The overwhelming positive feedback via the press media and Internet to the Astro TV documentary on the Malayan Emergency clearly indicates the program promoted national integration. This was mainly because, for the first time, the different ethnic groups were exposed to a panoramic view of the holistic picture particularly encompassing some dimensions of the ‘war’ such as the ‘war for the hearts and minds’ that they were not previously aware of.

They therefore were given a welcomed ‘realistic’ account of the meaning and impact of what actually happened and how these events shaped the destiny of their lives and that of the nation.

But the significance of the documentary lies not so much in its accuracy but rather more in the perspective adopted.

The narrative in the form of a story projected the clear position that, while the Emergency was ostensibly declared to combat the initial threat of the Malayan Communist Party to establish a communist state, it subsequently portrayed the realty that it was more a people’s war against British Imperialism and colonialism for political independence for Malaya.

In fact on deeper insight, the documentary evidence suggests that the original armed forces of the MCP - the Malayan Peoples’ Anti-Japanese Army, opted to fight the British for independence under the communist banner because with the declaration of the Emergency, this was the only option available to them.

The Emergency, followed by the Peace Accord between the Malayan Communist Party and the Malaysian government, are historically acknowledged as being the most important in the epoch of nation-building towards the formation of the nation state.

Also, in clearly outlining the contribution of each ethnic group, as well as members of other minority communities who jointly and severally contributed to the attainment of independence, the documentary has, as never before, provided the essential evidence for the encapsulation of what has now being promoted as Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s ‘1Malaysia’.

Malaysians should therefore strongly support the contention that this documentary be declared the official version of the Emergency. An important question that immediately arises is the validity and reliability in the scope and detail of the material presented.

I believe is well established in the extensive footage of all the events covered drawn from impeccable official government sources cannot be questioned as to their objective authenticity.

But there needs to be some agreement that the perspective adopted correctly, or at least reasonably, reflects the true scenario of the events covered in terms of the impact they had on all those who directly or indirectly fought for independence, or were otherwise involved during this period of our history.

To encompass this vitally important dimension, it would appear that the perspective adopted by documentation has drawn heavily from the book entitled The Finest Hour: Malaysian-MCP Peace Accord in Perspective. As will be mentioned subsequently, according to the editor of the Blackwell’s Encyclopedia, this book has now received international recognition and world wide acclaim, as the only work that declares the MCP led uprising as a revolt and revolution for political independence.

If this position is accepted, then it follows that the perspective adopted by the documentary must have been drawn from this source. It is consequently important to briefly consider the origin and scope of the book itself. It was sponsored buy the Institute of South-East Asian Studies (Singapore).

The scope covered the initial resistance of the feudal Malay sultanates to the imposition of British colonialism, as well as the subsequent related opposition by the indigenous and immigrant communities to political and economic marginalisation, leading to political independence and a peace accord with the Malaysian government.

What is most significant about this book is that despite the ‘divide and rule’ colonial policies, the analyses focuses on the ‘coming together’ of the different social formations involved based mainly on ethnicity and political affiliation, as a result of the imposition of colonialism itself, and of the subsequent Emergency, towards the attainment of political independence.

In writing a foreword, Dr Mahathir Mohamad has lent credibility par excellence to the work. This is especially because he was the prime minister who initiated and orchestrated the entire process leading to the peace accord with the Malayan Communist Party. It is a tribute to the author that Mahathir described the book as ‘bold and extraordinary’ because it projects how peace was finally brought to the country.

It is also interesting to note that Chin Peng, leader of the Malayan Communist Party, personally congratulated the author of the book for a ‘realistic’ account of the Emergency.

Finally, the suggestion that the book, on which the documentary seems to be based, be endorsed as the official version of the Emergency, has received the recognition for the highest possible standards for scholarship through the Blackwell’s Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.

As noted earlier, in the citation of acceptance for the chapter titled ‘Revolt and Revolution in Malaya’ (1999) the editor makes the extraordinary assertion that this was the only work from the entire bibliography from1500 to date, that satisfied the requirements of recognized theoretical frameworks incorporating relevant, valid and reliable empirical evidence concerning peoples’ uprisings in the region as pertaining to Malaya.

I therefore humbly urge the prime minister to seriously consider the publication of the book The Finest Hour: Malaysian-MCP Peace Accord in Perspective as the official publication of the government of Malaysia.

Most Malaysians will agree that the least we can do for those who sacrificed their lives for our political independence and peace is to ensure that their contribution has been realistically recorded.