Yet another PAS leader stands up for Chin Peng

Sepang MP, Mohamed Hanipa Maidin

Chin Peng continues to draw official condemnation days after his death, but a PAS Member of Parliament has today spoken up in defence of the late communist leader.

Sepang MP Mohamed Hanipa Maidin (pic above) took to task Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, saying he should not follow right-wing Malay group Perkasa when talking about the law.

The PAS lawyer was commenting on Khalid's statement that border checks would be stepped up to prevent any attempts at bringing back Chin Peng's remains into Malaysia.

 

"I urge them not to make statements like the Malay rights group Perkasa. Their statements must not be based on emotions but on history and legal facts," the first-term MP said in the Parliament during a debate on the Legal Profession (Ammendment) Act 2012.

Hanipa then referred to a statement by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar that Putrajaya has no legal power to stop Chin Peng's ashes from being brought in, as well as the comments from former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor, that Malaysia will be a laughing stock for not allowing Chin Peng's ashes into the country.

"The former IGP had also suggested that Chin Peng's contribution to the country be studied again.

"Good thing it was Rahim Noor who had said that and not Mat Sabu. If it was Mat Sabu, there would have been thousands of police reports lodged against him by BN politicians," Hanipa remarked, referring to PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu.

Mohamad Sabu was at the centre of a storm last year for saying that history books deriding communist fighters should be revised.

Hanipa also defended Chin Peng as an independence fighter, a description that has not sat well with Umno leaders.

Hanipa is one of many PAS leaders who have openly come out in defence of Chin Peng, who died on September 16 in Bangkok.

Mohamad Sabu, in urging Putrajaya to reconsider its decision to bar Chin Peng's remains, pointed out that Islam never discriminated against its enemies.

Yesterday, a Kedah PAS leader, Fadzil Baharom, showed up at Chin Peng's wake at a temple in Bangkok, saying many Malaysians including PAS members have misunderstood the late leader.
"Malaysia's history has been changed. I am looking for the unvarnished version," said Fadzil.

[Source: The MI]