BANGKOK — Chin Peng, the former secretary-general of the Malayan
Communist Party (MCP), has died at a hospital in Bangkok
.
He was 90 years old.
Reports said that Chin Peng whose real name was Ong Boon Hua, died
of old age and was pronounced dead at 6.20am on Monday. His
relatives will perform religious rites for him on Friday.
Chin Peng led the MCP’s guerrilla insurgency in Malaya after World
War II and fought against British and Commonwealth forces to
establish an independent Communist state.
As Secretary-General of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) he also
became the leader of the guerrilla forces during the Malayan
Emergency.
With communism failing to take root, Chin Peng retired to Thailand
in 1955, where he has lived in exile since.
In 1989 the MCP leadership under Chin Peng, signed peace accords
that enabled the remaining, aging, guerrillas to live in
resettlement villages in southern Thailand.
He was however not allowed to return to Malaysia despite his return
being one of the conditions of the 1989 peace agreement.
In 2008, Malaysia’s Court of Appeal stymied his bid to return to
the country when it demanded that he show identification papers to
prove his citizenship.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/chin-peng-ww-ii-malayan/814846.html
- CNA/sf
CHRONOLOGY OF
CHIN PENG’S LIFE