Book about Prebet Adam’s rampage a success
PETALING JAYA: A book revealing the real story behind Prebet Adam’s infamous rampage in Chow Kit three decades ago is a hit.
Konfesi Prebet Adam seeks to explain what really happened on Oct 19, 1987 when soldier Prebet Adam Jaafar went on a 15-hour shooting rampage with an M16 rifle.
It has so far sold some 10,000 copies within four months of its release, said its publisher DuBook Press Sdn Bhd.
For the book’s author Syahril A. Kadir, it was equally important to ensure that Adam’s story was heard.
“After 30 years, we have managed to reveal the truth behind what occurred during the incident,” Syahril said at the official launch of the English language version of the book, titled Amok at Chow Kit.
The book was based on interviews with key figures in the case.
It includes first person accounts by Adam himself, his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Leftenan Jeneral (R) Datuk Abdul Ghani Abdullah, the military officer who managed to persuade Adam to surrender.
Shafee and Abdul Ghani were present at the book’s launch.
The incident of Prebet Adam’s rampage gave rise to one of Malaysia’s most enduring urban myths – that his rampage was allegedly an act of revenge for the death of his younger brother at the hands of the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The book dispels the myth and details how it was actually childhood trauma and the brutal ragging Adam endured in his army camp that drove him over the edge.
Shafee lauded Abdul Ghani for managing to persuade Adam to surrender peacefully.
He said Adam would have been shot dead by police snipers had he not surrendered.
“If Adam died, no one would have known the real story and the baseless rumour about what triggered his rampage would have easily spread,” said Shafee.
DuBook Press CEO Najib Anuar said Konfesi Prebet Adam has been reprinted three times since being launched during May’s Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair 2017.
“Amok at Chow Kit” will also be marketed at an upcoming book festival overseas, he said.