K Kabilan, Sep 2, 09
Abdullah CD could have been an influential retired politician today if
only the course of history had been in his favour. Indeed, he could
have been a menteri besar or minister.
However unfortunately for him, the coin flipped the other side and he
was destined to be remembered as a communist whose revolution had
failed, as what Malaysian history books today say.
But that has never stopped him from keeping his ideologies alive. He
has always believed that the ultimate rulers of Malaya, and then
Malaysia, should be the people and not politicians who yield too much
of power - be it the British colonisers or the subsequent Umno
powerhouse.
"Umno can claim that they won the independence for Malaya from the
British. They can claim that our revolution failed.
"But, if you see what's happening in Malaysia today, I will say that
our revolution is continuing and it will succeed very soon," said the
85-year-old war veteran with a twinkle in his eyes.
Abdullah CD, whose real name is Cik Dat Anjang Abdullah, has always
been a left-leaning Malay nationalist and that belief was clearly
apparent when Malaysiakini met him recently in his 'peace village' in
Southern Thailand.
He started off his campaign against occupiers during the Japanese
occupation through his Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM), or the Young Malay
Union. He then joined the communist-led Malayan People's Anti-Japanese
Army (MPAJA).
When the British returned, he joined his esteemed peers such as
Mokhtaruddin Lasso, Dr Burhanuddin al-Helmy, Ahmad Boestaman and Ishak
Mohamad to form Malayan Malay National Party, or Parti Kebangsaan
Melayu Malaya (PKMM).
PKMM was formed shortly before another Malay-based party called Umno -
United Malay National Organisation - was set up.
Both the PKMM and Umno, though fighting for the same cause of having
an independent nation, were however headed in opposite directions in
the manner they went about in gaining that independence.
Umno will lose more
While the British accepted the Western-friendly Umno leaders, they
banned PKMM and arrested many of its leaders and members, including
Abdullah in 1948.
Abdullah however managed to escape and the rest is history - he went
on to form the fearsome all-Malay 10thRegiment of the Communist Party
of Malaya in 1949 and waged a bloody war with his comrades to get rid
of the British. He was also the chairperson of the party with Chin
Peng being its secretary-general.
In the battle for their revolution, he and his comrades became the
mortal enemies of Umno and that animosity is still being felt today by
both parties.
Abdullah is presently still in charge of his comrades although they
had laid down their weapons in 1989 after signing a peace deal with
the Malaysian and Thai governments.
He and his troops from the 10th Regiment are now living in a village
in southern Thailand but 20 years after the peace deal, Abdullah has
not lost any of his fire for a truly independent Malaysia.
He may not be carrying any arms now but he feels that the seeds of
reforms started by the CPM revolution were being reignited now by the
people of Malaysia.
"Umno has failed the people. What happened to its promise when it
replaced the British as the new rulers of Malaya in 1957?
"The party is motivated by capitalism. It does not think for the good
of the people but only for the good of itself and its leaders," he said.
He pointed to the shocking results of the 2008 general election to
prove his point that the people were disappointed with Umno and its
domineering style of governance.
"The revolution is picking up again. Look how they (Umno) lost five
states and the healthy majority in the Parliament.
"The next time around, they will lose more states and seats," he said,
adding that the people have realised that they cannot afford to let
one party to rule for such a long time, just like how the people
revolted against the British for independence.
The good old days
Abdullah and his wife Suriani, who is also his most loyal comrade,
still hold a tight control and influence over the remaining members of
the 10th Regiment.
Abdullah married Suriani in 1955 and they have a daughter named
Karimas who is now 53.
The number of his comrades stood at about 260 when the peace deal was
inked and now it has dwindled to less than 20. Some have returned to
Malaysia while others have left the village but most of them have died.
The average age of his comrades is about 80 - Abdullah and his wife
are the oldest with both being 85.
Old age has slowed down both of them, both physically and mentally,
with Suriani suffering for the worse.
As for Abdullah, he is physically capable of still having a walk
around the village every morning but he tends to forget things quite
easily. His memory also has the habit of failing him regularly.
Nothing gives him more joy however than reminiscing about the "good-
old days when we fought against the enemies".
"We had so many good fights. We gave them as good as we received. Many
people died from both sides but we were fighting for a cause," he said
with his ever-ready laughter. He also has the habit of slapping his
thigh whenever he makes a point.
Abdullah played a vital role in the 1989 peace deal. It was he who
made contact with the then deputy prime minister Ghafar Baba to
initiate talks.
A few months later, he joined his comrades Chin Peng and Rashid Maidin
in signing the peace agreement on behalf of CPM.
Since then, their base camp which was located in the Thailand side of
the border has become their village. The villagers - former
communists, their families and extended families - are a close knit
group.
Although they have a village administrative set up, Abdullah and
Suriani are given the honour of being the village elders who have a
say in everything that takes place in the village.
Preparing for life after Abdullah
However the fear is now creeping among the villagers, especially the
second generation communist villagers, on what the future will hold
without Abdullah and Suriani.
"We have to be prepared for the worst. They have been our guiding
lights all this while. Without them it will be difficult but I think
we can manage," said village head and former communist fighter Dome Za
(left), a Malay-speaking Thai.
The real fear however is whether the strong discipline practiced by
the villagers, due to years of training for war in the jungle, will
dissipate with the passing of Abdullah and Suriani.
The villagers revere Abdullah and his wife, there's no doubt about it.
For them they are legendary figures, especially Abdullah who had
cheated death twice during the war years.
Abdullah was involved in many armed battles with the British forces
and in one such confrontation, he had suffered serious injuries from a
hand grenade explosion and it took him some weeks to recover from that
incident.
He suffered his worst fate when he was poisoned by an infiltrator in
1975. It took him many months to be fully fit-for-war again. His
loyalists claim that Abdullah is still suffering the after-effects of
the poisoning.
Abdullah in his memoirs - he has written a three-part memoir - has
thanked Suriani for keeping him alive after being poisoned.
The genial patriarch is full of high praises for her.
"She offered advice and shared her thoughts with me during our Long
March in 1953-54. Her views helped me in my efforts to move the army
to the border safely.
"For half a century we struggled together, fought a war together,
laughed and cried together, worked hard to be of service to the
struggle, expanded and developed Regiment 10 until the guerrilla
struggle ended in December 1989," he wrote.
No plans to return
Even today, the bond between Abdullah and Suriani is visibly strong.
They spend their evenings together sitting at the verandah of their
house, mostly talking about their memories of the war years.
They have visited Malaysia on a number of occasions after the 1989
peace agreement.
When asked if he has the intention of returning to Malaysia for good,
Abdullah took awhile to answer.
"It's better to remain here in Thailand. Our contributions for
Malaysia are immense but we are not properly recognised. For them we
are terrorists, not freedom fighters," he said.
He also added that there were too many security laws in Malaysia,
alluding to the fact that he could still be arrested for being a
'national threat'.
"They still have the ISA and other security laws," he concluded with a
loud guffaw and trademark slap of the thigh.
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