On September 28, Singapore's veteran opposition leader J.B Jeyaretnam, died after he succumbed to his long battle with his heart disease and after waging a long and lonely campaign for greater political freedom in Singapore.
The late Mr JB Jeyaretbam was attempting a fresh political comeback when he succumbed to heart failure. The 82-year-old British-trained lawyer and former MP is a nemesis to Singapore's PAP government and had made history after winning a Seat in the Anson constituency in 1981 thus ending Singapore's single party rule in parliament.
In 1984 he again held the Anson constituency with a greater margin. However he was soon back in court as well as in parliament, accused of misstating the Workers’ Party’s accounts. Found guilty of perjury in 1986, he was fined, served a month in jail, became ineligible to sit in parliament for five years and was disbarred from legal practice. Again, he took his appeal to the Privy Council, which in 1988 overturned his disbarment and ruled he was the victim of a “grievous injustice”. Singapore subsequently abolished the right of appeal to the Privy Council.
Even in appearance, MR JB Jeyaretnam seemed rather out of place in Singapore’s gleaming, ultra-modern urban landscape. In the early 1980s bankers and stockbrokers on their lunch breaks would shuffle in embarrassment past a courteous, dignified figure, vaguely reminiscent, in his muttonchop whiskers, of a Victorian statesman. Jeyaretnam, remembered by many Singaporeans for his old-school lambchop sideburns and a gravelly voice that thrilled audiences in court, parliament and street rallies.
Born Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam in 1926 during a family visit to what is now Sri Lanka, he was often a solitary voice in largely ethnic Chinese Singapore, a prosperous financial centre where protests are restricted and government critics complain of limited access to the media. Despite being driven to financial ruin by costly defamation suits and sidelined by younger opposition figures, Jeyaretnam was still plotting a return to parliament before he died when he launched the Reform Party in which he said "I haven't got many years left."
Throughout his political struggle, Mr Jeyaretnam was never successful in making a dent in the PAP’s power or scratched Singaporean's government efficient and clean image. Singaporeans in general are aware that those who maligned its leaders are likely to end up in court. MM Lee Kuan Yew argues that PAP ministers command respect because they are ready to be scrutinised, and that his libel actions were designed to defend the government’s reputation, not to silence the opposition.
Certainly Mr Jeyaretnam, most distinguished of that tiny band, was never silenced. MM Lee Kuan Yew may have been infinitely the greater statesman, but some would have judged Mr Jeyaretnam the bigger man for his unabated struggle in beinging about a change in Singapore's political landscape.
What would aptly describe Mr JB J was his never give up attitude and fighting all the way to his death to make his dream a realisation. Even during his darkest days, Mr JBJ as he is fondly known soldiered on. He helped support his cause by selling books on the sidewalks of Singapore, and managed to clear his debts to pave the way for a fresh stab at public office. Mr JBJ once said that he got his strength from somewhere else and that he refuse to conform to the world and its ideologies.
To Mr JBJ though his political views may augment well with the general population his tenacity should still be greatly admired. Though we may not share his beliefs and dreams, it is the drive and never give up attitude that sadly many of us, the younger generation of Singaporeans are lacking. His struggle will be long remembered and fondly admired from afar long after he is gone. May he find peace in the embrace of the almighty.
I feel like I'm an ordinary guy
They treat me strange, so tell me why.
I always try to do what's right.
That doesn't mean I don't feel fright.
I do feel fear. I do get scared.
That time was just because I cared.
I might get hurt or maybe die,
But I can't just sit idly by.
Why do they all say I'm so brave?
That situation simply was real grave.
I'm sure that others would do like me.
But not so folks would jump with glee.
Then shake my hand and slap my back,
And tell me that I have a knack
To be a hero and make them proud
And say a word to the grateful crowd.
For I believe that fear is strong.
But I cannot do what is wrong.
I simply just do what I can.
I'm not a hero, just a man.
So please do not treat me so kind.
It's something that still blows my mind.
Instead, be heroes one and all.
Let's teach our children to stand tall.
by: Don Bendell
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