KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 — Utusan Malaysia today launched a full-scale assault on Mohamad Sabu, accusing him rewriting history to turn Malaysia into a republic, over his alleged remarks praising communists.
Mingguan Malaysia, the weekend edition of the Umno daily carried eight pages worth of comments and criticisms against Mohamad, ranging from top Umno leaders like Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar to ex-soldiers who had fought communists during the February 23, 1950 attack on the Bukit Kepong police station.
The daily attacked Mohamad (picture) — who is popularly known as Mat Sabu — for allegedly praising the communists who attacked the police station in British-ruled Malaya during Emergency (1948-1960)
“Awang sees what Mat Sabu says as an insult to the country especially with the coming National Day this Wednesday. But Awang is not surprised. Mat Sabu is actually carrying the aspirations of other parties who have always fanned their own agenda to rewrite the history and constitution of our country.
“The strategy of some DAP leaders to engage in close ties with Mat Sabu has clearly worked...Awang will not be surprised if once the opposition takes over, he (Mohamad) will place Parti Komunis Malaya Leader (PKM) Chin Peng as a national hero and suggest that Malaysia be turned into a republic,” Awang Selamat wrote today.
Awang Selamat is a pseudonym under which editors of Utusan Malaysia write.
The Malay daily interviewed Temenggong Kanang Langkau, one of the few army survivors from the attack on Bukit Kepong who demanded that the Internal Security Act be used on the PAS leader for his supposed remarks made during a recent ceramah.
“This man is useless, is this what you call a former elected representative? Tell him if he wants to support Communists he does not have to contest in the general elections.
“He is supports communists, therefore he is a communist. He should be banished,” the former soldier told the Malay daily.
Utusan aired its first report on Mohamad's alleged speech during a ceramah in Tasek Gelugor yesterday. The report also claimed that the PAS leader said the country’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj and Umno’s first president Datuk Onn Jaafar were not freedom fighters.
Mohamad has so far refused to comment. He told The Malaysian Insider that he would first view the ceramah footage before commenting further.
The Umno paper also quoted relatives of soldiers and police officers who were killed during the communist attacks — as shocked and upset by Mohamad’s supposed remarks.
“Why is the sacrifice of my brother not recognised by Mohamad Sabu? Even though we were from a poor family but my brother fought for his country without being paid a single cent.
“It is sad that my brother’s efforts are not appreciated even though we are not asking for recognition. How can someone say something so stupid and evil,” 80 year-old Ismail Yahya, brother to late auxiliary policeman Othman Yahya (who died during the Bukit Kepong attack) told Utusan.
Umno deputy youth chief Datuk Razali Ibrahim said Mohamad to apologise to all the family members of those who were killed during the incident.
“In other words, this shows the DAP has penetrated the PAS leadership and I am not surprised if DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had assisted Mohamad in winning the PAS deputy presidency,” he said.
Mohamad won his party’s deputy presidency back in June defeating incumbent Nasharuddin Mat Isa and Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.
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