A book published by the Johor government in 2004 named insurgent Mat Indera as a freedom fighter and lists him as a celebrated Johor hero.
Speaking to Malaysiakini today, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu said that this was revealed in the book entitled Pengukir Nama Johor.
“The book has five pages on Mat Indera and he is essentially called a freedom fighter. It states that he is not a communist,” he said.
Mohamad, who is under fire for saying Mat Indera is a hero for attacking the Bukit Kepong police station in 1950, added that the foreword of the book was written by Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman.
“This is why I said that Umno is digging its own grave on this issue,” said Mohamad, who is due to hold a press conference about the matter tomorrow.
Five pages of the book are dedicated to Mat Indera while the remainder are biographies of 21 other key historical figures from Johor.
These include the late Sultan Ismail and former Umno chairperson Sulaiman Ninam Shah.
Also included in the Johor Heritage foundation published book is a biography of Bajuri Siraj, who had turned Mat Indera in to the British for a reward.
Mat Indera's photograph is featured on the cover of the book
The section on Mat Indera was written by Ismail Adnan who once served as deputy director of Institut Kepimpinan dan Latihan Semangat Dato' Onn.
The book was edited by former Universiti Malaya media studies lecturer Abu Bakar A Hamid and Teacher of the Year 2002 award recipient Md Ismail Zamzam.
'Pious and hardworking man'
Contacted by Malaysiakini today, Abu Bakar said that Mat Indera is described in the book as someone who is “pious and a tahfiz(someone who has memorised the Quran)”.
“The author used this as a basis to conclude that it is unlikely that he had turned into a communist,” he said.
He added that Ismail had written the section based on several credible sources and his own research.
Interestingly, Abu Bakar revealed that his own father had also served alongside Mat Indera at Sekolah Agama Parit Setongkat in Muar, Johor in the 1940s.
“My father was the headmaster and Mat Indera was a teacher there. My father remembers him to be a hardworking and pious man who had a good voice,” he said.
At the same time, Abu Bakar revealed that in his memoir published by UKM, once Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) chairperson Abdullah CD named Mat Indera as one of his platoon members.
In the memoir Abdullah said that Mat Indera had led the insurgency against the Bukit Kepong police station and was later “poisoned” before he was captured and hanged to death.
“This public and intellectual discourse about history is a good thing, but I urge politicians to stay out of it.
“There is no need to make a lot of noise for nothing. Even in academia there are differing views, so we conduct more research and present our findings. The case (of Mat Indera) is not yet closed,” he said.
Speaking to Malaysiakini today, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu said that this was revealed in the book entitled Pengukir Nama Johor.
“The book has five pages on Mat Indera and he is essentially called a freedom fighter. It states that he is not a communist,” he said.
Mohamad, who is under fire for saying Mat Indera is a hero for attacking the Bukit Kepong police station in 1950, added that the foreword of the book was written by Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman.
“This is why I said that Umno is digging its own grave on this issue,” said Mohamad, who is due to hold a press conference about the matter tomorrow.
Five pages of the book are dedicated to Mat Indera while the remainder are biographies of 21 other key historical figures from Johor.
These include the late Sultan Ismail and former Umno chairperson Sulaiman Ninam Shah.
Also included in the Johor Heritage foundation published book is a biography of Bajuri Siraj, who had turned Mat Indera in to the British for a reward.
Mat Indera's photograph is featured on the cover of the book
The section on Mat Indera was written by Ismail Adnan who once served as deputy director of Institut Kepimpinan dan Latihan Semangat Dato' Onn.
The book was edited by former Universiti Malaya media studies lecturer Abu Bakar A Hamid and Teacher of the Year 2002 award recipient Md Ismail Zamzam.
'Pious and hardworking man'
Contacted by Malaysiakini today, Abu Bakar said that Mat Indera is described in the book as someone who is “pious and a tahfiz(someone who has memorised the Quran)”.
“The author used this as a basis to conclude that it is unlikely that he had turned into a communist,” he said.
He added that Ismail had written the section based on several credible sources and his own research.
Interestingly, Abu Bakar revealed that his own father had also served alongside Mat Indera at Sekolah Agama Parit Setongkat in Muar, Johor in the 1940s.
“My father was the headmaster and Mat Indera was a teacher there. My father remembers him to be a hardworking and pious man who had a good voice,” he said.
At the same time, Abu Bakar revealed that in his memoir published by UKM, once Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) chairperson Abdullah CD named Mat Indera as one of his platoon members.
In the memoir Abdullah said that Mat Indera had led the insurgency against the Bukit Kepong police station and was later “poisoned” before he was captured and hanged to death.
“This public and intellectual discourse about history is a good thing, but I urge politicians to stay out of it.
“There is no need to make a lot of noise for nothing. Even in academia there are differing views, so we conduct more research and present our findings. The case (of Mat Indera) is not yet closed,” he said.
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