PARLIAMENT A BN lawmaker has suggested the government build communist museum in Gerik so the younger generations will not be influenced into believing that the communists had contributed to the nation's independence.

"We know that a group of people had tried to twist the facts in that they claimed the communists were fighters of national independence," Hasbullah Osman (BN-Gerik) told the Dewan Rakyat today.

He, however, said this was not true as the communists had left a legacy of violence particularly in Gerik.

"The biggest evidence is left in Gerik. The lasting effects of the violence by the communists are obvious," he said when debating 2016 Budget at the committee stage.

The scars could still be found at the border of Betong and Pengkalan Hulu, where soldiers' vehicle and dams were blasted by the communists.

"An armed forces monument was built but I want to have a museum at Pengkalan Hulu or Gerik to show the lasting effects of communist attacks and how our soldiers fought hard to defend (the people)," he said.

The museum would become a history resource for the people, he said.

"It is only two generations since the communist era and the people have already forgotten the atrocities committed by the communists," he lamented.

Not influenced

"We have seen many efforts in denying how the communists caused the people of Tanah Melayu to suffer, particularly the womenfolk who were forced to flee from their villages and the villages which were forced to be relocated," he added.

"The construction of Temenggor Dam indirectly ended the attack of communists," he said.

"I suggest the armed forces work with state government to find a government quarters and turn it into a communist museum. We hope the future generations will not be be influenced by untrue stories," he said.

Gerik, together with Keroh and Baling, were among the most notorious of the 'black areas' where the armed forces and the communists clashed.

In winding-up the debate, Deputy Defence Minister Mohd Johari Baharum promised his ministry will consider the proposal.

"This is a good suggestion. We will give it a thought. We will consider (the museums) to be built not only in Gerik but in every state, particularly those affected by emergency era such as Perak, Kedah, Sabah and Sarawak," he said.

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