KUALA LUMPUR – Give the Chinese new villages the recognition they deserve, as they have a unique contribution to the fight against the communists, as well as honour the sacrifices made by at least 400,000 people forced into these settlements, said former Selangor exco member Ronnie Liu.
Liu, who is a former DAP leader, is throwing his support behind having the Chinese new villages in Selangor nominated as Unesco World Heritage Sites, despite the backlash from certain quarters.
He shared in a Facebook post that his family lost their farmhouse and agricultural land without compensation when they were forcibly resettled in Cheroh, Raub in Pahang by the British.
“My family was forced to abandon our farmhouse in the outskirts and shifted to Cheroh with a much smaller plot of land (about 4,000 sq feet) in the barbed wire new village and built a house with our own materials, mostly dismantled from our family farmhouse.
“The tough lives our forefathers have gone through and the sacrifices they have made collectively were huge by any standards.”
Liu also reminded detractors of the Unesco proposal that the new villages were meant to cut off local support for the Malayan Communist Party, which proved effective.
“The unique history of new villages deserves to be commemorated as national historical sites.
“We must be bold enough to face and accept these historical facts and such recognition given to new villages would go a long way in the history of nation-building in this country.”
The proposal that was first brought up by Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming was lambasted by some quarters, including Gabungan NGO Melayu-Islam, which said the nomination had racial elements and called for Nga’s sacking.
Meanwhile, Persatuan Kebajikan Islam dan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia president Datuk Mohd Foad Mat Isa slammed the suggestion for touching on racial issues and attempting to manipulate historical facts, besides harming Selangor’s future development.
In addition, Umno Veteran Club secretary-general Datuk Mustapha Yaakub said Nga lacked knowledge of history because these 76-year-old villages are now modern settlements, and the previous generations have died.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki also rejected the proposal, citing that it contradicts the Federal Development Policy and could undermine harmony fostered by the unity government. – February 23, 2024