Rundingan Baling: Di Belakang Tabir - Bahagian xxxxv

Sambungan dari SINI...

Chin Peng: I have made it quire clear that as far as investigation is concerned this is impossible. I have no authority to accept that, unless such investigation is imposed in such a way which does not give the colour of surrender.

Marshall: What kind of investigation would you suggest?

Chin Peng:  Frankly speaking, our number is not many, our number is not very large. My suggestion to you is that out of this number, a certain number be allowed to leave this country and the others be allowed to go back freely to their homes. Government can investigate them, but they must be allowed to go back freely to their homes.

Tunku: How can we contact them? We don't know their homes.

Chin Peng: We are not going to act as we have acted in the period 1945-1948.

Marshall: The Tunku has accepted the suggestion that there will be no investigation for those who are going overseas. They can go straight to the boat.

Tunku: How many is that part - those who want to go away?

Chin Peng: This is one means by which you are asking for something from me?

Tunku:  I want to ascertain if a large number is going back, then perhaps the ones remaining need not be held for investigation,that is, if a large number is going back. If many of the leaders and a large number of followers wan to to go back to China, and those who want to remain to be citizens are few, then I won't carry on with investigation. We can work on that general line. There will be no need to carry out investigation. The only condition is that they will have to report where they are.

Chin Peng: Reporting to the Police has a touch of surrender.

Tunku: As I have said, surrender is inevitable.

Chin Peng: We can do it in this manner: allow them to come out out to rejoin society as any normal person. Then Government can send detectives to shadow them.

Tunku: Then the number of detectives will have to equal to the number of communists. Government cannot afford to do that. Will the number going to China be large?

Chin Peng: The reply to this depends on whether the  M.C.P. is recognised.

Tunku: No. In all countries, you know for yourselves, where there have struggles between communists and nationalists, they have been forced to divide up the territories. For example, Korea had to be divided, Vietnam hand to be divided. We cannot exist together either. If we accept 'no surrender' we have to divide Malay into Communist Malaya and Non-Communist Malaya. Malaya is too small. There will be constant trouble, constant warfare, if we were to divide Malaya. You know very well what I said just now - one party must give in. Unfortunately, although you do not like the word 'surrender', I have to be frank with you and say that your have got to surrender.

Marshall: Now, will you take this message back? We on our side - I am the representative of Government today, there will be elections in 1957 and I may not be the representative of the new Government, which will take its own decisions, but I will accept the decision of that Government - we ask for the welfare of the people; we genuinely do it to the best of our knowledge and ability. I appeal to you, in your activities, think of the general welfare of the  people. Personal pride should not stand in the way of the welfare of the people of a country. You who have struggled courageously if, I think, erroneously, you who have accepted deprivation and personal sacrifice, even including your lives, you should not let a matter of mild humiliation for a matter of a few months stop you from seeking the welfare of the  people. If you can see it as we see it. Once more, gentlemen, I ask - Is there a chance of our meeting on the basis of the welfare of the country?

Tunku: I think, perhaps, you won't answer the question now. I do appreciate the fact that you have come out to meet me and I feel very happy indeed. I must thank you.

Marshall: I think you can accept it both from the Tunku and myself - you have indicated certain anxiety for personal security - that the two Governments will be personally responsible to see that your return safely without molestation. The Tunku and I will be responsible. And if in future there is a chance that you can see the light, in the welfare of the people, show a change of attitude, neither the Tunku or I will consider any question of pride incoming to meet you again.

Marshall: I speak for you, Tunku?

Tunku: Yes. I want to add this: speaking n the view at the opposite end of of the poles, I did not expect very much at this talk. Nevertheless, the fact is we have an an opportunity to talk things over, to know what is in other's mind. You have time to think. Whatever may be the result, I hope you will place before everything else the peace, prosperity and happiness of the people of this country.

Tunku: I hope you are comfortable, that you had everything you wanted. Please let me know whether you want anything before I go away.

Marshall: I think they want a fan.

Chin Peng: There is nothing we want. We don't need a fan. The question is how are we going back.

Tunku: In the same way that you came. You will be escorted.

Chin Peng: That is all.

(Meeting terminated at 12.48 p.m. Source: PRO: The Baling Meeting, CO1030/31)

Menurut Harry Miller, wartawan The Straits Times yang menempah tempat di atas bukit di belakang bilik mesyuarat, beliau terdengar Chin Peng menyatakan "The amnesty means surrender. Surrender means humiliation. We will not accept surrender at anytime; we will carry on the struggle to the last man."

Bila dengar ini tu yang Tunku respons: "I will never give in, so must give in." Bila dengo ini yang membuat Chin Peng menyatakan "Chay yang hao" dalam bahasa mandarin yang bermaksud "This suits us fine" sebelum keluar dari bilik tersebut (Harry Miller, The Straits Times, The War Goes On! Amnesty to end after 'period of grace', 30 Dis 1955, hlm. 1) . Kenyataan ini tiada pula dalam transkrip.

Sebenonya, Chin Peng tidaklah mengguna bahasa gomen sepanjang mesyuarat tersebut. Tu sebab ada ketika Marshall merujuk kepada Chen Tien. Tunku mengesahkan bahawa "...Chin Peng hanya boleh bertutur bahasa Inggeris sedikit-sedikit sahaja". Itu sebabnya disediakan 2 orang penterjemah dan Chen Tien juga berperanan sebagai penterjemah (Wahba, 1994, Baling Membuka Jalan Damai, Kajang:Masa Enterprise, hlm. 186. Petikan temubual di antara Wahba dengan Tunku di No 1, Jalan Tunku, KL pada 8 Mac 1984).

Chin Peng mengaku dia mengguna dialek mandarin ketika menjawab soalan oleh Anthony Short, semasa berdialog dengan Chin Peng  di Australian National University, Canberra pada 22-23 Feb 1999 (C. C. Chin & Karl Hack, (Editors), 2004, Dialogues With Chin Peng: New Light On the Malayan Communist Party, Singapore: National University of Singapore, hlm. 174-175).     

Anthony Short: You were speaking in English?

Chin Peng: No, no, in Chinese.

Anthony Short: In Chinese, so in that case, is there a different meaning, is it a very rough translation to 'lay down arms'. Does it mean 'ceasefire' or 'to surrender weapons'? Could you recall that?

Chin Peng: To lay down arms means, if you used the present word, 'decommissioning of arms'. It could mean you hand over the arms, or it could mean we still keep the arms, just cease fire.

Anthony Short: But which was in your mind?

Chin Peng: In my mind? Our bottom line, or minimum line, if all the terms were acceptable to us, then we were ready to destroy the arms, not to hand over the arms. To destroy the arms under supervision. One, if we could get 'International Supervisory Commission', we would prefer to accept. We assumed the British would have agreed immediately. If they would have agreed, we would have agreed to set up a supervisory commission of all parties, consisting  of Malayan parties very specifically, including the oppositions, Or, if there were some Malayan prominent figures, to set up local supervisory commission, we were ready to accept that.

Berakhirlah satu perisitiwa yang begitu penting dalam sejarah negara kita tercinta ini. Ini juga buat kali terakhir Tunku bersemuka dengan Chin Peng.

Dah pastilah, Tunku selepas itu buat sidang akhbar sebelum berlepas balik ke KL sementara Chin Peng pula meninggalkan Baling untuk ke Gunung Paku. 

Untuk itu, tunggu le posting akan datang, In Syaa Allah.