Posted on 06/15/2005 10:32:26 AM PDT by CounterCounterCulture
Malaysia will tear down a memorial commemorating Vietnamese refugees who died fleeing communist rule after a protest from Hanoi, a report said today.
The memorial was built in March by a group of former Vietnamese refugees on the northeastern island of Bidong in Terengganu state, the Star daily in Kuala Lumpur reported. They were among thousands of Vietnamese who arrived in fishing boats on Bidong in the 1970s after the Vietnam War.
Thousands of others died while trying to make the voyage from Vietnam across the South China Sea to Bidong and other coastal areas in Southeast Asia.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
History desk ? Gimme re-write !
Just following the Marxist doctrine on how history is to be adjusted...
I see the Vietnamese government got to Malaysia.
Guess it never happened. No dominoes, either.
KUALA TERENGGANU: A memorial at the former refugee island of Pulau Bidong has become a diplomatic issue, following a protest by the Vietnamese government.
The country wants the memorial, erected in March by a group of former Vietnamese refugees, to be demolished and has sent Wisma Putra a note on this.
It is learnt that the Foreign Ministry has sent a directive to the Terengganu Government to tear down the plaque, which were inscribed with the words:
In commemoration of the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people who perished on the way to freedom (1975-1996).
Though they died of hunger or thirst, of being raped, of exhaustion or of any other cause, we pray that they may now enjoy lasting peace.
Their sacrifices will not be forgotten.
Overseas Vitenamese Communit-ies, 2005.
On the other side, the former refugees conveyed their gratitude to the Malaysian people, the Mal-aysian Red Crescent Society and the Malaysian Government for helping them in their hour of need.
It is learnt that Wisma Putra had recently sent a letter directing that the memorial be demolished to state secretary Datuk Muhatar Abdullah.
The demolition is expected to draw flak from the thousands of former Pulau Bidong Vietnamese refugees who had settled overseas, including in the United States, Australia and France.
“This is a sensitive issue,” said Alex Lee, the managing director of Ping Anchorage Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd, the company that built the marble memorial at the request of 142 former refugees from the US and Australia who visited the island in March.
Lee, who has brought in about 500 former Vietnamese refugees to visit the island since 2003, said he would inform his contacts overseas on the latest development.
“I am expecting about 500 more former refugees from the US in August.
“Their trip will have to be delayed if the memorial is demolished,” he added.
Tell me again when's Malaysia gonna get around to embracing democracy?
On another note, would someone please remind us what Malaysia's predominant religion is nowadays...?
That would be TROP.
Is anyone surprised?
Not me
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