YOURSAY | ‘I always thought that celebrating the anniversary of a peace accord is a good thing.’

Police: Don't upload articles to sensationalise the CPM

Steven Ong: The Home Ministry and Malaysia should celebrate together with the rakyat the anniversary of the victory over the communist terrorism in this country and the end of the conflict which caused misery and losses to many.

Malaysians need to be shown the wrong path taken by the communists and how the country succeeded to overcome them and follow the path of reconciliation and peace.

The people should be reminded of the ruined countries where the rebels refused to make peace with the governments. We should celebrate this as a lesson for our children.

Hmmmmm: I always thought that celebrating the anniversary of a peace accord is a good thing.

It shows how the government managed to persuade the communists to lay down their arms and start living a normal peaceful life. So, how is this a bad thing?

If anything, the government should be publicising it every year on this anniversary.

Thickskin: Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Hat Yai Peace Accord should not be seen as ‘sensationalising’ the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).

If a person cannot fully understand the difference between the two, he or she should not make any statements about this matter.

Is the peace accord such a bad thing that the law is being used to threaten everyone into silence?

Vijay 47: This appears to be one of those decrees that only the Malaysian police force can come out with, which nevertheless leaves us completely confused.

Let me try to reduce the plot to its essence – after years of hostilities between the authorities and the CPM, a period of conflict that cost thousands of deaths and injuries, peace was finally signed through the Hat Yai Peace Accord.

This treaty need not be delved upon too much due to its undying shame and perhaps not, the Malaysian government did not comply with various aspects of the paper it had put its signature on.

All the same, peace is peace and both sides welcomed its arrival and some have taken to celebrate the vehicle that brought this era of amity, the peace accord treaty itself.

Yet the police are now warning us not to commemorate the cessation of hostilities. Is the ending of war something to be ashamed of, a development to be hidden in the cellar?

The police say that anything touching on the CPM would cause “tension and disharmony in the country”.

But such a reaction would come only from those who have no qualms about offending those of other faiths and their religious rituals.

Wouldn’t the police’s objective be better served by taking firm measures against such extremists?

Jaded: Why would celebrating the anniversary of the Hat Yai Peace Accord be deemed illegal?

Vietnam and China are still communist nations and have communist governments, but the Malaysian government still has cordial ties with both countries and conducts business with them.

The communist ideology is not illegal. The violence as previously conducted by CPM is illegal, but the ideology is not.

The problem is that the education system does not equip the people with the right-thinking skills. That is the root of the problem and it is no surprise that Malaysians are easily spooked by the mere mention of the word “communist”.

Anon: The signing of the Hat Yai Peace Accord is a part of this nation's history.

Unless, of course, the politicians want to erase it completely from history like they have done with many other historical contributions.

A good example is Parameswara, the founder of Malacca and a Hindu prince. He is no longer being mentioned in some history books.

Boey KS: The communist movement is over. There is an agreement signed by both parties concluding the armed aggression.

Some people just do not understand this situation, especially those who were not affected or not born yet at the time but have only heard about it.

Instead of acknowledging these people who had laid down their arms, there are still people who want to treat them as enemies.

Why not fight the real enemies who are currently threatening the nation by stealing and corrupting the country?

Quigonbond: Knowledge empowers a more critical mind. Are we so weak as a nation that people will be easily swayed by communist ideology?

There is plenty of western propaganda going around about how bad communism is. How it discourages competition, how it encourages authoritarianism, how a command economy will eventually read the market wrongly with disastrous consequences of joblessness, poverty, etc.

Ruby Star: If the police had not given a press conference to talk about the peace accord anniversary, the public would have totally forgotten about the matter in no time at all.

The digital media has a natural lifespan of less than two days for this type of news.

JW: If it is wrong to publicise anything to do with communism, what about the wearing of shirts with the image of the anti-Cuban government rebel Che Guevara on it?

Mammen P: Rest assured, I don’t think anyone has the time nor the energy to indulge in matters of the past.

Unlike a few politicians, most of us are busy trying to eke and sustain a decent living. Not that the present capricious state of the nation helps.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.