The recent forum discussion, “Should We Rewrite Our History Books?” sparked a huge debate among Malaysians as the panelists suggested to include alternative perspectives of all parties, including the communist movement, who were involved in the nation’s independence in our history textbooks, as reported by Malaysiakini. However, veterans had outrightly rejected the idea of rewriting the historical account.
The veterans said that any form of recognition for the communists would be an insult to those who had fought for the country’s independence, as reported by Bernama.
Source: The Sun
During the 2018 Warriors’ Day parade held at Dataran Pahlawan Negara yesterday (July 31), Brigadier General (Rtd) Datuk Jamil Rais Abdullah told reporters that the nation had lost countless lives during the fight against the communists. He also said that many of our nation’s warriors were killed or injured, especially during the emergency period between 1948 and 1960.
“We feel the loss. Many of my friends were killed. I cannot accept giving recognition to the communists and including its movement in our history textbooks. It is not appropriate and can hurt the feelings of the country’s fighters and warriors.”
“We put our lives at stake and fought hard because it is our passion to protect the country’s sovereignty,” Datuk Jamil Rais said.
Source: Kosmo
Jamil was one of the soldiers involved in the 1971 Ops Iblis, in the forest of Ulu Kinta, Perak.
According to FMT, this operation was launched by the Malaysian 2nd Infantry Brigade after they discovered communist insurgents in the Korbu Forest, Sungai Siput and Tanah Hitam, Perak, on May 31, 1971.
The mission of Ops Iblis was to destroy the 5th Assault Unit of the communist movement which had expanded their influence in Bukit Berapit, Air Kala, Kinta Forest Reserve and Slim River, Perak, making these areas their base of operations.
Source: FMT
Another veteran who was involved in Ops Iblis 1971, Capt (Rtd) Azmi Abdul Hamid, commented that giving recognition to the communists would cause confusion among the people, especially the younger generation.
“I don’t agree (with recognising the communists). It is too much,” he stated.
Lt Col (Rtd) Harbans Singh expressed his firm stand on this matter, saying that many Malaysian soldiers were tortured and killed by the communist insurgents.
He even cited the Gubir incident in 1976 where many of our soldiers were brutally disfigured by the communists.
“They disfigured our soldiers and cut the penis of one officer. How can we recognise the communists? Any suggestion to include facts on the communists in our history textbooks should be rejected by all quarters,” he added.
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