YOURSAY | 'The clear and present danger to the nation today is not Chin Peng's ashes.'

Dr M: Shamsiah, Rashid came back when alive, why not Chin Peng's ashes?

Anonymous_b3cdcd05: Ideologically bankrupt politicians manipulating historical events in isolation to exploit their race and religion agenda are the cause of all that ails this nation today.

As far as the rakyat are concerned, neither Chin Peng, Rashid Maidin nor Shamsiah Fakeh can make a difference to their hard-pressed lives. Neither will Chin Peng's ashes that were scattered off Lumut and the Titiwangsa range.

Politicians who play up such issues selectively for their political survival must be named and shamed. These are the very same people that have enriched themselves through corruption and/or abuse of power at the expense of the people, who are struggling to make ends meet.

What is of concern to the average Malaysian is not how to get even with the ghost of our past - whether it be the British, Japanese or the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) - but to find reasonable paying jobs, a roof over our head and to put food on the table for our kin and kids tomorrow and the day after.

That should be the focus of the 'New Malaysia' under Pakatan Harapan. Those that agitate racially-charged non-issues to further their 3R (race, religion and royalty) bogey must be rejected by the people.

The clear and present danger to the nation today is not Chin Peng's ashes. It is the presence of a fugitive on the run, wanted allegedly for inciting hate speeches and provoking Islamic State-related ideology.

HJ Angus: As if the police have nothing better to do. What has happened to the enforced disappearance cases?

Furthermore, how can the ashes of an old man do more harm to society than the unrepentant IS terrorist that was recently released?

RR: The deep state should not use police and other authorities to make ashes of a dead man an issue when Malay communist leaders were accepted in the country in the past, as rightly pointed out by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Bruclax: Mahathir, I agree with you that this is a trivial matter and not worth anyone's time. But why then has the inspector-general of police (IGP) said the police are investigating the matter?

The worst form of management is rocking the cradle and pinching the child. As PM, you have the power to nip such nonsense in the bud.

Malaysian-United: Even communists are not spared from ‘ketuanan’ racism. It seems Malay communists have an edge over non-Malay communists.

OK Dino: Attempts to declare Chin Peng a patriot, nationalist and freedom fighter reflect how far off the rail some Malaysians are from what the CPM represented and what its real objective was.

Firstly, it must be pointed out that the CPM continued with their insurgency long after Malaya had gained independence in 1957.

In their fight against the government of an independent Malaysia, the CPM killed civilians and security personnel by the thousands, without considering their role as defenders of independence or their innocence. Senior police officers were assassinated and police patrols were ambushed and gunned down.

Nationals of an independent country do not kill fellow nationals who were only doing their duty to provide security for the citizens who just wanted to earn a living and to live a normal life.

To make it more horrendous, much of the atrocities committed by Chin Peng and the CPM were not only against soldiers but against the civilians as well.

The 1989 Hat Yai agreement was to stop to the mindless killings, even though there was no possibility for the CPM to seize power in Malaysia.

The agreement was a practical solution to the problems faced by the nation and it was a solution also for the CPM, which had lost all support in Malaysia following the government campaign to win the hearts and minds of the people.

The CPM would not have entered into the agreement if it still had substantial support of Malaysians. Besides, after the visit of then prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein to China in 1974, the Chinese government stopped supporting the CPM.

The government is right in not allowing the burial of Chin Peng in Malaysia or bringing his ashes back.

Anonymous #18267907: During a war, both sides tried to inflict damages on each other. The communists killed those who didn't collaborate with them.

And the military/police also tried to eliminate them. Worst were those caught by the military/police, who would torture them to death.

Odysseus: Did anyone do a count on the number of people killed by the Japanese, British, Portuguese or Dutch when they colonised our country?

Today, we worked closely with Japanese and drive their re-badged car as ours. How come no one claimed to be hurt or insulted by the presence of Japanese cars on our road?

Let's not be hypocrites. Let's forgive and forget. Let bygones be bygones.

Kangkung: Do you see how this Chin Peng's ashes issue, like all other issues, can be turned in whatever direction to suit one's fancy.

Chin Peng is dead and so is the CPM, yet we are still debating about this. How can this country ever progress when every little thing needs to be turned into a racial issue?

In 2003, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is now our deputy prime minister, appealed to the then Umno government to allow Chin Peng to come back to pay respects to his deceased parents and ancestors.

And now the Harapan government wants to make an issue out of the return of Chin Peng's ashes?

Gerard Lourdesamy: At last, Mahathir is talking sense. The problem is that there are elements in the civil service, police, army, academia and the media who are instigating racist sentiments on a daily basis to support the political agenda of Umno and PAS.

The sooner this deep state is identified, exposed and destroyed, the better for the future of this country and our democracy. The remains of Chin Peng have become an issue because he is Chinese and the group that brought his remains back to Malaysia are also Chinese.

I am certain if Chin Peng had converted to Islam and adopted Malay culture and the Malay language, he would have been forgiven decades ago and allowed to live his last days here, in peace.

Vijay47: You can colour me cynical, sceptical, critical, but sorry, Mahathir, I am not going to buy your story. Your credibility is so low that I would even have trouble believing you if you said that tomorrow and the next few days, the sun will rise in the east.

In fact, after your great success in the Zakir Naik-Kashmir affair and your star performance at the Dignity Circus which blended to reduce respect and trust in you to fresh depths, I was just waiting for you to come out with some damage-control gambit.

And you did not disappoint. Today, what better opportunity than the Chin Peng ashes tale for you to attempt redeeming at least a little of the regard people had for you.

Sorry again, Mahathir, if you want me to accept that summer is now in town, I will wait until the whole flock lands, not just a single malnourished swallow.

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