I never really had a Road to Damascus journey. During my childhood, my family had always reminded me to be proud of being a Chinese. This was mainly due to the resistance fervor against the state-instituted racism against the ethnic Chinese by the Malaysian government. But at that time, we looked up mostly to the Chinese people in HK and Taiwan, and not yet the Mainland. But when mainland China started to arrive, many of us (but not all) started appreciating the rise of the PRC more. That is the short story.
The long story is me appreciating communism and the CPC after learning more about the history and the struggles of the Chinese people and communism in Malaysia. In school, all Malaysians are taught that the communists are the ultimate evil. Because of the legacy of the communist insurgency, and with Malaysia being part of the pro-West Commonwealth. The communists in Malaysia were often portrayed as an even worse evil than the Imperial Japanese Army. It also doesn't help their reputation, that most of them were ethnic Chinese, bringing Sinophobia into the mix. However, I was told by my elders that the communists in Malaysia were the actual heroes in WWII, but they were ultimately betrayed by the British and the local majority Malay population. The Malay population had a unenviable reputation for being willing subjects of any invading foreign power. When the Japanese invaded Malaya, and the British colonial administration surrendered, the Malays greeted them with opened arms and switched loyalties to their new overlords. They cooperated with the IJA to hunt down Malaysian Chinese. The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), along with some smaller allies were the only force who were seriously resisting the Japanese, aided by the British. When the Japanese surrendered, and the British returned, the Malays then switched their loyalties back to the British once more. But then the British betrayed the MCP and kicked off the communist insurgency. Now, those Malays who used to serve the Japanese as enforcers were tasked by the British to fight the communists and suppress the Malaysian Chinese population. Some of these Malays were lionized as Malay Muslim 'heroes' in history textbooks. It is this disgusting history that made me see the communism in general in a different light. It also got me curious about communism in general, and the more I learned about them, the more I like them. Eventually, I learned about the USSR and the CPC and I liked them even more.
In my younger years, I liked the USSR for being badass, but as I learned more about them, I don't like them as much anymore. However, the CPC was special to me because it was much more personal. It was Chinese, and it had a connection with the struggles of the MCP and the Chinese community in Malaysia. I see the CPC and the PRC as the ultimate force that can bring justice to the Chinese people as a whole. Not only do they actually kick butt, but they have also developed China further than ever before. Imperfect as they are, they are the real deal. They have put substance into the meaning of being proud to be Chinese.
I am disappointed that many Malaysian Chinese still fell for the anti-communist propaganda in school, and definitely in media. They were ready to stand up for Chinese solidarity, but just not for the Chinese on the mainland. These days, these people are infected by Boba Milk Tea mental disease and have strayed away from Chinese solidarity to 'Taiwan and HK solidarity'. The HK riot of 2019 was an eye opener for me. Many friends and family whom I thought had been fervent defenders of Chinese rights in Malaysia became strong PRC haters. Unsurprisingly, these people loved Donald Trump and started loving America all over again, despite originally hating America during its War on Terror era. It is thanks to this madness, that I finally needed to speak out and become a proper Wumao.
