Not in our culture to honour peace treaties?

I remember vaguely about a peace treaty between our government and the Communist Party of Malaya, but we seem to go back on our words of honour.

We wouldn't know how the people would take it unless we have tried. We could set conditions for his return, like the length of stay and so on. We could even insist that he apologise publicly to the people of Malaysia. Are we afraid that the local Chinese would mob him?

Earlier reason for rejection because he was unable to produce his birth certificate seemed so lame. Surely, our National Registration Department has a record of his birth, he being one of ten siblings.

Susan Loone has this to say:

Why no respect for peace treaties? (excerpts):

Najib Razak forgets that his mentor Mahathir Mohammad had signed a peace treaty with the Communist Party of Malaya.

So, not allowing Chin Peng to return home is indeed a “travesty of justice” as lawyer Darshan Singh says.

Hostilities are supposed to have ended in 1989 after the peace treaty. It seems Najib does not understand what this means.

Would any country believe us anymore when we sign any treaties?

They better be cautious because we have a history of going back on our words.

It is not as if Chin Peng is coming back to set up a political party based on communist ideology.

The peace treaty did say they can come back to setup/join any legal political party.

The old guy wants to see his mother’s grave in Setiawan. His two kids can see him in Thailand or wherever. But nothing beats coming home.

“One thing that we always forget is that Sir Robert Thompson (the then defence secretary in Malaya) had said that the communists’ fight for independence had hasten Malaya’s independence by 10 years. This is something which the people should always remember,” said Darshan Singh, Chin Peng’s lawyer (Malaysiakini).

If Malaysia could pardon the British and Japanese who also killed scores of others in war time, why so afraid of the Malayan Communists?

Protocol aside, how would the Chinese leaders feel about our PM on his first official visit to communist China where there are a billion communists, knowing how afraid he is of communists in Malaysia!