History of Malay Left published in Mandarin

Glad to see that Dr. Mohamed Salleh Lamry's Gerakan Kiri Melayu Dalam Perjuangan Kemerdekaan (Bangi, Penerbit UKM, 2006) has been translated and published in the Chinese language. Dr. Mohamad Salleh is also the author of the posthumous biography of communist Kamarulzaman Teh, Gerakan Dan Tokoh Kiri - Kamarulzaman Teh Dalam Kancah Perjuangan Kemerdekaan (SIRD, Petaling Jaya, 2006).

Film on Malay Reds now screened in Germany

Rashid Maidin's memoirs now out in Mandarin

More reflections on Pak Zaman's biography

Posthumous biography of Kamarulzaman Teh

Alternative history of Merdeka for children

Exploring independence's image-reality gaps

Exploring other sides of Merdeka history ...

Assessing Tunku's controversial foreign policy

Communist Eng Ming Ching memoirs out now

Posthumous biography of Kamarulzaman Teh

Communist Kamarulzaman Teh (1920 - 2002) is a little known figure among Malaysians, including Malays. However, once upon a time when this land and its people were subjugated by Japanese fascists and British colonialists, Kamarulzaman fought them without any prospect of being elected as a member of parliament or state assemblyman, or rewarded with wealth or royal decoration. On the contrary, he was jailed for 22 years.

Born in Kampung Tanjung Broga of Mukim Sanggang, near Pahang's Temerloh, he joined the Communist Party of Malaya during the Occupation in 1943 and worked with the anti-fascist underground around Temerloh in coordination with the party's guerrilla force in Western Pahang, the 6th Independent Regiment of the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA).

Like Rashid Maidin (1917-2006), Kamarulzaman Teh participated in public affairs after the war as an open representative of the Communist Party of Malaya until he was arrested on 20 June, 1948 in Temerloh for allegedly in illegal possession of firearm.

He was "convicted" and sentenced to death by hanging but he was pardoned by HRH Sultan of Pahang and the sentence changed to life imprisonment. However, he was incarcerated for the "conviction" until 1962 when he was " released conditionally". Thereupon, he was further detained without charge or trial under the Internal Security Act for another eight years.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) of Tunku Abdul Rahman's 'independent' Malaya from 1958 to 1966 was the London-born Tan Sri Sir Claude Fenner who served in the prewar years in Negeri Sembilan as a colonial policeman.

Kamarulzaman Teh passed away as a communist with dignity, integrity and clear conscience intact at 10.30 a.m on 5 November, 2002 in the house of his lifelong comrades Abdullah C.D. and Suriani Abdullah in southern Thailand while on a visit. He was also laid to rest there on the same day in accordance with Islamic tradition.

Thanks to UKM's retired Associate Professor Dr. Mohamed Salleh Lamry who authored the ground-breaking Gerakan Kiri Melayu Dalam Perjuangan Kemerdekaan (Penerbit UKM, Bangi, 2006), Kamarulzaman's time and life has now been written and published as Gerakan Dan Tokoh Kiri - Kamarulzaman Teh Dalam Kancah Perjuangan Kemerdekaan (SIRD, Petaling Jaya, 2006).

Malaysia's 'longest' political detainee
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/19

Malaysia's longest political detainee, a fighter to the very end
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/13591

Duri Dan Api
http://duridanapi.blogspot.com

History of the Malay Left
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/48827

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

The charming 'firebrand'
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/52845

A tale of two Malay communist memoirs
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/33401

The fairer side of Malayan communism
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/29792

Opposition to Tunku’s pro-West foreign policies
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/21862

Tunku Abdul Rahman — the pro-West ‘nationalist’
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/21854

Foreign troops on our soil: the true history
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/21851

MCA MP vs. UMNO Youth: an out-of-box view

As a matter of principle, I am certainly sympathetic to His Honourable Loh Seng Kok's observation that our history book is 'imbalanced', not because he is a Chinese or non-Malay but because he is relatively right in this case. Those who know me well personally should know that I have never thought of joining Mr. Loh's 'Chinese' party even for a nano second since I began to interest myself in politics at 8 or 9 years old.

Indeed, given the changed alignments of international and regional relations, particularly the end of the Cold War 15 years ago, it is time to open up honest and rational discourses with the purpose of re-evaluating or re-examining the contents of our history books used in schools, universities, training institutions for the military, police and public servants as well as the National Service and Biro Tata Negara (BTN). What have MCA's ministers been doing in this regard in the past 15 years?

There are indeed many Chinese, Indian, Eurasian, Orang Asli, Iban and Kadazan histories to be told and incorporated into our history books. However, let us not forget that there are also some important histories of Malay-Muslim Left that have also been either marginalised or suppressed during the Cold War years when MCA participated in the bipolar slug-out on the Right in the then corrupt tradition of the anti-communist and chauvinistic Kuomintang rightwing.

Meanwhile, my very brotherly advice to Umno youths is that they should spend some time quietly to read up newly published books on alternative history like Dr. Mohammad Salleh Lamry's Gerakan Kiri Melayu Dalam Perjuangan Kemerdekaan and the reference books and papers in the bibliography. If they find alternative history interesting, they should have no problem in enrolling in BA and MA courses in universities to study and explore it further.

Bung James ini is always ready and willing to help sincere, humble and honest adik-adik, whatever their race, religion or political party, in their research by devil-advocating or providing second opinions or recommending some additional reading materials in Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and English from left, right or centerist perspectives.

Selamat membaca dan selamat belajar.

Vox Populi: Loh Seng Kok vs Umno Youth
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/45452

Memoirs of Ipoh’s WWII heroine being reprinted
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/45452

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

History of the Malay Left
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/48827

A tale of two Malay communist memoirs
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinionsfeatures/33401

Malay Left in the struggle for Independence

Dear Xi Li,

Thank you for your email which asks me what is my progress of reading Dr. Mohamed Salleh Lamry's Gerakan Kiri Melayu Dalam Perjuangan Kemerdekaan (Bangi, Penerbit UKM, 2006) .

I have finished reading it for the second time with great attention to details and reflected deeply on it. I have also written a review for malaysiakini.

It is indeed a great book you must not only read but also buy to keep as a reference because it, like Pak Said Zahari's Dalam Ribuan Mimpi Gelisah (Kuala Lumpur, Utusan, 2006), helps us to understand many aspects of the hidden history of our land and people in the long and winding anti-colonial and anti-fascist struggle for true independence.

I think this book will also help to make us more multi-ethnic and less ethnically exclusivist in outlook. I really hope it will be translated into Chinese and English.

History becoming clearer, less one-sided

My intellectual life last week was thrilled by reading Associate Professor Mohamed Salleh Lamry's Gerakan Kiri Melayu Dalam Perjuangan Kemerdekaan (Bangi, Penerbit UKM, 2006).

Now, I have finished reading it for the first round. I have no doubt at all that it is an excellent book that I must share with friends. There may still be debatable points here and there, but on the whole, this book should serve as an example of how a controversial subject in our history can be narrated and discoursed in a rational manner with a moral committment to factual truth and intellectual objectivity.

I hope the book would be translated into Chinese and English.

Situs Kaum Marxist Indonesia
http://www24.brinkster.com/indomarxist/
http://indomarxist.tripod.com/
http://come.to/INDOMARXIST

Marxist Internet Archive
http://www.marxists.org/

Malay Left & the struggle for Merdeka!

Since this afternoon, I have started to read with intense interest another new book published by the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Malay. It is titled Gerakan Kiri Melayu Dalam Perjuangan Kemerdekaan (Bangi, UKM, 2006) and written by Associate Professor Mohamad Salleh Lamry.

At this point of time, I have just covered only 48 out of 203 pages but it has already given me a strong impression that it is a balanced and scholarly narrative of a long suppressed and distorted dimension of the struggle for independence of our land from British colonialism and Japanese fascism.

The author, for example, makes his stand very clear at the outset of not using terms like 'terrorists' or 'communist terrorists' to describe or label members, fighters and leaders of the Communist Party of Malaya like Abdullah C.D., Chin Peng, Rashid Maidin, Suriani Abdullah @ Eng Ming Ching and Abu Samah Mohamad Kassim because the Cold War is over and there is a Peace Accord signed between the Government of Malaysia and the Communist Party of Malaya on 2 December 1989.

Like me, Associate Professor Mohamad Salleh Lamry also met and interviewed Abdullah C.D., Rashid Maidin, Suriani Abdullah and Abu Samah in southern Thailand before and was granted access to some of the important documents in the party's archive.

Utusan-UKM lock horns over CPM memoirs
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/31784