KUALA LUMPUR: It is the DAP members of Parliament who have sidetracked the issue of the Chinese new villages and communists in Parliament and not a Perikatan Nasional member of parliament, says Wan Ahmad Fayhsal.
The Machang MP said should the MPs only listen to Datuk Seri Ismail Abdul Muttalib's arguments, the debacle would not end on a sour note as he was stating facts.
This comes after Maran MP's statement in Parliament on Tuesday after he claimed that the government was recognising the struggles of the communists through its upcoming plan to nominate Chinese new villages in Selangor as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
"Why were they so defensive in terms of the facts about the entity?
"Maran was formerly a civil servant when he was my age. During the emergency he was part of the team in curbing communism menace.
"So if they were to be more open and receptive to listen to Maran's argument, I'm sure the debate will not end in that manner," he said at the sidelines of the Perikatan Nasional MPs and Assemblymen Convention, here today.
He said when Maran MP made the remark on Chinese new villages, he did not foresee any racism as he was only talking about facts.
He agreed with the call by a group of veterans that MPs should go and relearn history so as to not influence the new generation.
"The problem is I think some of the MPs have different understanding about our history because they attended Chinese or vernacular schools, where the syllabus or textbooks differ from ours… especially those who take the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), as the material is geared towards China rather than Malaya or this part (of Asia).
"So definitely they have different views or different understanding of facts on this part of history," he said.
On Tuesday, the august house descended into a shouting match after Ismail questioned the rationale behind the proposed nomination of Chinese new villages as a Unesco site.
"If we are converting Chinese new villages into a heritage site, it means we agree with and legitimise the communists' struggle during a dark period in Malaysian history," he said.
RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) stood up and raised Standing Order 36(9)c, saying that Ismail had made remarks that could promote hostility among different races.
"How are Chinese new villages related to communists? These words promote ill-will and hostility among races.
"I want Maran to retract his remarks and apologise because he has insulted the Chinese and also Chinese new villages," said Rayer.
Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (PH-Beruas) then weighed in, saying that the Chinese were actually detained at these Chinese new villages instead of being placed there for de-radicalisation.
Yesterday, war veterans said MPs should revisit history and stop distorting facts by linking new villages solely to the Chinese and communists.