Thais pay respects to Chin Peng
The former Communist Party of Malaya leader, Chin Peng, who led a bloody insurgency against British colonial rule in the 1940s and 50s, was cremated in Bangkok yesterday.
Several retired Thai generals, including a former prime minister, spoke fondly of Chin Peng at the ceremony held at Wat That Thong.
Friends and family from here and overseas turned out for the cremation and heard some Thai generals hail him as a Malaysian national hero.
The generals praised Chin Peng, who helped bring about a peace deal between his party and Malaysia in 1989, for fighting for peace and freedom.
Chin Peng lost a legal battle in his last years to be allowed back into Malaysia, where the county’s prime minister said on Monday that even in death his return would be barred. Relatives have yet to decide what will become of his ashes. Government leaders said his return would upset many Malaysians who lost loved ones during the communist insurgency, which he continued after the country gained independence from Britain in 1957.
Former prime minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who was instrumental in the peace agreement with Malaysia reached in Hat Yai in 1989, said Chin Peng was a selfless soldier who put other people’s needs first.
‘‘I’ve never called or treated him as a terrorist. He’s a Malaysian national hero who was forced to leave his country and fight in the jungle for justice and equality,’’ he said.
Gen Chavalit said many communists in Thailand took to the jungles seeking freedom and equality, just as they did in Malaysia.
‘‘They simply sought the power to speak up and represent the interests of the majority. Chin Peng had the same desire to help his own men and his own native country,’’ Gen Chavalit told the gathering of 400 mourners.
‘‘We miss him. We miss our friend,’’ Gen Chavalit said.
Gen Kitti Rattanachaya, former 4th Army commander at the time of the peace negotiations, said Chin Peng was considered the big brother of not only the Thai side, which brokered the negotiations, but also the Malaysian government’s negotiators.
Another former 4th Army commander, Pisan Wattanawongkiri, said military schools in Australia and Thailand study Chin Peng and the CPM’s struggle.
‘‘Chin Peng was a gentleman and a good soldier who put his men before his own comforts. I believe he, along with those who are here today, have done their best for the people,’’ Gen Pisan said. Gen Akanit Muensawad, who played a key role as a broker to push the negotiations, and Gen Chamlong Kunsong, former deputy 4th Army chief, was also present.
They were joined by former members of the CPM who have resettled in Thailand and Malaysia and former senior members of the defunct Communist Party of Thailand. Immediate family and some ageing CPM members and supporters, many of whom travelled from Australia, United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Singapore, sobbed as they laid flowers in tribute to Chin Peng.
The family, represented by his son and other relatives, declined to say what they would do with Chin Peng’s ashes. A family member denied an earlier report that the ashes will be divided between the family and four villages. Angry operators of private elephant shelters who oppose a proposed amendment to the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act complained the change will gravely affect their business at the first round of public hearings yesterday.
Under the amendment, the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department (NPWCD) will take over the task of regulating domesticated elephants from the Interior Ministry’s Department of Provincial Administration. The bill would also tighten control over the ivory trade.
Domesticated elephants now come under the Transport Animals Act which authorises the Interior Ministry to issue ownership certificates for captive elephants.
However, the NPWCD wants the task shifted to the department to better control the shelters (kraals) as wildlife authorities have found many elephants lack certification or have fake documents, indicating they might have been caught in the wild.
The draft law also allows wildlife authorities to confiscate elephants if the owner fails to produce ownership certificates for domesticated elephants and inspect private elephant shelters to make sure they live in decent conditions.
Elephant shelters must also inform wildlife authorities about the number of animals they have and seek permission before moving them elsewhere.
If the owners cannot take care of elephants, they will be transferred to zoos or other animal shelters.
Violators of the law will face 10-year jail terms or a maximum 2-millionbaht fine or both.
The NPWCD yesterday organised a public hearing on the draft amendment