your say 'Even Pak Samad is saying that Umno stole all the credit from everyone who was fighting to gain independence from the British.'

Pak Samad: Tunku merely independence receiver

Anonymous_4031: National laureate A Samad Said (Pak Samad) is right about Tunku Abdul Rahman being the Independence receiver from the British. He was the only one who was acceptable to all the major races.

We should remember two episodes in our history - the Japanese occupation of Malaya and communist insurgency. Let us not try to distort one and demonise the other.

I lived through both episodes; and I would state here that the atrocities committed by the Japanese soldiers were far worse than those committed by the communists, if indeed we wish to make comparisons.

During the Japanese occupation of Malaya, the Japs went for the Chinese. They assumed, erroneously, that all Chinese were either communists or communist sympathisers. Lorry-loads of Chinese men were taken away from my area in Kampong Koh, Sitiawan, to Pundut or Lumut.

As a boy, I saw those lorries moving through Bintang Estate. I presumed they were sent to be tortured and killed. A Malay detective living near my house was shot, and the Japs came to my Ceylonese uncle for his car to carry the dead body away.

A fat Chinese man in Kampong Koh had his ear cut off. A shopkeeper in Simpang Empat was bayoneted at the back. A headmaster's brother was taken away and the principal eventually went mad. My classmate's father was taken away, never to return. Women and girls lived in fear - they hid themselves in the jungle afraid of being raped.

Now we see only one side - photos of soldiers being maimed or killed. We should show the other side of the coin too.

David Dass: It is possible to be on different sides of the argument because of ideological differences. The Tunku was opposed to communism. He was not opposed to capitalism.

There are many who believed that Malaysia took the right path by not nationalising British assets in the country. We have seen the way Zimbabwe has gone. We have also witnessed the collapse of communism in Russia and China.

Yes, there are excesses in capitalism and workers were exploited during the British administration. And these practices continued even after Independence.

As for Tunku being an independence receiver - that is an unnecessarily harsh statement. There were negotiations for independence. The agreement of all the races was required to put together the constitution. That was perhaps the biggest challenge.

And by all accounts, that was done quite well. And we have done quite well since independence. We might have done better. The Tunku and others were rightly celeberated for the role they played.

Faz: Thank you, Pak Samad, for saying the obvious but emotionally unacceptable to Malay aristocrats and royalties. Still, this is the truth of the matter. What happened next after the so-called ‘Merdeka' was really our own doing as we were as guilty as our leaders - Tunku, Abdul Razak, Hussein Onn, Mahathir Mohamad, Abdullah Badawi or Najib Razak

They for leading us astray and we, for letting and following them, to nowhere. Correct the history by giving everyone their dues but let us re-planned our new future based on our true history as a guide.

AkuMelayu: Salam to Pak Samad. There are many ways to achieve one's goal. Some people use their strength, while others use their knowledge. Usually, intellectuals will pick the best option available.

And in getting our independence, the intellectuals have taken the interest of the citizens as the top priority. The right course was negotiate with the British and avoid any bloodshed. While the 'less brainy' among us has resorted to arms struggle, which brought hardship to the rakyat.

And as for Pak Samad, a national laureate, I believe your pen is mightier than the sword. So, use it for the betterment of our nation and not to destroy what we have achieve in the past 54 years.

L Joy: Thanks Pak Samad for an enlightening view of the facts. Yes, the Tunku is no freedom fighter of the likes of others. The British had to leave Malaysia in the hands of someone whom they trust will look after their interests in Malaysia.

Imagine these British had robbed Malaysia of their land for nothing with the sultans surrendering them, and surely they are not stupid enough to hand over to others who would act to revert these stolen wealth to the state. That is a fact.

So we can be very clear that all Umno did was protect the colonial masters interests in post-independence Malaysia. Thanks a million, Pak Samad. You are a great Malay hero and a great Malaysian. We are all very proud of you.

Ksn: Historically true and factual, the views coming as they do from respected gentlemen. That should not take away the fact that the Tunku was a fine gentleman and what the country, a multi-racial and multi-religious nation needed, as our first PM, to lead the nation to harmony and social justice.

The extremely sad part is that the vision Tunku gave the nation started to be dismantled and the country as a whole abused with Mahathir taking over the reins, reining for donkey's years. That is what our people must realise and work hard to regain and reinstate Tunku's days.

Swipenter: So even Pak Samad is saying that Umno stole all the credit from everyone who was fighting to gain independence from the British.

Now let us see how Umno and Utusan Malaysia are going to attack Pak Samad for his distinction between a fighter and receiver for our independence.

Geronimo: The Chinese people as a whole have suffered immensely at the hands of the Japanese during World War II, especially the mass killings in Nanking, and Sook Ching in Singapore. Chinese by the thousands in Malaya were not spared either.

All these killings in their most horrendous manner have been well-documented worldwide but then you don't find the Chinese bringing up these issues with the Japanese. The only thing the Chinese government expect out of the Japanese government is to show certain civility to the dead, and one of those is not by visiting the Yasukuni Shrine as they deem it offensive.

Here in Malaysia, Utusan is trying yet another spin by showing the cruelty of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) in forcing the Malays to eat pork and then shoot them dead.

Mind you, had such an incident taken place, wouldn't it have been well-documented for all to know years ago? Strange that it only popped up in September 2011. So who is Utusan trying to hoodwink? Utusan's MO (modus operandi) - no history, we create one.

AntiRacial: I love to know actual history of Malaysia which is slowly reveling itself one at a time. So far, the rakyat were only told the BN's version through the school's history classes and its manipulated media.

FairPlay: Pak Samad, good for you. Here is a man who speaks the language the rakyat understand and relate to.

 

 

 

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