HISTORY must not be twisted to glorify the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said today.

The communists, who waged an insurgency that lasted past the British occupation and  independence, did not fight for a democratic constitutional monarchy, the sultan said in a speech on his 74th birthday today.

The sultan was bestowing awards and titles in conjunction with his birthday at Istana Alam Shah.

“The facts about CPM’s ideological struggle is a part of history that the current generation must understand so that they are not led astray with (wrong) information that is used to create confusion about their struggle.

Recent public interest in the CPM arose after it was revealed that the ashes of former CPM secretary-general Chin Peng had been secretly brought back and scattered in his home state of Perak.

The act, by a group of friends and former comrades, was done in September and was only revealed recently when the group held a press conference.

It drew protest from opposition members in PAS and Umno who accused the government of allowing Chin Peng’s ashes to be returned even though many had died fighting the communist insurgency.

Chin Peng’s ashes were brought back in the 30th anniversary of the Hat Yai Peace Agreement which ended the insurgency in Malaysia and Thailand.

A gathering in Kajang to commemorate the occasion, which was attended by DAP elected representative Ronnie Liu, has triggered controversy.

Police are investigating the gathering as well as those who had brought Chin Peng’s ashes across the border.

Sultan Sharafuddin said history clearly showed the sacrifices of the Malaysian armed forces in beating back communism.

He said Malaysians of all races had taken part in the fight. He reminded the people to learn from history so as to preserve the harmony among Malaysia’s ethnic groups.

“We must celebrate the unity that we have and never once forget the history of how our country was formed. We certainly do not want that black episode in our history to happen again,” he said, referring to the race riots of May 13, 1969.

The sultan said people should be careful and polite when giving their views and take care not to question matters that are enshrined in the federal constitution.

“We need to care for the feelings of other races so that what we say will not hurt others.

“Do not let the unity we have built together come to ruin because of suspicions of one another.” – December 11, 2019.