With just two days to go before the 57th anniversary of Merdeka, Malay dailies are stoking up nationalist fervour with a deluge of criticism against PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu's apparent attempt to portray communist insurgents in the Bukit Kepong incident as heroes.

What sparked the flurry of articles critical of Mohamad , widely known as Mat Sabu, was his Aug 21 speech in Tasek Gelugor, Penang, which was only picked up by Utusan Malaysia yesterday, after a pro-Umno blog uploaded video excerpts of the contentious speech.

"When it's near Merdeka Day (television programmes) on Bukit Kepong will be aired. The police who died in Bukit Kepong are police who belonged to the British," he says in the video clip that was uploaded.

mat sabu pc with salleh man 190811 "Those who attacked Bukit Kepong were the ones fighting for independence. The one who attacked Bukit Kepong was Mat Indera (Muhammad Indera). He is a Malay, but this is not in the history books.

"Jins Shamsudin made a film (about this). Jins Shamsudin is from Umno. (His film on) Bukit Kepong criticised (the attackers) as the villains.

"The police are British police. Before independence, our country was ruled by the British. But in the film, the heroes were the British and the (insurgents) were terrorists," Mat Sabu ( above ) adds.

In another portion of his speech, Mat Sabu criticises how Umno had perverted the essence of Merdeka Day into self-glorification and ignored non-Umno elements that had also contributed to the country's independence.

Four pages in Utusan

The issue was covered extensively over four pages by Utusan Malaysia today, highlighting Mohamad's refusal to comment on the criticisms until he reviewed the video recording of the speech.

Yesterday, Mohamad told PAS-owned Harakah Online that he could not recall the details of the speech and was seeking a copy of the video.

Other Utusan Malaysia articles quoted family members of the Feb 23, 1950 Bukit Kepong attack survivors calling for Mohamad to be jailed, again, under the Internal Security Act (ISA), for his remarks.

The daily also quoted former Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan calling Mat Sabu a "traitor" and "terrorist", and pledging his support for the use of the ISA against the PAS leader because he was "inclined to terrorism".

Two other articles focused on a Penang Water Authority's (PWA) alleged RM8,434.05 cheque issued to Mohamad to cover the medical cost for injuries he sustained during the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9.

Umno Youth information chief Reezal Merican Naina Merican was quoted as saying the PWA's collective agreement with its staff union explicitly stated that it would not foot bills for injuries suffered by participation in illegal activities.

Police to begin probe

Reezal Merican argued that since there was a court order barring Mat Sabu from the rally points, the rally was clearly illegal and asked why was he was exempted from the PWA's rules.

A copy of the alleged cheque was posted on a pro-Umno blog, along with an alleged copy of an internal memo detailing the expenses incurred.

Meanwhile, Sinar Harian reported that police would take legal action against Mat Sabu over his speech in Tasek Gelugor.

Quoting deputy IGP Khalid Abu Bakar, the daily said numerous police reports have been received against Mat Sabu's speech.

"The police will investigate (the reports) under Section 505 of the Penal Code for making statements conducive to public mischief," he said.

According to Utusan Malaysia , more than 20 police reports have been lodged against Mat Sabu.

Sinar Harian also quoted several historians who accused Mat Sabu of distorting history.