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The man who loves the law, the spirit and dance
Posted: 24/07/2012 in Reflections
When I first met M Ravi, it was back in 2007 at St Martin’s Drive. Hundreds of Burmese had gathered at the Burmese Embassy there. Ravi was there to lend his support to the Burmese and also to the Singapore Democratic Party’s protest.
I had heard of Ravi before that, of course. And from a distance, yes I wondered if he was not just out for publicity. He had been involved with the court cases involving the SDP then.
I hadn’t had opportunities to know Ravi better until 2009, when he took up Yong Vui Kong’s case. Several activists and I worked with Ravi on the case, and we presented and published a whole slew of reports and articles not just on Vui Kong but on the death penalty itself. We began a campaign for the Government to impose a moratorium on the mandatory death penalty shortly after. It took some 3 years before the Government imposed an unannounced/undeclared moratorium in 2011.
Since my friendship with Ravi evolved to what it is today, a close friendship between friends, I have gotten to know him better, I would say better than many who see him from afar, as I once did.
Besides his passion for the law, Ravi has two other loves – spirituality and dance. Whenever he speaks of Hinduism, his eyes light up and he would go on and on about the beliefs and its teachings. Having studied Hinduism when I was taking a course on Yoga, I could understand what he was saying and perhaps this is why we have an affinity with each other. Underneath that veneer of his legal work, Ravi is first and foremost a very spiritual person.
And that leads to his love for people, and the beauty of the world which he sees around him.
If you understand this, you would have half understood Ravi, and you would also understand why he fights so tirelessly for those condemned to death, especially those whom he feels are condemned unfairly and wrongly.
And in that physical body of his lies a free spirit – a free spirit which he gives expression to through dance. Those of us who know Ravi knows that dancing is his way of moving inwards, to that inner core of his being where his spirit lies.
Yet, in a world such as Singapore, his expression through these things – his spirituality and his dancing – makes him look strange. Lawyers aren’t supposed to act or behave this way – chanting and dancing in private and in public. Lawyers are meant to be prim and proper, all decorum and fit the stereotype.
Instead of seeing him as the odd one out, I see him as a breath of fresh air.
It is always the “odd ones out” who prompt progress in society.
And Ravi is doing just that, even as some may think otherwise.
Yet, it is not an easy thing to do, not an easy path to tread. Stress is a constant shadow hanging over him. And who can blame him? Who – which other experienced lawyers – would lend him a helping hand? It is indeed such an embarassment that there virtually aren’t any other lawyer who would champion the causes Ravi does.
And when he does, he goes the length. For Vui Kong, for example, he goes to Sabah, Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian Parliament, the United Nations, he works through groups in the United Kingdom, international NGOs like Amnesty International, and locally with activists and NGOs here as well.
I have spent many a quiet moments with Ravi. At the end of the day, it all boils down to one thing – his personal experiences which have led him to treasure and love people. And this is a genuine passion. Ravi loves to be surrounded by people, especially those he considers his closest friends.
There will be times when stress is acute. We all go through that, sure. But each of us is made differently, we deal with it differently. I do not fault Ravi for whatever failings he may have because I understand and indeed have seen how much he puts into his work, the endless nights of going without sleep, preparing for the early submissions in court. He does not have an army of assistants to help him and he has to, many times, see to these things himself.
Instead, it is at times when he falls that he needs his friends to carry him, so that he can go on. That is what friends do, what friends are for. Yet, it is not just about his work. It is about him being a friend to all of us – for in doing what he does, we all gain from the better society which we experience, even if for the moment we are not aware of this.
So, whatever is reported in the media about his recent behaviour, remember that Ravi is one of those rare persons in Singapore who openly and honestly wears his heart on his sleeves.
The article below which I wrote in 2010 opened my eyes to the effects of the death penalty. And it was Ravi who took me and a friend on this short trip to visit the family and the grave of Vignes Mourthi – the first death penalty case Ravi handled in 2003, when the late JB Jeyaretnam called on him to help. I am certain that Mr Jeyaretnam is immensely proud of Ravi for what he has done the last 10 years since.
And on this trip to Vignes Mourthi’s family in Malaysia, Ravi taught me a little bit more about life.
For this, I am eternally thankful.
Andrew Loh
Posted: 24/07/2012 in Reflections
When I first met M Ravi, it was back in 2007 at St Martin’s Drive. Hundreds of Burmese had gathered at the Burmese Embassy there. Ravi was there to lend his support to the Burmese and also to the Singapore Democratic Party’s protest.
I had heard of Ravi before that, of course. And from a distance, yes I wondered if he was not just out for publicity. He had been involved with the court cases involving the SDP then.
I hadn’t had opportunities to know Ravi better until 2009, when he took up Yong Vui Kong’s case. Several activists and I worked with Ravi on the case, and we presented and published a whole slew of reports and articles not just on Vui Kong but on the death penalty itself. We began a campaign for the Government to impose a moratorium on the mandatory death penalty shortly after. It took some 3 years before the Government imposed an unannounced/undeclared moratorium in 2011.
Since my friendship with Ravi evolved to what it is today, a close friendship between friends, I have gotten to know him better, I would say better than many who see him from afar, as I once did.
Besides his passion for the law, Ravi has two other loves – spirituality and dance. Whenever he speaks of Hinduism, his eyes light up and he would go on and on about the beliefs and its teachings. Having studied Hinduism when I was taking a course on Yoga, I could understand what he was saying and perhaps this is why we have an affinity with each other. Underneath that veneer of his legal work, Ravi is first and foremost a very spiritual person.
And that leads to his love for people, and the beauty of the world which he sees around him.
If you understand this, you would have half understood Ravi, and you would also understand why he fights so tirelessly for those condemned to death, especially those whom he feels are condemned unfairly and wrongly.
And in that physical body of his lies a free spirit – a free spirit which he gives expression to through dance. Those of us who know Ravi knows that dancing is his way of moving inwards, to that inner core of his being where his spirit lies.
Yet, in a world such as Singapore, his expression through these things – his spirituality and his dancing – makes him look strange. Lawyers aren’t supposed to act or behave this way – chanting and dancing in private and in public. Lawyers are meant to be prim and proper, all decorum and fit the stereotype.
Instead of seeing him as the odd one out, I see him as a breath of fresh air.
It is always the “odd ones out” who prompt progress in society.
And Ravi is doing just that, even as some may think otherwise.
Yet, it is not an easy thing to do, not an easy path to tread. Stress is a constant shadow hanging over him. And who can blame him? Who – which other experienced lawyers – would lend him a helping hand? It is indeed such an embarassment that there virtually aren’t any other lawyer who would champion the causes Ravi does.
And when he does, he goes the length. For Vui Kong, for example, he goes to Sabah, Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian Parliament, the United Nations, he works through groups in the United Kingdom, international NGOs like Amnesty International, and locally with activists and NGOs here as well.
I have spent many a quiet moments with Ravi. At the end of the day, it all boils down to one thing – his personal experiences which have led him to treasure and love people. And this is a genuine passion. Ravi loves to be surrounded by people, especially those he considers his closest friends.
There will be times when stress is acute. We all go through that, sure. But each of us is made differently, we deal with it differently. I do not fault Ravi for whatever failings he may have because I understand and indeed have seen how much he puts into his work, the endless nights of going without sleep, preparing for the early submissions in court. He does not have an army of assistants to help him and he has to, many times, see to these things himself.
Instead, it is at times when he falls that he needs his friends to carry him, so that he can go on. That is what friends do, what friends are for. Yet, it is not just about his work. It is about him being a friend to all of us – for in doing what he does, we all gain from the better society which we experience, even if for the moment we are not aware of this.
So, whatever is reported in the media about his recent behaviour, remember that Ravi is one of those rare persons in Singapore who openly and honestly wears his heart on his sleeves.
The article below which I wrote in 2010 opened my eyes to the effects of the death penalty. And it was Ravi who took me and a friend on this short trip to visit the family and the grave of Vignes Mourthi – the first death penalty case Ravi handled in 2003, when the late JB Jeyaretnam called on him to help. I am certain that Mr Jeyaretnam is immensely proud of Ravi for what he has done the last 10 years since.
And on this trip to Vignes Mourthi’s family in Malaysia, Ravi taught me a little bit more about life.
For this, I am eternally thankful.
Andrew Loh
