Sunday, October 5, 2008
I was 11 when i first heard of this man. I knew nothing about politics except that "PAP IS THE BEST". The reason for me to believe such comes from the fact that i was from PAP kindergarten. Can we consider that early age brainwash? Well it did not take me long to start admiring JB Jeyaretnam or affectionately known as JBJ. My father had a long chat with me, telling me the ideas of JBJ and how he is different from other politicians. I was eleven then, I had no inkling what my father was saying or why he was sharing with me the intricacies of Singapore Politics. As i grew older and started reading the papers i slowly began to understand my conversation at eleven(1997-The year JBJ cleared his bankruptcy YET AGAIN and returned into politics).
Then came the day when i spotted a group of five huddled at the corner outside Centre-Point. I would not have noticed them, had it not been for the odd crowd movement. The walkway was relatively packed with human traffic but near the group of five the crowd seemed to form a buffer zone. This action of avoidance by the public caught my attention. Peering thru the human traffic, i caught a glimpse of an elderly indian man spotting HUGE sideburns and a weathered face. There i was standing infront of JBJ, he was looking straight into my eyes with conviction. Against my friend's pleading i walked up to the man and extended my hand as a form of respect. He grasped it and gave me a firm handshake, i felt like i was in the presence of A Giant of Experience and Valour. Buying his book "The Hatchet Man Of Singapore" was money well spent. Reading rejected political ideas, i began to understand him better.
He gave up what could have been a successful career on the bench to enter the rough-and-tumble of Singapore’s political life with zeal and energy.. Right to the end he remained a fighter, a great warrior for democracy and human rights. He embodied valour and virtue in fighting for a cause he believed in passionately.
He stood proudly and bravely with the ordinary men championing their cause and on many occasions representing their interest without payment. He was there for them – all the time.
A consummate politician who had to go through so many political hurdles during the many years when he waged a long and lonely battle against the PAP to secure the space for democracy and human rights. The mighty PAP gave him one hell of a struggle. They bankrupted him with many defamation suits which they won with hefty awards crippling him financially. JBJ lost his property, he lost his legal practice and he lost his wealth. But he never lost his sanity or his fighting spirit. That was the measure of this great man.
All he had was his unbending will and a determination to stand up for what he believed in. Any lesser man would have thrown in the towel – but not JBJ!
He peddled his party organ, The Hammer, and his books on street corners to raise funds to free himself from bankruptcy. Many, out of fear, avoided him on the streets. Even the bookshops dared not stock his books for sale. It was such a pity that he had to struggle against all odds and all alone.
The great man finally cleared himself from bankruptcy in July 2007 - in spite of strenuous opposition to block him - and died as an honourable man.
When he launched his new party, the Reform Party, in July 2008, he remarked, “I’m not being dramatic but I haven’t got many more years.” Little did he know that he barely had three months of his life left!
In his concluding remarks, he urged the gathering, “Come, walk with me, let us walk together… for peace, justice, truth… fearing no one except God,”
We may not be able to walk with him but we can certainly walk in his path and keep his spirit alive.
Farewell, JBJ. May your Great soul rest in peace.
Whirled Through 12:04 PM
