I was detained for harmless Chin Peng mementoes, says Penang retiree

Some of the items police seized from the retiree on Tuesday night. The Malaysian Insider pic, September 26, 2013.

They were just mementoes from the funeral.

Everyone who attended was given the same items, explained a retiree who was detained by police as soon as he arrived from Bangkok where he had attended the funeral of the communist leader Chin Peng.

The 66-year-old man made the news a couple of days ago for being detained by police at Penang International Airport.

Police confiscated CDs, souvenir programmes on Chin Peng's funeral and 12 books on the Communist Party of Malaya from the man the news reported as a datuk seri, which he said he was not.

"But since the newspapers have given me the title, I may as well enjoy it for now," he told The Malaysian Insider.

He spoke on the condition that he is not named, and said he was shocked at how he was whisked away from Penang International Airport on Tuesday night and taken to the Bayan Baru police station to be searched and questioned.

The police had been tipped off that mementoes related to the communist party and Chin Peng were going to be smuggled into the country, so they staked out the airport on Tuesday night for the Thai Airways flight from Bangkok.

The retiree recounted that he and a friend, a 59-year-old from Hong Kong, became suspicious when they saw a group of people in plainclothes waiting at the Customs checkpoint near the luggage conveyor belts at the airport.

"The group approached us and one of them spoke politely. He wanted us to follow them to the police station.

"I was shocked, but not wanting to cause a scene, I just went with them. My friend was also ordered to follow since we had travelled together," he said.

At the police station, the two men were questioned and their bags searched.

"They recorded our statements and let us go after several hours," the retiree said, adding he did not want to reveal anything more as investigations were still going on.

"I do not want this blown out of proportion. I want this to cool down. I do not think anyone can gain anything from this. I want to put this behind me as soon as possible," said the man, who was clearly spooked.

He insisted the items he had brought were for his personal use and some of them, such as the printed materials, were also available on the Internet.

"They were harmless items," the retiree said.

"This is all so unnecessary. It is probably because at present, anything related to Chin Peng is a sensitive issue."

The retiree lives in Penang and went to Bangkok for Chin Peng's funeral as the communist leader's son is a friend.

It appears he is partly a victim of the government fear that Chin Peng's ashes might be smuggled into Malaysia.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has taken a strong stand against Chin Peng’s remains being allowed into Malaysia. This despite his own Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar saying, “There is nothing any of the authorities can do. We have no laws to stop the ashes from being brought in or penalise anyone carrying the ashes in.”

Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanapi has since told a press conference that no ashes were found on the two men who were detained.

But he confirmed police had seized eight CDs, 11 souvenir programmes and 12 books on the Communist Party of Malaya. He said the case was being investigated under the Printing Presses and Publications Act.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has said the government has no ban on any publication on the communist leader.

Chin Peng, whose real name was Ong Boon Hua, from Sitiawan, Perak, died of cancer on September 16. The man, who was regarded a terrorist by the Malaysian government, was just a month short of his 89th birthday.

The government has refused to allow his ashes to be interred in his hometown of Sitiawan.