Who lied to and cheated on Chin Peng after he signed the Hat Yai Accord?

Dr Mahathir refutes former Cabinet members’ claims on Batu Puteh decision: ‘They lied, I’m ashamed’



Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he feels ashamed over statements made by three former Cabinet members regarding the Batu Puteh issue. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

Tuesday, 17 Dec 2024 12:57 PM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he feels ashamed over statements made by three former Cabinet members regarding the Batu Puteh issue.

Utusan Malaysia reported that the former prime minister claimed the three individuals lied when they said the decision not to proceed with the review and interpretation of Batu Puteh was made without consulting the Cabinet.


“I feel ashamed because these people were under me when I was in the Cabinet, but they are lying,” he said after flagging off a post-flood relief convoy for Kedah and Perlis in Putrajaya today.

Dr Mahathir stressed that the decision concerning Batu Puteh followed proper regulations and laws, and was not made unilaterally.


He added that the Cabinet meeting minutes dated May 23, 2018, clearly refute the claims made by the three former Cabinet members.


Former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, former defence minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu and transport minister Anthony Loke claimed Dr Mahathir had made the decision without consulting the Cabinet.

In a joint statement, the trio said the matter was communicated to Singapore on the morning of May 23, 2018, before the first Cabinet meeting was held.

The statement also said Dr Mahathir only informed the Cabinet about the decision two days later during a meeting.

Perikatan Nasional chief whip Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan had earlier revealed he received a copy of the Cabinet meeting minutes dated May 23, 2018.

The Kota Baru MP claimed the document showed Dr Mahathir was present with 13 ministers at the Cabinet meeting where the decision on Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge was made.

When asked if the three former Cabinet members should also testify, Dr Mahathir said they should be called if he is required to give his statement.

“If I’m called, then they should also be called to give the same explanation,” he said.

Dr Mahathir previously described the recommendation for a criminal investigation into him over the Batu Puteh Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) as a politically motivated move to damage his reputation.

He reiterated that the decision to withdraw the application for the review and interpretation of Batu Puteh on May 23, 2018, was not his alone but was made collectively during a Cabinet meeting.

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Did BN govt break Hat Yai Accord by refusing Chin Peng’s entry? Ngeh asks



The former Communist Party of Malaya secretary-general known as Chin Peng but born Ong Boon Hua was last photographed celebrating his 85th birthday at a Bangkok hotel on October 14, 2009. — Picture by Debra Chong

Wednesday, 27 Nov 2019 5:38 PM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 — Datuk Ngeh Khoo Ham has asked Putrajaya today if the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) administration had violated the terms of the three-way peace treaty with the Malaysian and Thai governments, as well as the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), known as the Hat Yai Accord.

Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, the DAP MP said this was in relation to former CPM secretary-general Chin Peng’s failed bid to enter Malaysia, after the then government banned him from entering the country.


“Deputy Speaker, I intend to only ask the government one thing. Is it true that the Malaysian government under BN had violated an agreement which was inked between the government and the Communist on December 2, 1989, when the peace treaty between the government and the Communist Party was signed?”

“I would like to read this agreement, as it is only four paragraphs. And I would like to get an explanation from the government, so that Malaysians know truthfully, what was agreed upon, and that we can understand that the ashes of the late Chin Peng was brought back according to facts,” he added.


The Beruas MP then used his floor time to pose the question, in which he also raised one of the agreement’s terms, on allowing CPM members to live in Malaysia.


Among the terms of the Hat Yai Accord signed on December 2, 1989, CPM members who laid down their arms would be allowed to return to their homeland if they wanted.

Among the communist party members allowed home included its chairman Abdullah CD, though Malaysia had routinely denied Chin the same courtesy.

The Sitiawan-born former guerrilla fighter had launched a legal campaign to be allowed back into Malaysia in 2009, but lost his bid in the Federal Court in 2010.

He had lived a reclusive life in exile, mostly in Bangkok, Thailand, where he died on September 16, 2013, but the BN government also blocked efforts to bring his cremated remains back into the country.

News emerged yesterday, however, that his ashes have been brought into country and scattered at undisclosed locations near his birthplace.

While debating the Ministry of Defence’s allocation in Budget 2020, Ngeh also reminded the government on the image Malaysia would have globally, if it breaks international agreements which it had jointly signed.

“Why didn’t we follow the agreed terms? If we cannot follow an international agreement, to me, this is not good for Malaysia, as Malaysia’s name will be bad. And the agreement inked by us, if we don’t follow it, truly, people would not trust our integrity and our honesty,” Ngeh added.

In 2013, the late DAP leader Karpal Singh had also raised similar sentiments, lamenting that Putrajaya’s refusal to allow former Chin Peng — born Ong Boon Hua — to be buried in his Perak hometown, was a stain on the country’s honour.

The then Opposition party chairman chided the federal government for breaking the peace deal it inked 30 years ago in Hat Yai with the CPM and the Thai government that put an end to the decades-long guerrilla war that threatened the two South-east Asian nations’ democracy and economic growth.

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Chin Peng’s back as ashes? Go study Hat Yai Accord, ex-IGP Rahim Noor tells upset Malaysians



Chin Peng, born in Sitiawan, Perak as Ong Boon Hua, died in Bangkok on September 16, 2013 after spending years in exile abroad. — Picture by Debra Chong

Thursday, 28 Nov 2019 10:36 AM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 — Malaysians kicking up a fuss about the return of a dead and cremated Chin Peng should read properly the tripartite treaty signed by Malaysia and Thailand with the now defunct Communist Party of Malaya (CMP), Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor said.

The retired inspector-general told news portal Malaysiakini that those complaining about the ex-CPM secretary-general’s return in the form of ashes were either ignorant of the treaty, intentionally refusing to acknowledge that communism no longer has a place in the country, or are simply racist.

“The peace agreement itself showed that the country wanted to let bygones be bygones and move forward after peace was achieved. And since the treaty was signed, there was no sign of any attempt by the communist members to revive their struggle or set up a new communist party,” he was quoted saying.

Abdul Rahim was Special Branch head and had been directly involved with the Hat Yai Peace Accord that saw the CPM guerillas lay down their arms 30 years ago.


He added the treaty permitted all CPM leaders to return to Malaysia, including Chin Peng, provided they did not revive their struggle.


“So if Chin Peng was allowed to come back, what is it with all these noises saying that his ashes should not be allowed here? All Malaysians should look at this issue based on the existence of the Hat Yai Peace Accord signed with CPM in 1989.”

Chin Peng, born in Sitiawan, Perak as Ong Boon Hua, died in Bangkok on September 16, 2013 after spending years in exile abroad.

His ashes were brought back into the country to be laid to rest only last September, in accordance to his last wishes, according to a group that handled the rituals and made the announcement this week.