Ex-SB: Communist 'subversives' in varsities

A former Special Branch national director said that the communist movement is still alive and well in Malaysia, mostly in our institutions of higher learning, which he claimed was the former recruiting ground of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).

"The communist armed movement is over but the communist ideology is still here, it may be operating in our colleges and universities," Zulkifli Abdul Rahman, 75, told a 500-plus crowd of Perkasa members at a forum organised by the Malay rights NGO at the Sultan Sulaiman Club in Kuala Lumpur last night.

A former a high-ranking member of the intelligence section of the police Special Branch, Zulkifli was part of a four-member panel, moderated by Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali, that discussed 'Communist cruelty, Muhammad Indera @ Mat Indera and Independence'.

He explained that the communist struggle in the then Malaya was divided into two parts: the armed movement dubbed the 'final glorious struggle' and the second 'underground' Malayan United Front (MUF) that he dubbed 'subversives' cloaked in civil society guises, sussing out the problems facing the rakyat and taking advantage of the issues to subvert and convert.

It is this 'civilian' aspect of the communist machine that he insists has survived to this day.

"To the communists, time is nothing... they still want to convert Malaysia to communism," related the former Special Branch top gun, quoting an author on the communist agenda that refers to "communism in ambush" as the Red's long term ideological struggle to convert the world to their beliefs.

Zulkifli said the MUF had infiltrated various segments of Malayan society during its heyday, especially institutions of higher learning which, he claimed, MUF would approach to recruit likely candidates.

'Why Mat Indera?'

As a result of this, the former cop believes many of our educated youth, have been 'converted' to communism.

He quoted CPM secretary-general Chin Peng's interview with the academia at the Australian National University in Canberra a few years ago, during which the staunch communist supposedly said "the conversion to communism" is as strong "as any religious conviction", which makes converts or recruits die-hard supporters of the ideology.

These hidden communists, Zulkifli posited, may be behind PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, (right) more well known as Mat Sabu, bringing up and praising Mat Indera as a national hero and causing the current controversy.

"Mat Sabu is not from Johor. How did he even knew of Mat Indera? But why did he choose Mat Indera? Why not some other leader like Burhanuddin Helmi?

"Mat Sabu is not a communist, I don't think he is. But who are the people behind him who influenced him to bring up Mat Indera? Was it planned? If so by who? Is he the expendable element?" he asked.

'Mat Indera a communist'

Zulkifli related how several books published by several former communist leaders, such as Abdullah CD, appeared to be written in the same pattern and tone, which he is sure is a sign that all the books may have originated from a single source, a cadre of diehards working to ignite the ideology again.

"It is they who may have told Mat Sabu: Look why don't you bring up Mat Indera," Zulkifli added.

Mat Indera, an independence activist, was a member of pro-independence movement Parti Kebangsaan Malaya Merdeka (PKMM) and Angkatan Pemuda Insaf (API).

However, he then joined the armed struggle led by the CPM, resulting in him being labelled a communist, something his family is contesting.

Mat Indera was also blamed for leading the communist attack on the Bukit Kepong police station which led to the deaths of some 20 police officers and their family members.

In that same interview in Canberra, Zulkifli further claimed, Chin Peng admitted that Mat Indera was indeed a communist, the regional commander of all CPM armed units in the southern region.