Diary of an Island

In a direct reply to Chua Mui Hoong's article, the Ministry of Home Affairs has written a letter to the Forum. Published today, it restates the official position:

"Mr Tan and Mr Fernandez were not political dissidents or opposition members engaged in the democratic process. They belonged to the Communist United Front (CUF) which supported the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). The CPM was an underground organisation which used terror and violence to subvert the democratic process and overthrow the elected governments of Singapore and Malaysia. Many innocent lives were lost, victims of the CPM's armed struggle."

"...they and other ex-communists and supporters cannot be allowed to re-write history by watering down communist atrocities, subversion and other unlawful activities and glossing over the harm they caused to so many victims and the threat they posed to our country. Had the CUF and CPM succeeded, Singapore would never have achieved what we have today - a peaceful, prosperous and multi-ethnic democratic society."

Now the question that remains is - will Fernandez and Tan be redetained for recanting on their confessions?