Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Lim Guan Eng: A Voice of Moderation

The mood was set for a fiery atmosphere in spite of the small audience of ? forty people. Ramasamy was angry and bitter over his unjust sacking. In the months preceding his fallout with UKM, he alleged that a few former students of his, all Malays had been promoted to positions of authority in the university, lording over the learned professor himself. Uthayakumar spoke....

The Soft Still Voice of Lim Guan Eng

Wong Ho Leng in his blog wrote of how Lim Guan Eng endured eighteen months of unjustified shame and indignity at the hands of the UMNO warlords.

I have no such heart-wrenching tale to tell.

I do not know Lim Guan Eng personally and probably never will. I can however, vouch for this man’s character as though I’ve known him all my life.

The year was 2005, not too long ago isn't it? It was some time around the months of June or September, I can't recall fully.


This was a time where DAP forums and opposition ceramahs were yet to be the ‘in’ thing. It was the time when BN has just won its greatest ever majority in Parliament and the nation of Malaysia began a free fall in all its cemerlang, gemilang, terbilang endeavors. Abdullah Badawi was still in his self-declared honeymoon period and Malaysians of all races were still patient and kind and ever supportive.

It was an inaugural DAP forum on higher education, aptly entitled Higher Education in Malaysia: An Escalating Crisis. Held indoors at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, my friends and I had no difficulty securing a place at the forum. There was hardly an audience to begin with, let alone a crowd. This was a time when being associated with the opposition was still a big no-no. We were probably the few young persons who turned up, putting our medical education and future careers on the line indoing so.


Most in the audience were DAP members or direct family members of the panelists. A few familiar faces were present -Teresa Kok, Lau Weng San and Ronnie Liu. The latter two were still politician-wannabes back then. Tony Pua, current PJ Utara Member of Parliament was there, a total unknown running a lowly blog on Malaysian education. That was probably the night his love affair and courtship with the DAP began.

It goes without saying that there was not a single Malay among the crowd except for the two Special Branch officers watching intently from the back.

The forum was organized after a series of embarrassing setbacks and controversial outcomes in our local universities. These included the poor rankings of Malaysian universities in the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) rankings and the acceptance of only one Indian medical student into the University of Malaya.


His name is Suman Rao, by the way, in case you were curious at all.

The panelists for the night were then a mixture of unknowns and veterans in the Malaysian political arena.

Prof. P. Ramasamy was then newly terminated from his position as UKM professor of political science. Not many were familiar with him then except regular Malaysiakini readers. Lim Kit Siang was there of course as he would be in most DAP forums. Seated by Kit Siang’s side was Guan Eng, making a comeback in Malaysian politics after a protracted period of absence. P. Uthayakumar, current HINDRAF ISA detainee, arrived late but was fully prepared to share his thoughts on the on-going rot in higher education. Dr. Tan Seng Giaw acted as the moderator.

The mood was set for a fiery atmosphere in spite of the small audience of ? forty people. Ramasamy was angry and bitter over his unjust and politically motivated sacking. In his long and productive academic tenure at UKM, he has been bypassed repeatedly for promotion. Hi former students, all Malays had been selected to positions of authority in the university, lording over the learned professor himself. Uthayakumar spoke brilliantly on how the UMNO government was not observing the Malaysian constitution that guaranteed equal rights and social justice to all citizens regardless of race, religion and culture. An old chap among the crowd remarked that the NEP has produced half-baked graduates, alleging that these days, even Malays themselves do not trust Malay doctors. A few others cite incidence and examples of racial discrimination in their respective institutions.

It was the perfect setup for a orgy session to bash anything NEP, UMNO and Malay.

Standing out in the midst of the tangible anger and perceptible high emotions was Lim Guan Eng.
A crowd could not be safer than this. These were hardcore DAP supporters, discontented non-bumi Malaysians or retired warga emas looking for an outlet to spend their evening sharing on how much better the old times were.

He could have performed a Hishamuddin and played the racial card. He could have condemned the NEP and its generation of beneficiaries. He could have aroused more anger and more emotion by agreeing to the crowd's dissenting voices. He could have trumpeted DAP as the only party that fights for non-Malays.

He didn’t, not at all.

Instead, Guan Eng began his summing up by declaring that his own family physician is a Malay doctor whom he trusts very much indeed. He reminded the audience that it was unfair to stigmatize the Malay race as a whole simply because of UMNO’s racial and religious arrogance and continuous misrepresentation of the Malays as a weak and lazy race.

At a time when he could have scored cheap political points among an ever-supportive crowd, he chose to speak the simple truth rather than dance to a convenient racist tune.

Here is a man who was jailed for 18 months defending the dignity of an underaged Malay girl. He lost a great part of his life and missed out on the golden years of his young growing children.

He could have been bitter and vengeful like Anwar was and still is.

He could have espoused his past heroic and selfless acts the way so many politicians do.

He never did and still doesn’t.

That’s the kind of character Lim Guan Eng is – a voice of integrity and moderation.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lim is the man !

Anonymous said...

Let us wait and see what he can do for Penang. No doubt he is a man of integrity but he may be surrounded by a lot of parasites.

Kian Ming said...

Hey POTS,

I'm one of the bloggers are educationmalaysia.blogspot.com. I tried looking for your email under your profile but couldn't. Can you email me back at im_ok_man@yahoo.com? I want to ask you something about SLAB. Thanks.

Kian Ming

Anonymous said...

Something I received in my mail,(samfoxfire@hotmail.com)

Subject: Untold Story about Guan Eng


Untold Story about Guan Eng
I had written 2 paragraphs about my visit to Guan Eng when he was serving his sentence in Kajang Prison. I made that visit in October 1998 together with Chong Siew Chiang.

I had merely written that during that visit in Kajang Prison, Chong Siew Chiang and I had a heart to heart talk with Guan Eng for 1 hr. 45 minutes in respect of his legal case which had cost him his freedom, political office, professional career, pension and much else besides.

I had said that it was a sad but eventful meeting.. I was economical in my words.

There is one aspect of my visit to Guan Eng that day that I did not write about. Actually, I could not write about it, because it was so, so humiliating and sad. I did not write about it because Kit Siang did not want me to see it. But I did see what Kit Siang desperately tried to let me not see it.

Kit Siang was supposed to drive us to Kajang Prison. He was busy that morning and our departure from our HQ was delayed a little. Kit Siang was speeding like nobody's business. When we arrived at the Prison, we "checked" in at the office. It was at this time that I saw the prisoners walking out in their prison uniform for row calls at the wardens' office. They had to squat in rows, every time and every day that they did so, and the prison wardens would call their numbers.

As I walked in, I saw the familiar face of a prisoner with an unfamiliar crew hair cut. He was squatting at the front row. Both his hands were placed over the back of his head ¡­

We had a split second eye contact but I pretended not to see ¡­ It was very dissimilar to those other cases when I was required to visit the prison as a lawyer.

Half an hour later, we met. Kit Siang did not join us. I would not know where he had gone to. Guan Eng started by saying that he wanted me to send a message to Party members and supporters in Sarawak not to despair over his fate. "Tell them that they can break my back, but they cannot break my soul."

As we discussed his case, I knew that he was not well at all. He was pale and complained of body pain. He also complained that he had not consumed sufficient salt, the food being tasteless. We were worried that his fragile body won't take him through. We were concerned about his safety in there. He assured us that the inmates there had treated him alright, that they all knew that he was wronged.

It was unbelievable that even when he was at the pit of his life, he had his heart for the Party members, in our case, the comrades in Sarawak.

We told him our view about the legal case. It was clear to us that he was fated to sit behind bars for another 10 months. He knew as much. Royal pardon was out of question.

As Kit Siang drove us away from the Kajang Prison, he made sure that we had a taste of the signature food of Kajang town ¨C satay. At the coffee shop, Kit Siang greeted the town folks who wished him well and to remain strong, but in his leaner body frame, I saw the pains that he had endured. Political adversaries had long accused him of cronyism and nepotism, and the building of a Lim dynasty. The fate of his son losing everything after standing up for a Malay girl who was raped by a Chief Minister, and having to languish in jail for 18 months, showed the cruelty and venom of those accusations.

Siew Chiang was habouring many questions inside his chest and it took a long time for him to break his silence. He asked Kit Siang why he was speeding desperately this morning. Kit Siang then told us.. He wanted to make it to the Prison before the row call. If we had made it in time, our meeting could begin, and Guan Eng would not have to take part in the row call. During the row calls, the prisoner had to squat in a row, hands behind the head ¡­ As the father, Kit Siang did not want us to see his son in that moment of ultimate humiliation.

Siew Chiang told Kit Siang that he did not see Guan Eng in the row. I said I did not also. Then Kit Siang told us where Guan Eng was squatted. He sped, because he had not wanted us to see the ultimate humiliation to his son, but I had sinned with my eyes.

The signature satay was tasteless to me amidst cries of injustice that innocent people had to suffer. On our way home, there was hardly any communication between us. Our hearts were heavier than lead.. In my mind, I saw the flashes of a prisoner, hands behind his head, his face so familiar, squatting in the row like other inmates. I repeatedly asked myself whether Guan Eng deserved this. Why should I see that moment in his life when his father had wanted me not to? But that was what it was, for Guan Eng had endured that humiliation for 365 days.

It was after midnight in Kuching not long after Guan Eng's release. We had finished our party function and all were hungry for supper. We found a little place in order to replenish our tummies. There was no food left except plain porridge. I ordered some, teasing Guan Eng that the porridge must be better than what he was used to in Kajang. Guan Eng cursed me for reminding him of what he had gone through.

That day about 2 weeks ago, when I stood for photograph with YAB Lim Guan Eng behind his Chief Minister's desk in Penang, I recalled what I had seen of this man. From a humiliated prisoner, he had been vindicated by the powers in the people's hands.

Much that YAB Lim had never responded to anything I said about his less than glamorous times behind bars, he will always remember the ultimate humiliation that a person had gone through. He will know the true meaning of justice.

In less than 10 years, God has shown YAB Lim Guan Eng the way. May YAB Lim now shower mercy and love to the great people of Penang

Anonymous said...

Something I received in my mail,(samfoxfire@hotmail.com)

Subject: Untold Story about Guan Eng


Untold Story about Guan Eng
I had written 2 paragraphs about my visit to Guan Eng when he was serving his sentence in Kajang Prison. I made that visit in October 1998 together with Chong Siew Chiang.

I had merely written that during that visit in Kajang Prison, Chong Siew Chiang and I had a heart to heart talk with Guan Eng for 1 hr. 45 minutes in respect of his legal case which had cost him his freedom, political office, professional career, pension and much else besides.

I had said that it was a sad but eventful meeting.. I was economical in my words.

There is one aspect of my visit to Guan Eng that day that I did not write about. Actually, I could not write about it, because it was so, so humiliating and sad. I did not write about it because Kit Siang did not want me to see it. But I did see what Kit Siang desperately tried to let me not see it.

Kit Siang was supposed to drive us to Kajang Prison. He was busy that morning and our departure from our HQ was delayed a little. Kit Siang was speeding like nobody's business. When we arrived at the Prison, we "checked" in at the office. It was at this time that I saw the prisoners walking out in their prison uniform for row calls at the wardens' office. They had to squat in rows, every time and every day that they did so, and the prison wardens would call their numbers.

As I walked in, I saw the familiar face of a prisoner with an unfamiliar crew hair cut. He was squatting at the front row. Both his hands were placed over the back of his head ¡­

We had a split second eye contact but I pretended not to see ¡­ It was very dissimilar to those other cases when I was required to visit the prison as a lawyer.

Half an hour later, we met. Kit Siang did not join us. I would not know where he had gone to. Guan Eng started by saying that he wanted me to send a message to Party members and supporters in Sarawak not to despair over his fate. "Tell them that they can break my back, but they cannot break my soul."

As we discussed his case, I knew that he was not well at all. He was pale and complained of body pain. He also complained that he had not consumed sufficient salt, the food being tasteless. We were worried that his fragile body won't take him through. We were concerned about his safety in there. He assured us that the inmates there had treated him alright, that they all knew that he was wronged.

It was unbelievable that even when he was at the pit of his life, he had his heart for the Party members, in our case, the comrades in Sarawak.

We told him our view about the legal case. It was clear to us that he was fated to sit behind bars for another 10 months. He knew as much. Royal pardon was out of question.

As Kit Siang drove us away from the Kajang Prison, he made sure that we had a taste of the signature food of Kajang town ¨C satay. At the coffee shop, Kit Siang greeted the town folks who wished him well and to remain strong, but in his leaner body frame, I saw the pains that he had endured. Political adversaries had long accused him of cronyism and nepotism, and the building of a Lim dynasty. The fate of his son losing everything after standing up for a Malay girl who was raped by a Chief Minister, and having to languish in jail for 18 months, showed the cruelty and venom of those accusations.

Siew Chiang was habouring many questions inside his chest and it took a long time for him to break his silence. He asked Kit Siang why he was speeding desperately this morning. Kit Siang then told us.. He wanted to make it to the Prison before the row call. If we had made it in time, our meeting could begin, and Guan Eng would not have to take part in the row call. During the row calls, the prisoner had to squat in a row, hands behind the head ¡­ As the father, Kit Siang did not want us to see his son in that moment of ultimate humiliation.

Siew Chiang told Kit Siang that he did not see Guan Eng in the row. I said I did not also. Then Kit Siang told us where Guan Eng was squatted. He sped, because he had not wanted us to see the ultimate humiliation to his son, but I had sinned with my eyes.

The signature satay was tasteless to me amidst cries of injustice that innocent people had to suffer. On our way home, there was hardly any communication between us. Our hearts were heavier than lead.. In my mind, I saw the flashes of a prisoner, hands behind his head, his face so familiar, squatting in the row like other inmates. I repeatedly asked myself whether Guan Eng deserved this. Why should I see that moment in his life when his father had wanted me not to? But that was what it was, for Guan Eng had endured that humiliation for 365 days.

It was after midnight in Kuching not long after Guan Eng's release. We had finished our party function and all were hungry for supper. We found a little place in order to replenish our tummies. There was no food left except plain porridge. I ordered some, teasing Guan Eng that the porridge must be better than what he was used to in Kajang. Guan Eng cursed me for reminding him of what he had gone through.

That day about 2 weeks ago, when I stood for photograph with YAB Lim Guan Eng behind his Chief Minister's desk in Penang, I recalled what I had seen of this man. From a humiliated prisoner, he had been vindicated by the powers in the people's hands.

Much that YAB Lim had never responded to anything I said about his less than glamorous times behind bars, he will always remember the ultimate humiliation that a person had gone through. He will know the true meaning of justice.

In less than 10 years, God has shown YAB Lim Guan Eng the way. May YAB Lim now shower mercy and love to the great people of Penang

Anonymous said...

Thats a great story samfoxfire.
Thanks for sharing.

-Med dude in Melbourne

Kong said...

The character of a true statesman. Better than his father.