PETALING JAYA: Communism has changed much since the days of Mao Tse Tung, but many still think that it is insensitive to run a Red China-themed cafe in a country where lives were lost fighting communists.
An academician agrees that we have to move on, given the passage of time, but sees the cafe concept as a cheap and tasteless marketing ploy.
“Would the owner consider opening a Nazi-themed cafe in Poland? Would the owner dare to run an ISIS-themed cafe in any part of the world?” Universiti Teknologi Mara lecturer Afiqah Aisyah Saiful Bahar said yesterday.
She was commenting on two Communism-themed cafes – one in Juru and the other in Pulau Tikus in Penang – that landed the owner in trouble with the law.
A 40-year-old man is being investigated under Section 47 of the Societies Act 1966 for publishing propaganda on an unlawful society and Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for making, publishing or circulating any statement, rumour or report with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public.
Afiqah said Malaysians had moved on from the black spot in history caused by the communist insurgency, but forgetting entirely about what had happened is akin to having blinders on.
Malaysia is a melting pot of races and cultures. Ignoring something that once hurt Malaysians would threaten the good relationship among the races, she said.
Political commentator Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi agrees that business operators need to be mindful and sensitive about the country’s history and culture, but believes the authorities could have solved it amicably.
“Probably it was not a good idea to put up wallpaper that has Mao Tse Tung on it, as Malaya was against communism and people died fighting communists.
“My late father had also fought the communists, who were back then called bandits. It was a harrowing time in our country’s history, so the cafe operator should have been a bit more sensitive despite not having any slogans or propaganda displayed on the wallpaper.
“The authorities should have shown that we are more educated instead of looking at it from a narrow perspective. We have a bilateral relationship with China and do not want to show any disrespect to it.”
However, the National Patriots Association (Patriot) does not see real ideological representation in the cafes’ decor.
A member of the association, that represents retired Malaysian security personnel, Capt Dr Wong Ang Peng, who is also its director of public communications, said there was no communist ideology on the wallpaper.
“We must move on, but the authorities do not seem to have done so. There was no communist ideology in the slogan at the cafe. Even if there was, so what? People are more educated and know that communism has failed in modern society with its laissez faire economy,” he said.
“It was Deng Xiao Ping and later leaders who advocated an open door policy that has brought China success and made it the second largest economy today. The world has much to learn from China even though its government is led by a communist party.”
