POLITICS
Malaysia reluctant to welcome Chavalit
- Published: 17/11/2009 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
Malaysia's reluctance to receive opposition Puea Thai Party chairman Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh with open arms has prompted the general to change his travel plans.
He will now attend a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the signing of the peace pact between Malaysia and the former Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) in Hat Yai at the end of the month.
Diplomatic sources said Kuala Lumpur would feel uncomfortable welcoming Gen Chavalit on his planned visit this month following his controversy-marred swing through Cambodia that preceded a visit by convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and caused a diplomatic spat between the two countries.
Gen Chavalit, however, is not willing to move out of the limelight and plans to show up at the very spot where he helped create history 20 years ago.
But his attendance at the Nov 30 planned reunion at the Lee Gardens Hotel for former CPM comrades has irked some key participants including Gen Kitti Rattanachaya, a former Fourth Army commander, who has opted to give the occasion a miss, military sources said.
Gen Chavalit, then army chief and deputy director of the Internal Security Operations Command, played a crucial role in helping weave the peace accord which was signed between the Malaysian government and the CPM, which also was active in the South of Thailand, in Hat Yai on Dec 2, 1989.
But ailing former CPM leader Chin Peng, now in his early 80s, reportedly plans to be there.
The event is expected to draw several hundred ex-CPM comrades from Thailand and Malaysia.
After laying down their arms, some 400 CPM members returned to Malaysia while around 800 others stayed in Thailand.
Political observers say Gen Chavalit might use the CPM platform in an attempt to upstage Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva who is scheduled to speak in Hat Yai on Nov 29 about the national strategy for a sustainable South.
About the author
- Writer: Achara Ashayagachat
- Position: Reporter
