Ibrahim Ali: Mat Sabu Distorted Historical Fact

by Aidil Syukri

KUALA LUMPUR, 13 SEPTEMBER, 2011: Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) president Datuk Ibrahim Ali warned the public not to fall prey to the strategy used by Mohamad Sabu who he says have been almost successful in diverting people’s attention away from the Mat Indera controversy. Ibrahim said what actually should be given more focus what Mat Sabu had specifically said with regards to the late Mat Indera in his speech in Tasik Gelugor on Aug 21. Mat Indera was a member of the 10th Regiment Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) who played a prominent role in the attack on Bukit Kepong police station in 1950. Referring to the video of Mat Sabu’s abovementioned speech which is available on YouTube, Ibrahim concluded that the PAS deputy leader cannot quibble on what he had said because it is proven that Mat Sabu has distorted history facts and his statement on Mat Indera has offended a lot of people especially the family of those who died in fighting against communist. “He (Mat Sabu) is clearly trying to manipulate the facts through his statement in Tasik Gelugor that night. We must realize that he issued this statement as a political leader. As deputy president of PAS of course what he said was merely to get mileage on his party and the opposition. And in this issue, of course, the focus was to attract non-Malay voters,” said Ibrahim when met by Malaysian Digest at his office here today. “However, I see he has managed to divert the issue of his speech to the issue of who is Mat Indera. But if we watch the recording in You Tube, his contempt towards the Malay police who were killed in the incident in Bukit Kepong was recorded,” he said. “In the video, he said those policemen (in Bukit Kepong) were the tools of the British. This is the issue is actually needs to be focused on. It’s not a question of whether Mat Indera is a nationalist or a communist,” he added. According to Ibrahim who is also the Pasir Mas MP it’s a fact that Mat Indera was a member CPM and because of that he is not qualified to be called as a nationalist. He added that the struggle to establish a communist country and the struggle to free Malaya from the colonialists are two different things. “Communists continued to fight even though the country has gained independence in 1957. So we cannot call CPM and Mat Indera freedom fighters. They struggled to establish a communist country. If (CPM had been) successful, Malaya would be under the auspices of the Chinese which means that we would still be colonized,” he said. Ibrahim also said that, as a leader, Mat Sabu should be more careful when making statements and to refrain from being driven by emotions as such statements is damaging towards the young generations who do not know history. “Mat Sabu may also not know the history. As leaders, we must be careful when speak and not be driven by our emotions, especially when it is relating to sensitive issues. As an ‘istiqamah’ leader, he should throw away his ego. He should withdraw the statements he had made. A great leader is a person who dares to admit and apologize for his mistake,” he said. In another development, Ibrahim told Malaysian Digest that to mark the three years establishment of Perkasa, a forum titled “Kekejaman Komunis, Mat Indera dan Kemerdekaan” will be held on Wednesday, August 14, 8:30pm at the Kelab Sultan Sulaiman in Kampung Baru. The forum will feature Prof Emiritus Tan Sri Datuk Khoo Kay Kim, Datin Paduka Prof Dr Ramlah Adam, Lt Gen (B) Datuk Jaafar Onn and Commissioner (B) Datuk Zulkifli Abdul Rahman. The forum will discuss on the communist brutality and the aim is to discuss the nation history which, according to Ibrahim, has been distorted by unscrupulous parties, academically. - mD