Final Homecoming

"When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive" ~ Alan Paton

I feel sorry for one Rejal Arbee when he writes, "Kekejaman Chin Peng tak boleh dimaaf". Perhaps, Malay men like him are born with ‘akal yang pendek dan hati yang mati’. He has a lot of negative words to describe Encik Chua Boon Leong. As I always believe, people who think badly (‘buruk sangka’) about others are actually doing the bad things themselves. Plus, his article shows how little we read and how lacking is rational thinking amongst educated Malaysians.

Well, I must say I have a soft spot for our golden-aged people as they remind me of my Tok and parents, so I always make a point to see and feel things through their perspective. Alas, I do have some reservations to some old people who continue to make blunders even when ‘rumah kata pergi, kubur kata mari’.

So, when Encik Chua Boon Leong pleaded that he is given a chance to come back to his Ibu Pertiwi, I feel his longing to be near to his loved ones. Through my life, I’ve known some incredible Chinese men. They are incredible to me because of their filial piety towards their parents. Some endure challenges and deny their own feelings for as long as they could make their parents happy and at peace. Encik Chua must be one of this rare breed of men. In Islam, heaven is on the bottom of a mother’s foot. While I am yet to see this in Malay men, I’ve seen many Chinese men who live by this saying.

Encik Chua wants to come back home so he could pay his last respect to his long dead parents in Sitiawan. He wants to breathe his last breath here in his beloved Ibu Pertiwi.

Do you think I’m crazy to say that he thinks Malaysia is his beloved Ibu Pertiwi? I hope not because if you read this enlightening article by Dr. Collin Abraham in CPIasia here, we all would open our arms and hearts for Encik Chua.

“History is often written by the winners to put their own selves in the best light. Politicians are especially adept at positioning themselves as the ones with the right judgment or making the correct call. We are all aware that politicians seek to gain for themselves political mileage and advantage.

In Chin Peng’s case, it is clear that the Malaysian authorities have consigned certain important facts and salient aspects of our history into a black hole as evidenced in the way the Communist Party and its leaders have been treated in textbooks, school syllabi, and popular presentation to the general public of pivotal events in the nation.

It is only coincidentally analogous that Dr Abraham argues how, mainly because there was no alternative means of articulating opposition to the inherent social injustices and exploitation of the British colonial regime, that Chin Peng and the CPM had little recourse but to rally to the communist cause and militancy.

“In fact, a careful reading of the Insertion [in the Blackwell encyclopedia] will reveal that Chin Peng was effectively the coordinator in bringing together a truly Malaysian independence movement, including not only the Malay left and Islamic parties, but also the Indian trades unions and above all the non-Malay MDU and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce,” says Dr Abraham.

Giving due recognition to the communist movement in our history for their resistance aimed at uplifting the working classes and freeing all Malaysians from the colonial yoke is nothing more than acknowledging the facts of what really happened in this important part of our past history”.

If you think those people in power feel that they have been adversely scarred emotionally by him and CPM, that there is no room for forgiveness in their hearts, you are wrong because if they do feel the pain, they won’t afflict sufferings and pains to their own people – physically, emotionally, economically and spiritually.

Sometimes, it is laughable to realise that these people in power try to show their omnipotent supremacy to those who are down. Simply ‘Jaguh Kampung yang Penakut’, don’t you think?

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong" ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Let’s all pray for Encik Chua’s homecoming to his beloved Ibu Pertiwi. He deserves to spend whatever time he has on this world to be near his beloved – the one that he fought fiercely against the colonialism and its abuse. He ought to be given a chance to feel the energy of GE12 aftermath, where oppositions come together to fight for our rights – just like what he did back then.

I pray for his good health. I plead for him to be granted a peace of mind during this challenging time. Yes, I can feel his feeling – the strong desire of being with my loved one despite knowing that luck is not on my side – it’s too painful to describe.

Dear Encik Chua, whatever happens after this, I hope you know that for an iota of independence we are bestowed upon now, we owe that to you and your comrades. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

p.s. This song “Come Home” by One Republic and Sara Barellies is written for the US soldiers in Iraq. It is moving when it says, “Come home, Cause I’ve been waiting for you, For so long, And right now there's a war between the vanities, But all i see is you and me, The fight for you is all I’ve ever known, So come home”.