka and the Bugis got 50% of whatever was plundered without lifting a finger.
Then, one day, the Dutch decided to keep everything for themselves and not share anything with the Bugis. When Raja Haji found out that the Dutch had plundered an English ship rich with opium on the way from Hongkong to India, he got angry and, again, attacked the Dutch in Melaka.
Again, Melaka came under siege and it looked like this time Raja Haji was going to wipe out the Dutch once and for all. This time: no treaty. This time: Dutchman go home! (That’s where the Vietnamese for the ‘Yankee Go Home’ slogan from. It was the Bugis who first started it.)
The Dutch were desperate. They could fight the French, the English, the Portuguese, the Spanish, but the Bugis were just too fierce and not easy to defeat. The Dutch then enlisted the help of the Negeri Sembilan Malays, the Minangkabau people. And while the Bugis engaged the Dutch from the front, the Negeri Sembilan people attacked the Bugis from the back.
Now, we must understand, it is easy to face an enemy from the front. But when someone takes you from behind it is not so easy to defend yourself. And the Bugis were defeated and Raja Haji was killed.
The Dutch, however, refused to hand over Raja Haji’s body. They took his body onto the ship called The Dolphin with a view to bring the body home -- maybe they wanted to embalm it and put it in a museum or something like that.
But the ship was never able to leave port. That same night, The Dolphin mysteriously exploded killing everyone on board. The ship just sank in a ball of fire but Raja Haji’s body was untouched. The Dutch were so scared they handed Raja Haji’s body back to the Bugis and from that day on renamed him Raja Api.
At this point you may be asking what is the point of this long grandfather’s story? The point is this. The Malay traitors from Negeri Sembilan helped the Imperialist Dutch to kill a Malay warrior, Raja Haji, my forefather. So I am very sensitive about this just like some Malays are sensitive about Chin Peng.
Now do you know why I so bitterly oppose Khairy Jamaluddin and Rosmah Mansor, both Malays from Negeri Sembilan? And now do you know why I am very sensitive about them becoming our leaders? And, also, now do you know why I will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that they will never become leaders of this country? It’s that old sensitive thingy, old chap. I have a murder to avenge, the murder of Raja Haji and thousands of Bugis, more people killed than the 5,000 that Chin Peng and the CPM ever killed.
I hope this piece of mine about the sensitivities of children and grandchildren explain matters and puts everything in its proper perspective. And I urge Anwar to understand why the sensitivities of children and grandchildren are very important. Before you propose anything make sure you look into this angle first and do not propose anything that will rub the sensitivities of children and grandchildren the wrong way.
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