KUALA LUMPUR: The government is adamant that it will not allow the ashes of former Communist Party Malaya (CPM) secretary-general Chin Peng to be brought back to Malaysia.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi said the decision was to prevent any group from building a memorial in his recognition.
“We need to take into consideration the feelings of army and police veterans and their families who were the victims of Chin Peng’s atrocities when he headed the party,” he told the media at the Parliament lobby here Monday.
He said furthermore Chin Peng had never taken the opportunity to return despite two offers from the National Registration Department to do so after the Hatyai Treaty on Dec 2 1989.
Chin Peng, whose real name was Ong Boon Hua, 90, died of old age in a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand on Sept 16.
On the same day, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that the government would not grant permission for Chin Peng’s remains to be brought back to Malaysia due to the atrocities he committed.
Meanwhile, queried on the competition he is facing in defending his Umno vice-presidency post on Oct 19, Zahid placed his fate in the hands of the delegates to make the best choice for the party.– BERNAMA