Chin Peng asked to produce papers for action against govt
SHAH ALAM: Former communist leader Chin Peng will have to produce his birth certificate and citizenship papers before he could proceed with his legal action against the Malaysian government, the High Court ruled.
“Chin Peng’s main application was made based on the claim that he is a Malaysian.
“Therefore, it is relevant and important for him to produce his birth certificate and citizenship papers,” ruled High Court judge Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.
A lawyer for the 84-year-old former leader of the Communist Party of Malaysia (CPM), Darshan Singh Khaira, said the ruling was as good as throwing Chin Peng’s case out of court because those documents had been seized by the government a long time ago.
“He cannot produce the documents anymore. The court should allow him to prove his citizenship through his relatives or acquaintances here.
“One should also look at the treaty signed between the CPM and the Government in December 1989, where some of the former CPM leaders’ names were mentioned,” he said.
Lead counsel Raja Aziz Addruse said they would be appealing against the ruling.
Darshan Singh said he hoped that the appeal could be heard early such as before this year’s Independence Day celebration.
Chin Peng, whose real name is Ong Boon Hua, currently resides in Thailand.
In the originating summons filed on March 4, 2005, the octogenarian asked for a declaration that he and other CPM members be allowed to enter and live in this country.
Apart from the government, he named the home affairs minister, the inspector-general of police and the armed forces chief as defendants.
In June, Chin Peng withdrew two side applications he had filed namely his bid to attend the hearing of his main action and his application to compel the government to provide a copy of his birth certificate and other related identification documents.
The main reason cited was that Chin Peng did not want to prolong the matter.
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