Two arrested for allegedly smuggling CPM mementoes

Two men - a Malaysian and Thai citizen - were arrested by police at the Penang International Airport late last night for allegedly smuggling mementoes related to the now defunct Communist Party of Malaya (CPM).

State police chief Abdul Rahim Hanapi said the duo were held following a tip-off at 10.30pm as they arrived via a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok, which landed in Penang at 9.55pm.

Abdul Rahim said the two men, aged 66 and 59, were later brought to the Bayan Baru police station and questioned for bringing in the materials related to CPM's now deceased former secretary-general Chin Peng, whose body was cremated according to Buddhist rites in Bangkok on Monday.

Malaysiakini learnt that Chin Peng's immediate family members who attended the funeral had entered the country yesterday without being stopped, checked or questioned by immigration officers.

Chin Peng, whose real name was Ong Boon Hua, died on Sept 16, Malaysia Day, at the age of 90, after a long illness.

At a press conference in Bayan Baru police station at about 11.45pm, Abdul Rahim said police seized eight CDs, 11 souvenirs and 12 books related to Chin Peng and the CPM.

"The case is being classified under Printing Presses and Publications Act," he told reporters.

He did not identify the two men but English daily The Star reported that one of the men was the brother of a former parliamentarian.

New directive?

It is also uncertain at this point if there had been a new directive to the police to halt the entry or distribution of any books or materials related to Chin Peng or CPM.

Books and compact discs related to the CPM's version of their struggle for an independent Malaya pre-1957 were on sale since last week at the Wat Tat Thong temple in the Ekkamai district of Bangkok where Chin Peng's body was laid to rest.

Yellow paper roses, sweets, tiny heart-shaped containers as well as booklets of Chin Peng's ‘My Last Wish' were distributed to the public who dropped by at his wake.

The Malaysian government, which signed a peace accord with both CPM and the Thai government in 1989 in Hatyai, has made it illegal for the family to bring in Chin Peng's ashes.
However, the authorities have yet to state under which law they have decided to use to block Chin Peng's remains from being buried in his home town of Setiawan, Perak.

Chin Peng, described by the government as a terrorist, has been lauded by many, including the Thai royalty, former prime minister and generals as a fighter against British and Japanese colonialism in Malaya.