HATYAI, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- Former Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) secretary-general Chin Peng said he would not use a third party but would instead use the "necessary channel" to convey his wish to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to be allowed to return to Malaysia.

If possible, he hoped to meet Najib when the latter visited southern Thailand, scheduled for the second week of December, the former guerilla said.

On former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Norian Mai's statment that he had waited too long and now it was now too late for him to return, he said he did not want to argue with Norian, who was one of the key negotiators in the talks between the CPM and the Malaysian government.

"...but the fact is, I went to an appointed place to meet government representatives. I can't remember the exact location, but it's near Hatyai. But I could not find them, then someone told me to move to another place and then another place...alas I could not find them and it remains a mystery to me up to now," he said.

Chin Peng reiterated that all he wanted was to return to Malaysia to see his family and pay respect to his ancestors in Sitiawan.

"I am an old man, 85 years old. As an old man, I wish to see my family and pay respect to my ancestors. This is my last chance to go back home. My return home is not to create trouble," he said in an interview at the Lee Gardens Hotel here where he led the CPM leadership to sign the Dec 2, 1989, agreement which ended the communist armed revolt.

He has a son in Malaysia while his daughter is in Australia.

Asked why he had kept a very low profile despite being a well-known figure in Malaysian history, Chin Peng, who wore a batik shirt and had to be assisted when moving around, said he was not after publicity, unless it was unavoidable.

After the CPM was outlawed in the 1940s, he made his first public appearance in 1955 during the aborted Baling Talks where he met the country's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, before coming out again to sign the Peace Accord in 1989, but remained elusive until a few months back.

Chin Peng, who was given an alien passport by the Thai government, said he had been staying in Bangkok for the past few years, but was never involved in any business activities.

The CPM ceased to receive any assistance from the Communist Party of China after the peace signing, he said, adding that there was no reason to ask for help from them after that.

He said that from feedback he had received, most of his former comrades who had returned to Malaysia are doing well in their new lives.

"They are doing well, but not everyone," he said, adding that there were also many living in the four peace villages established by the Thai government in Yala province bordering Malaysia.

Under the peace accord, 339 former CPM members returned in 13 groups to Malaysia from the Thailand-Malaysia border between August 1991 and December 1992 while some settled down in several peace villages established by the Thai government in Yala province.

On reports that there are former CPM members involved in the ongoing insurgency in the Muslim-majority southern Thai provinces, Chin Peng said the conflict had nothing to do with them.

"I am not aware. As far as my information and reports from my Malay comrades there are concerned, there was no problem...no reason to join the insurgency." he said.

Asked what had become of the CPM after laying down arms for the last 20 years, Chin Peng maintained that the party was still alive, but not posing a threat to anyone as it was in hibernation.

"Yes, the CPM is still alive...in hibernation. We are not active anymore, just some reunions among our comrades," said Chin Peng who led a jungle guerilla war against the Malaysian government which lasted several decades.

He said that since the signing of the peace accord, he believed both parties had met most of their obligations set out in the agreement, but the decision to bar him from returning home remained a sticky issue.

He said Monday's ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the historic signing could be his last public appearance in Thailand.

Monday's event was organised by the 21st Century Friendship Association of Malaysia comprising former CPM members who have settled down in Malaysia after the peace accord. (By D.Arul Rajoo/ Bernama)