Contributed by Tommy Thomas
An
often heard message from the Government in the run-up to the 9th July
rally was that Bersih is an illegal organization, and therefore the
Government cannot deal with it or its leaders. Bersih is not an illegal
organization merely because it is not registered with a regulatory
authority like a company, society, trade union or cooperative society.
Malaysian law recognizes associations which are not registered or
incorporated, that is, the “unincorporated association”. It must
be noted that one of the fundamental liberties enjoyed by Malaysians is
the freedom of association under Article 10 of the Federal
Constitution.
However,
let us assume for the purposes of discussion, that Bersih is indeed an
illegal organization. Does it follow that Government leaders cannot
engage with it. The answer is absolutely no. One example in history is
relevant, that is, how the Government dealt with the Malayan Communist
Party (“MCP”). One of Tunku Abdul Rahman’s first decision after
becoming Chief Minister in 1955 was to arrange a meeting with Chin Peng,
the leader of MCP. This was in the height of the Emergency when MCP
was outlawed as illegal, and described as violent and murderous. Chin
Peng was the most wanted man in the country, with a massive bounty for
his capture. Despite British reservations, Tunku met Chin Peng in the
now famous Baling Talks in December 1955. Tunku, as the duly elected
leader of UMNO and Alliance, had no qualms meeting with a leader whom
the British and Malayan Governments perceived as having “blood on his hands”, and led an illegal armed struggle to overthrow the status quo.
It
must be remembered that the British imperial power, grateful for MCP’s
armed struggle against Japanese invasion, had recognized MCP as a
legitimate political party in 1946. Only in July 1948, after the
Proclamation of Emergency, did the British Government declare MCP to be
an illegal party under the laws of Malaya. That illegal status remains
in force until today.
Despite
its illegal status, the Malaysian Government during Prime Minister
Mahathir’s administration, had 5 rounds of Tripartite Peace Talks in
Phuket in 1989 with MCP, under the auspices of the Thai Government,
which acted as the honest broker. Rahim Noor led the Malaysian
delegation in all 5 rounds; a prominent member was Norian Mai, both of
whom ended their careers as Inspector General of Police (“IGP”).
On
2nd December 1989 in Haadyai, the Government of Malaya signed the
historic Agreement with the MCP to terminate hostilities, witnessed by
representatives of the Government of Thailand. Signing for the
Malaysian Government were Dato Wan Sidek bin Wan Rahman, the Secretary
General of the Ministry of Home Affairs, General Tan Sri Hashim Ali,
Chief of Defence Forces and Tan Haniff Omar, the IGP. Chin Peng,
Abdullah C.D and Rashid Maidin signed for the MCP.
The
1989 Agreement was hailed as a great victory for peace, and has often
been cited by independent scholars as one of the few examples of a
peaceful settlement between an elected government and a communist party
in the 20th century.
During
the entire negotiations and when the Agreement was signed, MCP remained
illegal under the laws of Malaysia. That fact however did not deter
the Malaysian Government from dealing with it.
Accordingly,
it is hypocrisy of the highest order for the current Government to say
that it will not deal with Bersih because it is illegal, and will not
meet with its leader Ambiga Sreenevasan because she leads an unlawful
society. What about the MCP and Chin Peng then?
29th July 2011
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