I am 44 (only) today
Very early this morning, my mother and youngest sister called from Ipoh wishing me (picture-1968, Ipoh New Town's children playground) happy birthday.Well, time flies and I'm 44 today. I'm certainly older but still trying to ascertain whether I'm wiser accordingly.
Anyway, after that, another telephone call came gladly informing me that Pak Rashid Maidin,88, has recovered slightly from his illness and that he can talk to people now, albeit incoherently mixing Malay, English and Chinese. I still remember when we met for the first time early last year, he said my look had not changed much from my photographic image appeared in newspapers in the early 1990s when I was a Member of Parliament in my late 20s or early 30s.
I told him that in the early 1970s when I was a primary school boy, I had already heard stories in the streets that a violin-playing Rashid Maidin could appear and disappear in crowded places without being detected by mata-mata gelap. He laughed and replied: " itu cerita hantu".
posted by James Wong Wing-On at 1:36 PM
4 Comments:
Happy Belated Birthday!!
Happy birthday. May you continue to light up the local intellectual scene with your writings for many many more years to come.
I met you during Anwar Ibrahim's open house in Damansara Height last year. We exchanged few words and I told you that I'm an ardent reader of your blog. I have to agree with Rashid Maidin , you look remarkably young for a person whose about to turn 44.
Your blog has helped me to understand many aspect of our history that is deliberately hidden from the knowledge of the masses. Reading your writings also helps me to understand the political struggle of my own late grandfather who was strongly inclined with Socialism. The influence and understanding of Socialism opened his political consciousness to fight against imperialism and colonialism.
My late grandfather was a member of PKMM or Partai Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (which at the initial formation stage was suggested to be name Parti Sosialis Malaya). My late grandfather joined PKMM after KMM (Kesatuan Melayu Muda) was banned by the British. Later when PKMM too was banned by the British authority my late grandfather was detained in Tajung Bruas detention camp among other radicals and leftists including Rashid Maidin.
Unlike Rashid Maidin, my late grandfather couldn’t escape from the detention camp and has to endure 5 years and 8 months of imprisonment under the newly implemented Emergency Ordinance Act at that time for what was apparently classified as 'security' reasons. His name was mentioned in a book called ‘Perjuangan’ by Jaafar Husin and also in ’25 tahun Merdeka’ by Tan Sri Abdul Samad Idris.
I regret however none of our family members especially my generation put any serious effort to study and record many interesting aspect of his ‘red’ political path during his lifetime. By the time I was ‘politically conscious’ with socialism he already passed away.
Happy Belated Birthday Mr Wong. I believe you are doing a great service to the rakyat. Your effort is highly commendable. There is so much we can learn from the past in order to comprehend the present situation and the socio-economics’ predicament our country is facing at the moment. Malaysia has allowed capitalism to take shape in its ugliest form.
Capitalism in Malaysia has been left unbridled and unchallenged for so many years by imposing harsh and undemocratic measures such as ISA to silence dissenting views in order to protect a few. The word socialism has been unjustly demonised over the years as being anti-religion, anti-freedom and anti-democracy.
It is high time for our generation to reconstruct and correct our history based on actually events and facts without any political prejudices and favouritism. I hope your writings will be known and appreciated by larger internet readers in the future.
Many happy returns to you and May God bless you.
Thank you for your kind words.
Cowboy Kampung memang memberi saya banyak idea-idea baru untuk berfikir dan menulis. Soal-soal bahawa Kaum Kiri menentang bangsa, tradisi, agama-agama, demokrasi dan sebagainya memang mesti dijelaskan dengan baik kerana propaganda anti-kiri telah lama wujud sejak, bukan 1948 di Malaya, tetapi 1848 in Europah, khasnya selepas berlalunya Revolusi Bolshevik di Russia pada 1917. Saya akan cuba jawab dengan entry-entry selanjutnya.
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