KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has summarised the party’s stand on the Bukit Kepong incident in 1950 following the controversy over deputy president Mohamad Sabu’s views on the issue.
Mohamad has decided to sue Utusan Malaysia for reporting that his view amounts to support for communism while the party and its coalition partners in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have taken pains to explain distortions in Malaya’s history.
1. PAS rejects and has never endorsed any group or movement in support of communist ideology.
2. PAS views the 1950 Bukit Kepong incident a tragedy, but views the late Muhammad Indera as an independence fighter, contrary to assertions that he was a communist and terrorist.
3. PAS stands by the fact that transcript of deputy president Mohamad Sabu’s speech on August 21 only mentioned Mat Indera as a hero, without any mention of the word “communist” as claimed by Utusan Malaysia. Such a spin has led to Mat Sabu and PAS being labelled communist.
4. PAS is convinced of the findings in the book Pengukir Nama Johor published by the Johor Heritage Foundation in 2004, listing Mat Indera as a religionist and freedom fighter.
5. PAS expresses confidence in the research work by Ayub @ Uiop Kassim in 1973, titled “The 1950 bloody tragedy of Bukit Kepong, Muar: A Post Mortem”. The work was to fulfil the requirement for a degree in Literature at University Malaysia’s Faculty of History, and concluded that Mat Indera was not one who believed in or joined the communist movement.
6. PAS believes that the struggle for independence had commenced much earlier than Umno’s formation in 1946. “Left-wing” fighters who had taken a “confrontational approach” in various states such as Mat Indera, Rosli Dhoby, Datuk Maharajalela, Tok Gajah, Tok Bahaman, Dol Said, Tok Janggut, Abdul Rahman Limbong and many others must be given their due recognition in history.
7. PAS believes that Umno had never resorted to armed struggle in the fight for independence, yet the other freedom fighters had sacrificed their lives in the fight to drive out the British colonial regime. As such, Umno only joined at the “final lap” of the struggle, thereby taking credit for the country’s independence and denying the contribution of those who had died and who opened the path for Merdeka in 1957. Having said that, PAS accepts whatever little contribution from Umno in achieving independence for Malaya.
8. Umno’s co-operation with British colonialists meant their leaders had joined the British administration and therefore were British officials.
Tuan Ibrahim said the eight points summed up the Islamic party’s understanding of the country’s independence struggle.
“The question of interpreting history and reviewing history is closely tied to the amount of information available as well as our perception of a certain issue,” he added in a report by Harakahdaily.
Tuan Ibrahim said making clear the party’s stand on the issue would not be able to put a stop to media spin from Umno, which he said was aimed at diverting public attention from other pressing current issues.
These included rising living costs, electoral fraud, corruption and wastage, the ExxonMobil and MAS shares fiasco, the RM24 million ring issue linked to the prime minister’s wife, and the latest announcement of a 6 per cent tax for each pre-paid mobile top-up.
The party information chief reiterated that a principle in the issue of differences in history was the ability to “agree to disagree” without any emotional baggage.
Those who had differences in their understanding had recourse to intellectual debate, and not personal attacks, he said.
“We have to agree to disagree in historical research because it relies heavily on the amount of information in hand, before one can come up with any conclusion with a sense of accuracy,” said Tuan Ibrahim, who is also Pahang PAS commissioner.
Citing a hadith of the Prophet warning Muslims that their disputes would be settled in the Hereafter, Tuan Ibrahim said one should not condemn or humiliate the dead.
Similarly, any discussion on Mat Indera’s status must be done in good faith, especially when he was no longer alive to answer the accusations directed at him.
Tuan Ibrahim said amid conflicting opinions about the late fighter, the defence of Mat Indera by his own next of kin provided the strongest reason for people to retain faith in him.
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