Malaysiakini Your Say | Jul 18, 11
‘If we Malaysians stand up against those cowards in power, we can, once again, call ourselves a decent society.’
How did my friend become a violent subversive?
Ferdtan: We all know the arrests of Dr D Jeyakumar and five other PSM members are collateral damage of the Bersih rally.
It is obvious that they are completely innocent of all the allegations made by the police. We, the rakyat, are not fooled. They were arrested on the onset, before the actual Bersih on July 9, hoping to check mate the Bersih committee and spook them into calling off the march.
For now, we can’t see the PSM 6 being released too easily. The police just cannot lose ‘face’ as their ‘credibility’ would be affected (as if they have one in the first place). The lawyers must put more pressure on the police with legal actions, such as habeas corpus – you will never know, they may be allowed to ‘win’ the case in court.
David Dass: This article by James V Jesudason eloquently and with great insight captures the state of the Malaysian nation.
When we arrest and detain people like Dr Jeyakumar as subversives then there is something fundamentally wrong with institutions that are there to protect the public from the actions of evil men.
Dr Jeyakumar is a well-known personality. He is well-known for the dedicated and selfless work that he has done among poor communities. He is a socialist. And a member of a lawfully registered socialist party.
There is no confusion as to what socialism is. Socialism is not communism. It is not anti-God or opposed to democracy. In fact, Dr Jeyakumar is a democrat.
Why has the government been driven to such a desperate act? How can the work of good men threaten a democratically elected government? Enough people have given testimonials as to the character and nobility of this man. Let him and the five others detained with him go free.
Sathiavany: I do not know Dr Jeyakumar personally. However, I never forgot him from the day I saw him collecting donations for the poor, including the Orang Asli, when I was at Universiti Malaya. Students noticed him as it was unusual to see medical undergraduates being involved in activities other than what was relevant to their studies.
As described by many, he is a gentle person. In later years, when I went to Sungai Siput, many people told me of the wonderful work he was doing. Even people in Kuala Kangsar spoke of him.
People who know him and people who have heard of his work are of course angry and upset with what the police and government are doing. Let us hope they will come to their senses and realise how much harm they have already done.
Lone_star: Malaysia is at a stage where one can say we are in the best of times and in the worst of times. We have Pakatan Rakyat at the verge of taking over Putrajaya and BN of losing it.
It is the silly season and the BN is looking up the ‘commie’ bogeyman to keep the natives in line. Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that the BN, which is experiencing the worst of times, has conveniently labeled Dr Jeyakumar a commie wannabe.
It is so unfortunate that Dr Jeyakumar has to be caught in such times. Civil society will need to act to free him and his friends.
Oh My God: It is so easy to get yourself in deep trouble. What you need to do is to make a little wrong move, someone with authority then make a negative assumption of your move either purposely or mistakenly, then make a police report, and next thing you know, you end up in solitary confinement for a long time.
Malaysian Born: I am confident that the vast majority of the urban sector can make a fairly educated judgement of the situation. My concern is for the poor without regular access to the Internet, being bombarded by the official line.
Dr Jeyakumar is gift to our society in the form of a socialist doctor who has dedicated his entire life to the betterment of the poor and down trodden. The politicians in power should be honoured to be in his presence. The ones who are prosecuting him do not even qualify to polish his shoes.
If the poor get the true story, these leaders will lose their deposits at the next general election.
Paul Warren: What is the point of writing all these? This narrative should be addressed to the ordinary kampong folks whose vote and whose thinking is what Umno is working on.
The ordinary folks need to feel a sense of urgency and fear. After all, they know in their minds that what they have is thanks to Umno. And if Umno is threatened, then they are threatened. Aren’t they told this all the time? Even in mosques?
What they know is a non-Malay, possibly a communist is waging war against the Agong. And all that has been written about Kumar by his various friends has not reached them. So they don’t know any better.
Who is the culprit really? Umno? No. It is their business to stay alive and they will do anything and everything to do just that.
I would suggest that it is the mainstream media. It is they who are abdicating their universal remit and delivering propaganda and lies. It is they who are sustaining these lies.
Onyourtoes: This nincompoop government does not know what it is doing. If Dr Kumar is arrested for his socialist ideals, may I know why only now? Dr Kumar has manifested his ‘socialism’ all his life and why was there no action taken earlier? It is not like the authorities do not know his commitment towards the marginalised groups of the society.
It is the Bersih thing, isn’t it? It is an attempt to intimidate, to impose coercion and to threaten citizens with arbitrary arrest, isn’t it? What else can it be?
Lexicon: ‘No decent society’ would incarcerate someone like Kumar – this addresses the crux of our political problem.
If we Malaysians stand up against the cowards in power and remove them, we can, once again, call ourselves a decent society. We have the avenues to improve our governance.
But our government can only be as good as those who elect it. We must persuade all our colleagues and families to support reform, to register and to vote, and restore decency to our society.
Black Mamba: If socialism, communism and Christianity are such obnoxious words, why is Malaysia engaging them in trade and bilateral relationship? We trade with China, buy Airbuses from France and now seek diplomatic relationship with the Vatican.
The world changes, so will Malaysia in time. Jailing of Dr Jeya is the most unforgivable thing BN has done.
Kyrios: James, thank you for article. Our beautiful country Malaysia has become blind to justice. I am praying for the release of Kumar and other detainees. People like you must come back to Malaysia and fight for the rights of all Malaysians. I am doing my part here.