MB: Demolish 'communist' monument
Malaysiakini.com
Dec 20, 2006
Bede Hong

Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan today urged Nilai Memorial Park, a privately owned cemetery, to demolish a monument commemorating those who fought against the Japanese invasion during the Second World War.

According to Sin Chew Daily, the menteri besar revealed this after a state executive meeting. He had termed the matter as ‘sensitive’.

Quek Jin Teck, who chairs the committee overseeing the monument, could not be reached for comment.

Previously, Quek said the monument, with inscriptions in five languages, was to commemorate heroes who fought against the Japanese invasion between 1941 and 1945.

'I cannot be wrong' 

The controversy began when Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin on Dec 16 said monuments for ‘communists’ were erected in Sarawak and Nilai.

He said such memorials were insensitive and disrespectful to the innocent victims of the communist insurgency.

On Monday, Quek and his committee held a press conference to clarify the matter and even invited Zainuddin to visit the memorial to see for himself that it is not related to the outlawed communist movement.

Quek said several MCA politicians such as Deputy Education Minister Hon Choon Kim, Deputy Tourism Minister Donald Lim and Deputy Home Affairs Minister Tan Chai Ho attended a memorial service at the site and did not express any reservation.

However, Zainuddin remained adamant.

“As information minister, I am part of history - I have seen it and understood it - thus I cannot have made a mistake or misunderstood history,” he said yesterday.

Don’t dishonour them

Meanwhile, DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng condemned the move by Mohammad.

He said the move could hurt the feelings of those who’s ancestors lost their lives fighting the Japanese invaders.

“Although the Chinese community is trying to prove that the monument is unrelated to the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), he [Mohammad] prefers to believe Zainuddin than the general opinion of the Chinese community,” said Lim in a statement today.

Lim said it was a fact that not all who fought against the Japanese were CPM members and that such individuals were of various races.

“If someone intends to write off their contribution to the struggle, it is likely to write off their merit to defend the nation’s sovereignty,” added Lim.

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