True patriot Rashid Maidin (1917 - 2006) laid to rest

According to Suriani Abdullah, the remains of true warrior for Merdeka and proud Communist to the last moment in life, Rashid Maidin had been buried in accordance to Islamic tradition this afternoon in Srisakhon, southern Thailand.

Representing the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) to bid comradely farewell to Rashid Maidin at the burial rite were Abdullah CD and Suriani Abdullah. Two other veterans, Chin Peng and Shan Ruhong, sent their messages of condolence through Abdullah and Suriani.

Born in November 1917 in Kampung Gunung Mesah, Gopeng, Perak, Rashid Maidin joined the Communist Party of Malaya on the eve of Japanese invasion in December 1941 in Perak's Tanjung Tualang where he worked as a certified electrical chargeman for an European tin-mining company. The Communist Party of Malaya was inaugurated on 30 April 1930 in a rubber plantation workers' quarters near Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan.

Early last year, Rashid Maidin deposited with this blogger a public statement of gratidute to the Communist Party of Malaya:

"As a poor boy born in a backward kampung in colonial time and without sufficient formal education, I am still very grateful to the party which has transformed me into a man who knows politics and the world in all its complexities, and also trusted me for so many years".

In his memoirs Daripada Perjuangan Bersenjata Kepada Perdamaian published last year in Kuala Lumpur by SIRD, Rashid Maidin also paid special tribute to martyr Toh Lung San (1922-1943), who recruited him into the Communist Party of Malaya, as "my true teacher in politics".

In the booklet Islam Melayu Komunis - Wawancara Dengan Abdullah C.D., Rashid Maidin & Abu Samah (Kuala Lumpur, SIRD, 2005), Rashid Maidin expressed his worry about anak-anak muda being morally corrupted by, among other things, "yellow culture", "drugs" and "individualistic lifestyle". He called on the angkatan baru to get themselves involved in "healthy activities" and to play their role in developing the nation, upholding democracy and justice as well as promoting inter-ethnic unity.

Rashid: Why I turned Red
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/34906

Saved by cowherds
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/34946

Merdeka history in new light
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/42665

The titans of Malay communist leaders
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/34780

Malay Communists recall Anti-Fascist War (in Chinese)http://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/38990

Tunku's 1947 message to Rashid Maidin in London (in Chinese)
http://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/42561