Guan Eng’s trials and tribulations should not be in vain but contribute towards a better Malaysia - with justice for all!

(Penang, Sunday): This is the third time that DAP Deputy Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Guan Eng, spent his third birthday (December 8, 1998) and third Christmas in jail.  The first time was in the Malacca police lock-up  in 1987 when he was detained under the Internal Security Act during Operation Lalang and was being held under the first 60 days of interrogative custody, while the second time was in 1988 when he was detained  at the Kamunting Detention Centre together with me. Guan Eng and myself were the last of the two Operation Lalang ISA detainees to be released in April 1989, after 18 months’ detention

Guan Eng has lost  10 kg (or 22 pounds) or almost 15% of his weight after  four months of imprisonment.

On behalf of Guan Eng, I want to thank Malaysians who have sent Guan Eng birthday wishes and Christmas greetings.  I am particularly touched by those who feel so deeply about the injustice of Guan Eng’s case that they wished they could do one or  two weeks’ jail sentence in Kajang Prison  for Guan Eng.

If  Malaysia has a system where it is possible  for another person to serve in full or in part the jail sentence for another, even for a week or two, I have no doubt that there would be enough Malaysians who would be prepared to spend a spell in jail for Guan Eng’s behalf to cover the entire 18-month jail sentence imposed on Guan Eng.

But we do not have such a system in Malaysia and rightly so. However, it is the thought of Malaysians who feel so outraged that they wish they could serve a week or two of jail for Guan Eng that counts - as it show that the battle for justice, truth and freedom, however long, hardy and lonely, is not all lost.

There are of course cruel and heartless people who would declare, whether on the Internet or elsewhere, that they do not care for Guan Eng’s plight and who could even say that Guan Eng deserve his two concurrent 18-month jail sentences - but I believe that this is only a very small handful of very bigoted and misguided people.

I want to thank all who have continued to pray for Guan Eng and send their messages of support, sympathy and solidarity to Guan Eng in prison.  I particularly thank the composer of the following poem which he sent for Guan Eng:
 

A BRIGHT LIGHT SHINES

The skies are dark
but a bright light shines
through grey clouds
of injustice
terror and pain

A brave man smiles
though his heart is heavy
the burden he carried for a widow
has landed him in gaol

Like a knight in shining armour
he heard a maiden's plea
he heeded the call
to help set her free

Instead he was caught
in an evil web of intrigue
justice took flight
and he was denied his rights

Alone he suffers
for someone else's sin
Like Christ who died
on the Cross for sinners
like you and me

His wife cries
his children weep
but every tear sown
will be the harvest
our hero will reap

The day will come when
darkness is rolled away
and the light dawns
and a new day begins

A day of hope, justice
will reign
The prisoner will sing
and the persecutor will
be put to shame

Patiently we wait
silently we endure
it is in the dungeon
on our knees
that our strength
is restored

God hears the cries
of those who are wronged
his ears are attentive
and his vengeance
is swift and strong

Fear not, Guan Eng
for 18 months is not long
in the eyes of eternity
freedom quickly comes,
the pain is soon gone.

You have achieved far more
than anyone I know
you helped a widow who
had nowhere else to go

God will not forget you
God is your redeemer
God will vindicate you
God hears your prayer.

Alas I am as helpless
as you are in your cell
But I do think of you
in my prayers
I know all is well

For what you have done
will not be forgotten
by those who understand
kindness, sacrifice
and high- handed persecution
Your name will be written
in the hearts of those
who hold you dear
a patriot,
 a worthy parliamentarian
a beacon whose light shines
brightly over our darkened shores.

Vignettes of Prison Life in Kajang Prison

These vignettes indicate how Lim Guan Eng deals with adversities, harsh physical conditions or the rigours of prison life.  All the information and incidents were culled from conversations Guan Eng had with his family members and lawyers during prison visits.

1.  Food

a)  Breakfast comprise of a slice of bread with margarine and a cup of weak tea or coffee.
b)  Tea is a slice of bread with a small piece of local fruit.
c)   Lunch and dinner are served at 12.30 p.m. and 4 p.m. (an improvement of the previous times of 11.30 a.m. and 2.30 p.m.).

The 14 meals each week comprise the following:-

(i)  6 meals of salted fish and wet vegetables
(ii)  2 meals of meat
(iii)  4 meals of fish
(iv)  2 meals of a single egg each.

With such a poor diet, it is not surprising that Guan Eng has lost 10 kg (22 pounds) or almost 15% of his weight after four months.  Guan Eng however consoles his family by saying that "he eat to live, not live to eat" and "At least he’s still alive".  He relates an incident during a meal on Sunday where each prisoner is given a single hard-boiled egg.  He was unlucky enough to receive a rotten egg. As he could not get a replacement egg, he had to eat plain rice. How he long for some ‘kicap’ to go with his plain rice!  Still, this experience will allow him to have a better story to tell his children than the one his mother told him when he was young. To coax the children to finish their rice when  young, his mother loved to compare her difficult days when she had to eat rice only with kicap.  Now, Guan Eng can say that he is worse off than his mother, kicap also not available - just plain rice!

2.  Physical Conditions
 

A bare cell is provided. Mattresses are given only after three months. Due to the hard cold cement floor, Guan Eng suffered severe back pains.  The cold seeped into his backbone.  His requests for a mattress was turned down by a senior prison official who insisted that all prisoners must be treated equally so that there is no more repeat of Abdullah Ang.  Guan Eng was furious that his request for a thin mattress to alleviate his back pains when he had a health problem was equated with Abdullah Ang. Abdullah Ang had got a water bed which was illegal. Guan Eng felt he was paying for the sins of Abdullah Ang.

The genuineness of Guan Eng’s complaint was demonstrated when two X-rays conducted showed low bone density and a hairline gap at his fifth lumbar.  He is still seeking treatment.  Guan Eng suffered when sleeping, waking up every hour or two due to the pain.  At times the pain was so intense that he was immobilised for a while.

This resulted in an incident when Guan Eng was awakened in the middle of the night by something crawling on his stomach. He looked (lights were kept on 24 hours a day in his cell) and was repelled by the sight of ants. Of ants carrying a dead cockroach (as their food) and using Guan Eng’s stomach as a bridge to cross over. Guan Eng could only swipe the insects off as he was temporarily immobilised by his back pains.

3.  Family visits
 

Guan Eng is most upset by the arrangements where his family are forced to visit him separated by a mirror and conversation conducted through a noisy telephone. He feels his young children  emotionally detached from him.  Using the telephone only increases the emotional distance as his young two-year-old son calling Papa is almost similar to saying "Hello".  Visits once every three weeks only makes families further apart.

It is always during such visits that Guan Eng feels like a criminal.  He worries about his imprisonment causing adverse psychological effects on his children.  And feels the injustice when  the ones to be punished should be the rapists who raped the underaged girl.  Instead of the rapists spending time in prison, the rapists are free and need not even spend a day in jail.  The Attorney-General never appealed against the rapists not serving a jail sentence but prosecuted Guan Eng for highlighting this issue and even appealed to the courts to demand a jail sentence for Guan Eng when the Attorney-General’s Chambers never demanded a jail sentence for the rapists.

This gives the impression that rapists in Malaysia can get away without being jailed whereas an  elected MP who questions such perverse justice is  jailed.  Do rapists in Malaysia have more rights than rape victims and conscientious MPs like Guan Eng?

Whither Justice? Whither Women’s Rights?

My  family feels very strongly about the treatment of Guan Eng and the ill-health he suffered as a result of the harsh rigours of prison life. We  will however let facts speak for themselves.  Guan Eng has always faced his sufferings with dignity, maintained good spirits and even a wry humour at his present predicament.  My family hopes that all of Guan Eng’s trials and tribulations will not be in vain but contribute towards bringing about a better Malaysia, "With Justice For All".

(27/12/98)