Chin Peng was cremated this evening after a funeral procession, led by his son Ong Boo Kok, at the Wat That Thong temple in Bangkok.
Ong led the procession holding a joss stick, walking behind a Buddhist monk and ahead of his father's casket and about 50 friends and relatives.
The procession went three times around the main temple building before the casket was placed at the building's entrance.
Former Thai prime minister General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh was present and so too were former Thai military commanders General Kitti Rattanachaya and General Pisarn Wattanawongkiri.
Inside the memorial hall, Chavalit sat in front while the other generals sat together a row behind him.
Chin Peng's son and his wife sat several rows behind. His daughter did not attend the funeral because she was ill.
Chavalit told reporters he was attending Chin Peng's funeral as a mark of respect for a man he regarded as a very good friend.
Earlier, more than 300 friends and former communist comrades flocked to the temple in Sukhumvit Road today to pay their last respects.
Prior to the procession, about 150 of Chin Peng's friends and former comrades had crammed into the main hall to listen to his last words - a farewell letter which was read out by his close friends and comrades Lee Tuck Hee and Anas Abdullah, in Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin, respectively.
Lee could not control his emotions as he read the contents of the letter, breaking down several times.
The socialist anthem L'Internasionale played in the background as Chin Peng's last letter was read.
Paying tribute, former Thai army general Pisarn Wattanawongkiri said Chin Peng is the Malaysian equivalent of Ho Chin Minh, Aung San and Kusno Sosrodihardjo or Sukarno, for his ceaseless efforts during the battle for independence.
Pisarn said Chin Peng had fought ceaselessly and sacrificed a lot for the cause of the Communist Party of Malaya.
Although the Malaysian government, vilified Chin Peng, Pisarn said he was a kind, honest and principled individual.
"He was like a father figure to his men and I looked up to him like a big brother. He has been like a relative of mine for the past 20 years and I will always appreciate the time that we have spent together," Pisarn said at the Wat That Thong temple memorial hall.
Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese communist revolutionary who led the Viet Minh independence movement and established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945. Ho Chi Minh, similar to Chin Peng, was the first secretary of the central committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Sukarno was Indonesia's first president and the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands. Sukarno was a prominent leader of Indonesia's nationalist movement during the Dutch colonial period.
Aung San was a Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, and founder of the modern Burmese army and is also considered to be the father of modern-day Burma, or Myanmar. He is the father of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
Chavalit, who was the Thai premier between 1996 and 1997, said he never viewed Chin Peng as a guerrilla, but as a friend.
"Chin Peng was not someone who was fighting for personal glory or interests, but fighting for the people.
"In the hearts of many Thai people, especially the soldiers, Chin Peng was a hero who was much admired for his dedication, perseverance and resourcefulness. Despite the insurmountable obstacles he faced, Chin Peng was never deterred, he did what he felt was right," Chavalit added.
After the glowing and moving eulogies, Chin Peng's former friends, comrades and family members slowly walked up to the main temple building to pay their last respects before the cremation. Chin Peng's ashes will be collected by his son, Ong Boo Kok, on Tuesday.
However, up to this evening, the family has been silent on what they planned to do with the ashes.
The Malaysian government has said it will not allow the ashes to be interred in the country. - September 23, 2013.
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