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Former political detainee and prisoner of conscience Said Zahari passes away

RandomNexus

Alfrescian
Loyal
Saw this news this morning and was wondering whether anybody here in SBF will post or remember him.

None at all.

Interesting.

Said Zahari was a towering figure of the past - the past when the lefties, so-called lefties and righties fight for political supremacy in this land.

All are forgotten and left as footnotes of history.

Folks who proliferate the threads are more interested in calling out names and engaged in Spam Wars. The body's anatomy are more of interest in citation. How "interesting".

Anyway just posting here for ... not sure what reason though :-)

RIP Said Zahari.

++++



Said Zahari, an advocate of free media and political detainee, passed away today (12 Apr) at 12.30pm. “Innalillah, my father Said Zahari had passed away at 12.30 in the afternoon,” his son Norman announced the media icon’s passing in Facebook. The 88-year-old was struck with several strokes in recent years which immobilised him.

Said Zahari, also known as Pak Said, was labeled a ‘communist’ and detained by the government of Lee Kuan Yew for 17 years without trial. He holds the distinction of being the second longest-serving political detainee arrested under the Internal Security Act in Singapore after Chia Thye Poh.

In a documentary made by filmmaker Martyn See in 2006, Pak Said said that he was arrested during Operation Coldstore, a joint Singaporean-Malaysian operation to silence 117 opposition and union leaders of both countries.

In the documentary, Pak Said recounted the events that follows his election as chairman of Parti Rakyat Singapura on the night before Operation Coldstore. He details his subsequent detention where he was kept in solitary confinement for long period in poor condition and explicitly threatened with death if he did not choose to confess his alleged crimes and cooperate with the authority. Part of the film shows the media icon conversing with the interviewer in fluent Mandarin, which he was taught during his forced detention without trial by fellow Chinese educated detainees, who were in the majority.

The movie was banned in Singapore by the Board of Film Censors under the Films Act. The Board said that the documentary “gives a distorted and misleading portrayal of Said Zahari’s arrest and detention under the Internal Security Act in 1963”, and prohibited its possession and distribution.

Pak Said a Singapore citizen, was granted permanent residency in Malaysia to join his family there by then prime minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Amnesty International recognizes Pak Said as a former “prisoner of conscience.”

Political exile Tan Wah Piow mourned the death of Pak Said and referred to him as “the intellectual role model of my generation”.
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
Saw the small column. At least he outlived old man. He became disillusioned after his visit to China.
 

RandomNexus

Alfrescian
Loyal
Saw the small column. At least he outlived old man. He became disillusioned after his visit to China.

Bro, I am presently reading Poh Soo Kai's latest book. Interesting stuff as this one is more researched with references than previous biographies. We miss Lee Siew Choh and Devan Nair books as they promised to write but unable to complete.

My thought : Once upon a time, on this land, there were a group of young men and women who fought for ideals in this land.

One group triumphed and re-wrote history. The other is still trying to be remembered. It is a life they have lived and fought for in this country. They cannot let it go away unrecognised even after LKY has passed on.
 

JohnTan

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
If the likes of Said Zahari, Lim Chin Siong had come to power, Ah Gong and the Old Guard may have been put away or even shot. Ah Gong did what he had to do to survive and to ensure Singapore doesn't become a failed state. It's thanks to Ah Gong that Singapore transformed from a fishing village in 1965 to a metropolis by the 1980s.
 

harimau

Alfrescian
Loyal
Slowly, all mati one by one.

Let bygones be bygones.

Let them carry their beggage, regrets, hatred, anger and anguish to their graves.

We should all look forward to a brand new day!
 
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scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
It was a rich and important part of our history. It was sad that Lee Siew Choh's family did not want it published and they may have their reasons. Devan I suspect who is prolific in the written word must have a
realised that it would implicate him and so decided to stick to the events that led to his dismissal.

By the way, the person who implicated Poh which led to his second detention also implicated Ho Kwon Ping years earlier. Ho confessed on TV and went into exile to HK with his wife. Wife now a very good friend of HC. Ho now a trusted member of the establishment. And Ho and LWL were invited to write columns for ST under a new programme then.



Bro, I am presently reading Poh Soo Kai's latest book. Interesting stuff as this one is more researched with references than previous biographies. We miss Lee Siew Choh and Devan Nair books as they promised to write but unable to complete.

My thought : Once upon a time, on this land, there were a group of young men and women who fought for ideals in this land.

One group triumphed and re-wrote history. The other is still trying to be remembered. It is a life they have lived and fought for in this country. They cannot let it go away unrecognised even after LKY has passed on.
 

GoldenDragon

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
It was a rich and important part of our history. It was sad that Lee Siew Choh's family did not want it published and they may have their reasons. Devan I suspect who is prolific in the written word must have a
realised that it would implicate him and so decided to stick to the events that led to his dismissal.

By the way, the person who implicated Poh which led to his second detention also implicated Ho Kwon Ping years earlier. Ho confessed on TV and went into exile to HK with his wife. Wife now a very good friend of HC. Ho now a trusted member of the establishment. And Ho and LWL were invited to write columns for ST under a new programme then.

not sure about LSC but you are right on Devan Nair. he was once lky's partner-in-crime.
 

yellowarse

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
RIP Said. Another voice of conscience down. With each passing year, the hopes of a nation-healing truth & reconciliation commission grow dimmer.
 

yellowarse

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
My thought : Once upon a time, on this land, there were a group of young men and women who fought for ideals in this land.

One group triumphed and re-wrote history. The other is still trying to be remembered. It is a life they have lived and fought for in this country. They cannot let it go away unrecognised even after LKY has passed on.

Victory is written by victors, sadly. More important than being recognized for this group of brave souls is their – and a moral society's – wish for their exoneration and vindication. This may not happen, ever. A sad blot on our modern history, a nation's soul eternally divided.
 

yellowarse

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Bro, I am presently reading Poh Soo Kai's latest book. Interesting stuff as this one is more researched with references than previous biographies. We miss Lee Siew Choh and Devan Nair books as they promised to write but unable to complete.

Yes, well-researched. A very important book, a must-read for two reasons: Poh Soo Kai is probably the only remaining Op Coldstore detainee in a position to give us the viewpoint from the other side of the divide, and this is the first book chronicling the event's of the '50s and '60s outside the official PAP narrative.

Two generations of Singaporeans have grown up with the PAP version of the Singapore Story: Once upon a time two groups of men fought to free us from the Brits – the rightists, the good guys; and the leftists, the bad guys, also known as commies. The Brits were kicked out, the good guys won, threw all the bad guys into jail, and led Singapore from Third World to First.

The Sinkie mind is truly entombed, stuck in the comic book trope that socialism is evil, market forces are divine, and Marxism and Catholic Christianity share the same bed. It's time that alternative strands of the Singapore Story came into being, for what is history if not the contest of ideas, accounts and perspectives?

The last word certainly hasn't been written yet, but time's running out as these early founding heroes fade off one by one into the sunset.

living-in-a-time-of-deception.jpg
 

soikee

Alfrescian
Loyal
It was a rich and important part of our history. It was sad that Lee Siew Choh's family did not want it published and they may have their reasons. Devan I suspect who is prolific in the written word must have realised that it would implicate him and so decided to stick to the events that led to his dismissal.

By the way, the person who implicated Poh which led to his second detention also implicated Ho Kwon Ping years earlier. Ho confessed on TV and went into exile to HK with his wife. Wife now a very good friend of HC. Ho now a trusted member of the establishment. And Ho and LWL were invited to write columns for ST under a new programme then.



Dr Lee Siew Choh's sister is Mrs Michael Fam.
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
I just remembered, you might want to read the life and time of Gerald de Cruz as there are some gaps that will be filled by this book. He was a full fledged communist who turned his back on them. He worked with Robert Kuok's brother to run the CPM propaganda press. Robert's mother, that though lady paid for the printing press out of love for her sons. She lost 2 sons to the cause. Gerald has some choice words about the old man. Gerald's wife was David's Marshall's confidential PA and old man tried to his usual tricks by meeting him to get his wife to "help". Daughter is Long serving Justice Judith Prakash and Son is Simon from MFa, ambassdor.

Note: I have not read the book, but seen materials from a different source. I suspect it will be rambling especially about Europe but he should identify the usual suspects and provide some interesting read.

Jek YT, James Fu and he were 3 card carrying cadres that switched. Later when the CPM fight ran out of steam, Eu, Plen's superior and Singapore's CPM chief and Sarma returned from China and filled much of the details. Hundreds of foot soldiers also swtiched but these would be the 5 highest ranking amongst the intelligentsia. Due to the cell structure, no one amongst them would have the complete picture.

Bro, I am presently reading Poh Soo Kai's latest book. Interesting stuff as this one is more researched with references than previous biographies. We miss Lee Siew Choh and Devan Nair books as they promised to write but unable to complete.

My thought : Once upon a time, on this land, there were a group of young men and women who fought for ideals in this land.

One group triumphed and re-wrote history. The other is still trying to be remembered. It is a life they have lived and fought for in this country. They cannot let it go away unrecognised even after LKY has passed on.
 

Rogue Trader

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
While the "losers" prefer to keep their mouths tightly shut, many in the "winning" camp still attend regular gatherings

Old PAP ties going strong in 'Makan Club'


20160328-st-makanclub.jpg

Mr Ong Pang Boon (seated, second from left) and other MK Club members at the club's anniversary gathering on March 20. They include (seated, from right) Mr Ng Puak Khoon, Mr Chang Weng Fai, current president Madam Hoe Puay Choo, Mr Chan Chee Seng, and his wife, Madam Chan Chin Oi.
Photo: The Straits Times


Leong Weng Kam
THE STRAITS TIMES
Monday, Mar 28, 2016

They are in their late 70s and 80s, but a group of People's Action Party (PAP) stalwarts and founding members are keeping their comradeship alive in a social club formed more than three decades ago.

The MK Club, founded by old guard minister Ong Pang Boon, his late wife Chan Choy Siong, former senior parliamentary secretary Chan Chee Seng as well as former legislative assemblywoman Hoe Puay Choo and 40 other pioneer activists - mostly from the PAP's former Tanjong Pagar branch - marked its 35th year at the Centre of Activity and Recreation for Elders (Care) in Hong Lim Complex last week.

More than 30 of them attended a lunch celebration at Care's auditorium on March 20, held at the same time as the club's annual general meeting.


They also had an advance celebration of Mr Ong's 87th birthday, which is today, before the start of the meeting. Mr Ong, the last surviving member of the PAP's first Cabinet, was the party's founding organising secretary.

He became home affairs minister when the party swept into power after its landslide victory in the 1959 general election, winning 43 of the 51 seats in the then Legislative Assembly.


He held several other ministerial portfolios later, including education, labour and environment, before retiring from politics in 1984.


He explained that MK Club had its origins in an informal group formed by party members at the then headquarters and Tanjong Pagar branch in Neil Road in 1956, two years after the PAP was formed.


"After we finished work every night at the party HQ, a group of us would go for supper at food stalls in Chinatown nearby and that was how the group was started," Mr Ong told The Straits Times.


Madam Hoe, 87, the club's president since 2008, added: "We were all young, in our early 20s, and enjoyed those makan sessions very much."


She left the PAP to join the now-defunct Barisan Sosialis, a left-wing group that broke away from the party, in 1961.

Madam Hoe said the club chose to remain low profile as it is a non-political group.

Members also included those who left to join the United People's Party set up by the late Mr Ong Eng Guan, a former PAP leader and minister.


Former club vice-president Chang Weng Fai, 77, said they decided to register the group officially as a club in 1981 as they wanted it to be more organised, keep proper accounts and spell out its programmes clearly.


At its height in the early 1990s, it had more than 100 members. Their activities included excursions and festive celebrations, and coming together to enjoy food - which now happens only once or twice a year.


Membership has dropped to around 50 today. "We meet more at members' funeral wakes than at our own meetings nowadays, sometimes a few times within the same year," said Mr Ong.


As for the club's name, former party activist and novelist Chong Fun Liam, 85, better known by his pen name Tian Liu, said in the 2009 book on the PAP, Men In White, that the group originally wanted to register itself as the Merdeka Club.


But the name, which meant independence in Malay, was not approved as it had political connotations.


So they simply used MK and called it the Makan Club whenever people asked what the initials stood for. After all, makan, or eating in Malay, was and still is one of its main activities, he explained.


Mr Chan, 85, the club's adviser along with Mr Ong, said he is glad the club is still around after all these years.


"I try to attend all its functions and activities though I am in a wheelchair... because it meant a lot to us as PAP founding members to still be connected today irrespective of our ideologies," he said.



This article was first published on March 28, 2016.
 

Jah_rastafar_I

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
It was a rich and important part of our history. It was sad that Lee Siew Choh's family did not want it published and they may have their reasons. Devan I suspect who is prolific in the written word must have a
realised that it would implicate him and so decided to stick to the events that led to his dismissal.

By the way, the person who implicated Poh which led to his second detention also implicated Ho Kwon Ping years earlier. Ho confessed on TV and went into exile to HK with his wife. Wife now a very good friend of HC. Ho now a trusted member of the establishment. And Ho and LWL were invited to write columns for ST under a new programme then.

Nigger scrooballs when you write about such people can you at least name who the fuck it was that implicated both of them?

Also care to list when did ho and wife return from exile? Also how do you know if his wife is a good friend of the jinx? It seems that you are also privy to Ho jinx social circle who she is good friends with who she is not. I'm curious though did you know about LWL's tremulous relationship with LHL or did you only know about it after the recent incidents?
 

GoldenDragon

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Nigger scrooballs when you write about such people can you at least name who the fuck it was that implicated both of them?

Also care to list when did ho and wife return from exile? Also how do you know if his wife is a good friend of the jinx? It seems that you are also privy to Ho jinx social circle who she is good friends with who she is not. I'm curious though did you know about LWL's tremulous relationship with LHL or did you only know about it after the recent incidents?

chigger, please see my bro Dr Brian Yeo. You need help.
 
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