I want to share a short article published a while back (Dec 2024) made by one of the most progressive organizations in my country and the continuation of colonial-era suppression of communism and socialism.

Who is promoting communism?

Many years ago, I wore a Che Guevara T-shirt at a rally near Parliament. A special branch officer approached me and asked whose portrait it was, as he had seen it many times before. I jokingly told him it was an actor. The policeman immediately replied, “No wonderlah, so familiar,” explaining that he had seen it at football matches and in theatres. Indeed, Che Guevara’s image was popularized further by the movie The Motorcycle Diaries. Che has long been a symbol of liberation and resistance. He was killed in Bolivia under orders from the CIA.

Recently, I was baffled to hear about the arrest of a restaurant manager for using food and beverage utensils featuring images of Mao Zedong, the former leader of the Chinese Communist Party. It made me reflect on how I was let off for wearing a T-shirt with the image of another leftist leader. I imagine the police might now be busy Googling Che Guevara. Interestingly, our second Prime Minister, Tun Razak, met Mao in 1974, and the iconic image of their meeting was widely used by the newly minted Barisan Nasional during the 1974 General Election. This was part of their effort to gain the support of Malaysian Chinese voters after losing their two-thirds majority in the 1969 election.

The recent raid in Klang reportedly involved police seizing five white ceramic bowls with Chinese inscriptions and images of Mao Zedong and his associates. This comes barely two weeks after the government lost a lawsuit over the seizure of 172 Swatch watches from 11 shopping malls in May 2023. At that time, the watches were accused of promoting LGBTQ themes. The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that the Ministry of Home Affairs must return the rainbow-themed watches, finding the seizure to be illegal.

Do the authorities not realize that the internet and social media are the primary tools for people to learn about ideologies? Ironically, by drawing attention to Mao, they may spark curiosity among young people who might now Google him and learn more.

Similarly, in 2011, police arrested 31 PSM activists, accusing them of “waging war against the King” because they allegedly sought to resurrect communism in Malaysia. Among the items seized were T-shirts featuring the names of Rashid Maidin and Suriani Abdullah, both associated with the MCP (Malayan Communist Party). However, the real reason for the crackdown was PSM’s “Udah La Tu, Bersaralah BN” campaign, a roadshow launched on June 24, 2011, as part of the buildup to the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9, 2011.

All 31 PSM members were eventually released. However, six leaders were later detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO) for being “movers” of Bersih 2.0, not for any communist activities. Interestingly, the government’s 37 affidavits in reply to the detainees’ habeas corpus application did not mention communism, socialism, or Chin Peng at all.

Fortunately, PSM pursued a civil suit against 82 individuals for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment of the EO6. In 2013, the six detainees were awarded RM201,000 in damages through an out-of-court settlement.

The lesson here seems clear: the shop owner in the recent case may similarly file a civil suit and potentially walk away richer. The Attorney General might charge them with something other than promoting communism, but in doing so, they could inadvertently publicize Mao to those who were previously unaware of him.

And yes, more taxpayers’ money and police resources wasted.