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obituary
Joshua Benjamin Jeyaratnam
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| Obituary IT IS A SHAME that the passing of J B Jeyaratnam has been largely ignored in this country. Both the English 'Guardian' newspaper and the 'Asian Times' ran obituaries, a mark of his international standing. Over here, only Anil Netto, Aliran and 'The Sun' newspaper remembered the lonely, courageous fighter for the dignity and freedom of his people. The vociferous politicians, the democrats, websites and bloggers, all loud about human rights and freedom, were ominously silent. In 1980, JBJ (as he was called by everyone) astonishingly won the by-election at Anson Constituency. It shook the government in power and broke the political monopoly of the People's Action Party. JBJ was an unexpected hero. He was very Christian, very English and lived the upper middle class lifestyle of a lawyer in Singapore, scornful of the life and style of the other "Englishman", Harry Lee. His wife was an English barrister and his two sons were educated in the United Kingdom. When the judicial service opened its doors to the locals he was appointed district judge, a top appointment for the privileged few, while the White officers continued to monopolize the high court bench. He entered politics not so much with the zeal of an ideologist but rather to demonstrate his disdain for the manner and speech of the "banana Englishman" who, in his opinion, disgustingly failed to come up to his standards. He came to assume a new persona as the champion of Human Rights in Singapore and pursued his new vision with a courage which few had expected from a person of his background and social upbringing. The victory of Singapore's first opposition MP triggered a vicious and gutter campaign of vilification. He went through a guantanamo of relentless prosecution, knuckle duster politics, and demonisation. Libel actions by those in power cost him more than a million dollars, bankrupted him and cost him his legal practice. His appeal to the Privy Council from his disbarment In 1987 made history. Allowing his appeal the law lords did not spare the Singapore bench when in their judgment they wrote of their "deep disquiet that by a series of misjudgments" Ben and his co-accused had suffered a grievous injustice. Singapore promptly retaliated by abolishing all appeals to the Privy Council. |
| For many years
JBJ had to use his entire resources to beat off
the multifarious attacks on his career and livelihood and his political
convictions. He weathered all these attacks with a fortitude and
courage which earned him respect of large number of Singaporeans.He
could be seen everywhere in rain and sunshine, selling his books
and speeches for a free and democratic Singapore, - all bookshops shut
their doors on him. At a heavy cost, JBJ finally got rid of his
bankruptcy. He could now return to his legal practice as well as
prepare himself for further political battles. He was 82 years old when
he courageously proceeded to organize and register a new political
party called the 'Reform Party' which was graced by several hundred
people at its inauguration just barely one month before his demise. His was the flickering flame in the darkness of fear, an articulate voice in a society marinated in the culture of silence. A powerful state machine threw its weight and marshalled all the resources including the mass media at its command in an attempt to crush this lonely and tenacious opposition. So impressive was his courage that it once attracted the help of the famous Queen’s Counsel and author, John Mortimer, who appeared for him pro bono. That is the reason why so many people who hardly knew him turned out in such large numbers to express their feelings for his fearless stand against the total weight of the state machinery. When he died on 30 Sepember 2008 there was a wide spread and spontaneous uproaring of emotions rarely seen in Singapore. More than 1000 defiant mourners of all ethnic communities crowded out the congregation hall of St. Andrew's Cathedral to honour one who gained their love and respect, to honour one who refused to "crawl on his bended knees, and beg for mercy."# |
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| ______ INDEX Point to the
article that you want to read, and
CLICK Food guide Gold in the South (5) J B Jeyaratnam Lau Tat Hong Penang ABC Redressing imbalance Samad Ismail Unknown history - exhibition |
| _____________________ The Penang File Issue 62 |
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