The real fighters for MERDEKA

Media Statement
by Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew

(Petaling Jaya, Saturday): We have just celebrated our nation’s 48th birthday yesterday.Many Malaysians, especially the young generations born after the Independence, knows very little about the history of Malaya (now Malaysia).

The History textbooks they studied in schools do not give them the real picture.

Contrary to what they have learned from the textbooks, UMNO leaders were not the real fighters for Independence.

Most of the UMNO leaders in the Merdeka era were actually senior servants of the British government. Just take the first four Prime Ministers in the country as example.

The first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra AlHaj Ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, was serving the colonial government in Kedah as a District Officer in districts like Langkawi, Kulim and Sg Petani.

After obtaining his LLB at the Inner Temple, London in 1945, he served as a DPP and later promoted to the position of a session court president in Selangor.

His deputy Tun Abdul Razak bin Datuk Hussein (Malaysia’s second Prime Minister), was serving the British as the State Secretary of Pahang in 1952 after obtaining his LLB at the Lincoln’s Inn as a Queen’s Scholar in 1950. Razak served as the Chief Minister of Pahang in 1955.

Tun Hussein bin Dato Onn, the third Prime Minister of Malaysia, was a police depot commander in Johor Bahru in 1945. He later served as an Assistant District Officer in districts like Kuala Selangor and Klang in the fifties. He obtained his law degree at Lincoln’s Inn in 1958.

The fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, was serving as a medical officer in Alor Star, Langkawi and Perlis in the fifties after graduating as a medical doctor in 1953 from Universiti Malaya (Singapore). He opened his own clinic in Alor Star in 1957.

UMNO leaders were treated as friends of the British. Together with the leaders of MCA and MIC, they cooperated with the British master to negotiate for the Independence of Malaya.

Little wonder why The Times of London reported the birth of Malaya with a resonant chord of approval. In particular it pointed out the impeccable credentials of its conservative Malay leaders, who, unlike the troublesome radicals of the Left, had showed that they were of a decidedly more moderate and accommodating temper. It reassured its readers that:

‘Malayan nationalism had not been born out of conflict and there was not a single Malayan Minister who had ever spent a day in prison for sedition’. (The Times, August 31, 1957.)

One may even argue that the Alliance leaders were not the ones that put up real sacrifice for the Merdeka struggle.On the other hand, many of the real freedom fighters were thrown into jails.

Young Malaysians should know that PKMM (Partai Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya) leaders like Mokhtaruddin Lasso, Ahmad Boestaman, Dr Burhanuddin al-Helmi, Ishak Haji Mohammad (Pak Sako), Arshad Ashaari, Dahari Ali , Baharuddin Tahir,Khadijah Ali, Ibrahim Karim, Kamarulzaman Teh( Pak Zaman),Abdul Rahman Rahim and many others have played a pivotal role in the struggle of Independence.(Merintis Jalan Ke Punchak ,1972)

PKMM sent a big delegation to the historic UMNO (United Malays National Organisations or Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu) congress which was held from March 1 to 4, 1946 in Kuala Lumpur.

In the inaugural congress, PKMM proposed to “reject the Malayan Union and demand for a truly independent Malaya” (menolak Malayan Union dan menuntut Malaya Merdeka yang seratus peratus).

Unfortunately, the proposal was rejected by the congress and the PKMM delegation staged a walkout as a protest on the third day of the congress. Its leaders continued to step up its struggle for a truly independent Malaya, unlike the other conservative UMNO leaders who wanted to maintain their status quo.

The British started to clamp down on PKMM and API members in 1948. Many members and leaders were jailed and some of those who escaped from the police went into the jungle to join the arm struggle led by MCP. This has created a political vacuum, which was quickly filled up by UMNO with the consent of the British. Both MCA and MIC were also formed after the establishment of UMNO with the encouragement from the British.

It must be pointed out that without the struggle and sacrifice made by these freedom fighters and the pressure mounted by the Malayan Communist Party led by Chin Peng (as acknowledged by Tan Sri Rahim Noor, IGP on signing the peace accord with MCP), the British would certainly not willing to cooperate and negotiate with the Alliance leaders for an “Independence without bloodshed”.


We must also not forget about the struggle put up by visionaries like Ibrahim Haji Yaakob (KMM, Kesatuan Melayu Muda) who dreamed of forming Malaya Raya in the 1940s.Some of these freedom fighters continued fighting for MERDEKA during the Japanese Occupation.

We could even trace some of the freedom fighters way back in 1890s. Some of these legendaries include Dato Bahaman, Mat Kilau and Mat Kelubi.

(2/09/2005)

真正的独立斗士（刘天球）

【民主行动党／刘天球】昨天，我们刚刚欢庆了我国的第48岁生日。许多马来西亚人，尤其是那些独立以后才出生的年轻一代，他们对马来亚（现在的马来西亚）的历史懂得很少。

他们在学校阅读的历史课本并没有给他们历史的真貌。

和他们从学校课本学习到的恰恰相反，巫统的领袖们并非真正的独立斗士。在独立的时代，在那个时期巫统的大多数领袖其实是英国政府的高级公务员。就以我国的首四任首相为例，马来西亚的第一任首相东姑阿都拉曼，当时是殖民地政府在吉打州数个地区，如朗交怡、居林及双溪大年的县长。

1945 年他在伦敦的内殿法学院（Inner Temple）拿到法学学位，他曾担任副检察司，后来擢升为雪兰莪州的民事庭庭长。

他的副手阿都拉萨（也是马来西亚的第二任首相），1950年以女皇奖学金得主的身份，在林肯法学院（Lincoln's Inn）取得他的法学学位，1952年，他担任英国政府的彭亨州秘书。1955年，敦拉萨担任彭亨州务大臣。

胡申翁是马来西亚的第三任首相，1945年他在新山担任警察指挥官。后来，他分别担任过一些地区，如瓜雪和巴生的助理县长。1958年他在林肯法学院拿到法学学位。

马来西亚的第四任首相马哈迪，1953年他在马来亚大学（新加坡）取得医生资格，他曾于50年代，在亚罗士打、郎交怡及玻璃市等地当医生。1957年，他在亚罗士打开设自己的诊所。

巫统的领袖在当时被英国人视为朋友。包括马华公会及印度人国大党在内，他们与英国人协商马来亚的独立。

无怪乎当时的《伦敦时报》（the London Times）报道说，马来亚是在一致的赞同声中诞生。这则报道特别指出，与那些制造麻烦的左派激进分子不同，保守的马来人领袖无懈可击的印信，已显示出他们的立场是更温和、更中庸的。

《伦敦时报》进一步说明：

“马来亚的民族主义不是生于冲突，没有任何一名马来亚的首长，因骚乱暴动而在监狱内呆过一天。”（1957年8月31日，《伦敦时报》）

甚至有人争议说，联盟的领袖不是那些为了争取独立而做出实质牺牲的人。

年轻的马来西亚人应该晓得，马来亚马来人国民 党（Partai Kebangsaan Melayu Melaya，简称PKMM）的领袖，如：莫达鲁丁拉索（Mokhtaruddin Lasso）、阿莫波士达曼（Ahmad Boestaman）、布哈努丁（Dr Burhanuddin al-Helmi ）、伊萨哈芝莫哈末（Ishak Haji Mohammad）、阿萨阿沙利（Arshad Ashaari）、达哈里阿利（Dahari Ali）、巴哈鲁丁达希尔（Baharuddin Tahir）、卡迪嘉阿利（Kadijah Ali）、伊布拉欣卡林（Ibrahim Karim）、卡马鲁扎曼德（Kamarulzaman Teh）、阿都拉曼拉欣（Abdul Rahman Rahim），以及其他许多在争取独立的过程中，扮演了重要角色的人物。（Merintis Jalan Ke Punchak, 1972）

1946年3月1日至4日，马来亚马来人国民 党（PKMM）派出一支代表团出席历史性的巫统（United Malays National Organisations）大会。

大会开幕时，马来亚马来人国民 党建议“拒绝马来亚联盟（Malayan Union），并要求一个完全独立的马来亚”。

不幸的是，这项建议被大会拒绝，马来亚马来人国民 党的代表在大会第三天离开会场以示抗议。该党领袖继续争取真正独立的马来亚，而其他保守的巫统领袖则希望维持现状。

1948年，英国政府开始打压马来亚马来人国民 党。其许多党员及党领袖被捕入狱，一些则逃入森林加入马来亚共产党的武装斗争。这情况造成政治真空的出现，于是巫统在英国人的同意下填补了这真空状态。在英国人的鼓励下，继巫统以后，马华及印度国大党也陆续成立。

必须指出的是，若没有这些自由斗士作出的牺牲与争取，加上陈平率领的马共施加压力，英国人肯定不会愿意为了“一个没有流血的独立”而与联盟领袖合作并展开协商。

我们也不能忘记了1940年代开始梦想着组成大马来亚国（Malaya Raya）而付出努力的梦想家们，比如马来青年组织（Kesatuan Melayu Muda，简称：KMM）的伊布拉欣耶谷（Ibrahim Haji Yaacob）等。其中一些自由斗士在日据时期也继续为了独立而奋斗。

我们甚至可以追溯至1890年代的自由斗士，其中一些传奇人物包括：拿督巴哈曼（Dato Bahaman）、莫吉劳（Mat Kilao）及莫可鲁比（Mat Kelubi）。

英文原文：The real fighters for Merdeka，9月2日发表于民主行动党网站。中文由本刊苏爱萍翻译。