KUALA LUMPUR: Members of parliament (MP) should revisit history and stop distorting facts by linking new villages solely to the Chinese and communists, said war veterans.
Retired Royal Malaysian Navy first admiral Datuk Danyal Balagopal Abdullah said it was disappointing and embarrassing when Maran MP Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Abd Muttalib linked the new villages to communists.
He said the new village concept devised under the Briggs Plan was a strategy aimed at disrupting the communists' food supply and logistics, and involved all races in Malaysia.
This came after Ismail's speech in Parliament on Tuesday where he said the government is recognising the struggles of communists through its upcoming plan to nominate new villages in Selangor as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
"It is not only embarrassing (to link new villages to communists) but I'm also unsure of the awareness of parliamentarians if an MP said the new villages are linked to communists.
"The new village is a concept under the Briggs Plan and if they know history, they won't say such things.
"The fight against communism is never racial. It involves everyone in Malaysia" he said at a press conference here, today.
He said the fight against communism through the new village strategy highlighted the diverse composition of new villages, which included Malays, Indians, and residents from estates and suburbs.
"The people, especially those in the suburbs, were forced to move to new villages because sometimes at night there are knocks on their doors by people asking for supplies such as rice and sugar.
"If they don't give it to them, they will die. If they do give it to them, they will be communist sympathisers. This was why they were moved to new villages far away."
He said all Malaysians, including the younger generation, should learn true, non-distorted history to understand the sacrifice of veterans and true meaning of the new villages.
When asked for his advice to MPs who are not well-versed in history, he said: "Go back to school."
"Teach the proper history. The true history. Don't distort history. Don't tell Year 1, 2, and 3 pupils that all those in the new villages are Chinese and communists."
Meanwhile, retired Police Special Branch officer Superintendent Datuk Paul Kiong — who was also on duty when the communists began attacking Malays — said not all people in the new villages are communists. He explained that new villages were meant to separate friends from foes of the nation and cut off supplies to the communists to ensure their defeat.
"The new village means we control the food supply. Not all from the new villages are communists, but there are supporters of communists.
"We will do street checks and spot checks when the supporters are bringing out supplies (to the communists). That will kill off the logistics support to militants in the jungle," he said.
Kiong received the nation's highest gallantry award, the Darjah Kebesaran Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa (SP) for his sacrifices when he infiltrated the communists for over six years.
SP recipients outrank all other medal and award-holders in the country, even those addressed with honorifics such as Tun or Tan Sri.
The 'new village' concept was established during the Malayan Emergency, a period of conflict between the Malayan Communist Party and the British colonial government beginning in 1948.