Tuesday, May 30, 2006

The 'Pomelo' Film

OK, LKT revisited. Rather than responding on Amir’s arguments why his movie should not be banned, I’d like to comment on the comments made on his blog.

Somebody mentioned that a nephew of Rashid Maidin told him (or her) that the reason he (Rashid Maidin) and his colleagues fought against the Brits was independence. And the nephew of Rashid was told by his uncle that both Rashid and (Tun Dr) Mahathir are both freedom fighters but with different ways and eventually Mahathir’s side won. OK, but did Rashid Maidin EVER told his nephew why PKM still keep fighting after 31 August 1957? I’ll tell you why, because PKM doesn’t want a Federation of Malaya, they want a People’s Republic of Malaya or perhaps Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Malaya!

Still another guy mentions
that the ban is a ‘conspiracy’ to blind the eyes of Malays…I think this guy is still OD’ed by numerous tales of ‘conspiracy’ of the current Government since 1998. Hello Mister, you can gobble up all the conspiracy theories forwarded by those who don’t like the current government. But I think even PAS would have to think twice before allowing the movie to be screened.

And another guy thinks that the gomen banned LKT because the gomen tried to hide the fact that PKM killed Brit and Commonwealth troops like what Dato Maharajalela did. I really don’t understand his point. And besides, not only Brits but also local soldiers and policemen who were killed by the commies – Malay, Chinese and Indian.

My opinion is that many of the younger generations have no feeling what is it like to be in an Emergency. And besides, the Emergency is so long ago, ending in 1960. And that’s the extent of the communist struggle to the majority of Malaysians. Many people tend to forget that from 1968 to 1989, a limited state of Emergency was declared. Thanks to effective action by the armed forces and the police, the actions of PKM were limited to the hinterlands of Perak, Pahang, Kelantan and Kedah. But sometimes they managed to penetrate to the large towns. I wonder if anyone can recall that in 1975, Tugu Negara was bombed by PKM? Or the frequent sabotaging of the East-West Highway project? Or how many know that one of the reasons that highway was built was to interfere with PKM’s logistical trail? The limitation of the state of emergency in 1968-1989 allows most of the country to prosper and most of us Malaysians to live peacefully.

Perhaps the successes of the defence forces makes us mellow, forgetting the harshness of the first Emergency and thinking that PKM is finished as early as 1960. And generally, our ignorance of history allows the leaders of PKM to make a claim that they are too worthy to be called ‘pejuang kemerdekaan’. And one more thing, if one would like to know whether LKT should not be banned, they should ask for the opinions of the locals of Grik, Gubir, Jeli and the areas close to the Thai border, preferably those who are above 30 years of age.

PKM only put down their weapons 17 years ago, and the wound is still bloody.

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