Shamsiah Fakeh - Return To Malaysia

Return To Malaysia

Shamsiah and her family applied to the Malaysian government for permission to return to the country from 1985 onwards. Following the terms of the 1989 peace agreement signed between the CPM and the Government of Malaysia in Haadyai, Thailand, permission was finally granted on July 23, 1994 and Shamsiah returned along with her husband, their three sons and their four grandchildren. Upon their arrival, the family was met by Special Branch officers who took them to a resort and for about 10 days, they were debriefed and briefed on the local customs and political scenario in Malaysia. One of the conditions for the family's return was a bar on participation in politics and for the first few years upon their return, Shamsiah was not even allowed to participate in academic speaking engagements. Her Chinese daughter-in-laws were initially barred entry into the country but were eventually granted permanent residency.

Her memoirs were first published in 2004 by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) but was immediately suppressed by the authorities and withdrawn from circulation. A new edition as well as a Chinese language translation was published in 2007 by the Strategic Information and Research Development Centre (SIRD) which saw UKM reintroduce their edition into the market.