Chinese new villages, communism spark outrage in Dewan

 

PARLIAMENT | A shouting match erupted in the Dewan Rakyat today after a Perikatan Nasional lawmaker said classifying Chinese new villages as a Unesco World Heritage Site would only recognise the communist struggle.

Ismail Abdul Muttalib (PN-Maran) said this over Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming’s proposal to nominate Chinese new villages in Selangor as a Unesco World Heritage Site to recognise the cultural and historical significance of these settlements.

“What is the minister’s rationale behind Chinese new villages being made a Unesco World Heritage site?

“Don’t you know that Chinese new villages were built and set up to prevent the communists from invading our country?

“If we make the new villages a heritage site it would only agree and verify the communist struggle, a dark time in the country,” Ismail (above) said.

This prompted RSN Rayer (Harapan-Jelutong) to invoke Standing Order 36(10)(c) which prevents a member of the house from using words that promote feelings of ill-will or hostility between different communities.

Ngeh Koo Ham (Harapan-Beruas) and Sany Hamzan (Harapan-Hulu Langat) also joined in the chorus of requests for Ismail to retract his statement about relating new villages with communism.

Ismail continued to insist that Chinese new villages were built to “save” the Chinese as well as Malays from being influenced by the communists.

Deputy speaker Alice Lau eventually instructed Ismail to retract his statement, which the latter begrudgingly did so.

Merely relaying history

PK Voon, a researcher at the Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies previously told South China Morning Post that Chinese new villages were essentially “concentration camps” by the British military.

Deputy speaker Alice Lau

He said the resettlement programme was to “gather and protect” families from “bandit influence”, namely the Malayan Communist Party.

In a press conference in Parliament later, Ismail insisted that he was merely relaying the history behind the existence of new villages.

Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang) said DAP lawmakers who chided his colleague over his remarks should rewrite history if they were unable to accept the fact.

“I challenge the government and DAP that if you disagree with these facts (on new villages) please amend the history syllabus in schools,” he added.