 This is
the introduction which I wrote in the book on P.Patto,
"Nenjukku Neethi" (Justice from My Heart). It
is befitting to reproduce this introduction to remember
his ideals and aspirations on his 13th Anniversary of his death on
the 12 - 07 08. Choo Sing Chye
programmed by choo sing chye
This land does not belong to us but
...we belong to the land.
The day was
13th of July 1995, it was P. Patto's funeral. The
afternoon was hazy. The sky was densely covered with dark
gray clouds. The weather on the day was as if it was
intended to rhyme with the mood of the funeral.
An
occasional light drizzle further confounded the free flow
of thousands of mourners who had came to pay their last
respect. But, the drizzle did not deter mourners from
coming to see Patto for the last time.
Many
leaders, friends and supporters cried openly as the
hearse began to inch forward to begin the final journey
for Patto to his resting place. He was finally returning
to the place where he once served as the Member of
Parliament and State Assemblyman (1986-1990).
This was
the end of a man whose illustrious political life had
spanned for more than two decades, fighting for an
utopian society rest on the fundamental political
platform of the inalienable rights of every citizen to
freely participate in every function of his/her own
culture, own language and own religious beliefs. And
furthermore, to freely participate in the running of the
government and the economy without being subjected to
unjust and restrictive laws.
But what
was most important to Patto was that this fair and equal
participation should not elicit hatred among races. It
should somehow elicit genuine brotherly and sisterly
cooperation, respect and love among all the races in
Malaysia. This, Patto believed that it could only be done
by opened door discussions arid public forums as opposed
to closed door discussions where issues were swept under
the carpet as they often did.
I wish to
quote Mahatma Gandhi who spoke on the lack of brotherly
and sisterly cooperation, respect and love among the
Muslims and Hindus during his time in India.
In the
book, "The Life of Mahatma Gandhi', Gandhi
spoke that, "the Hindus did not love
Moslems enough and the Moslems did not love Hindus
enough. India would therefore be divided between
them".
This quote
summed a large part of Patto's belief about brotherly and
sisterly cooperation, respect and love among all the
races in Malaysia. So for Patto, brotherly and sisterly
cooperation, respect and love played an important part in
creating a truly harmonious Malaysia.
Conspicuously,
he hated religious and race bigots who came in many forms
and shapes. It is frighteningly true that some of the
bigots in Malaysia hold high positions in the government.
Like Arthur
de Gobineau (1816-1882), the white supremacist, known as
the Father of Racism, whose demented philosophy still
lives in the minds of some of the elites in Malaysia.
These elites are in fact politically strong, like
Gobineau before them had served important positions in
the French Government; they too are well positioned in
the government. Gobineau expounded the idea that Adam and
Eve were WHITE and not of any low down race. His other
idea that form the basis of his arguments was that
although there were beautiful non white women but they
were definitely not as beautiful as the whites.
There are
people (like Anwar Ibrahim, Hindraf, Raja Petra and
others) who are willing to sacrifice everything to take
on these Gobineaus in Malaysia. But unfortunately, it is
becoming rare to find such people. And it had become
rarer with the passing of Patto.
Patto saw
these bigots as a hindrance to a harmonious society in
Malaysia. He had in him a burning passion to fight
against them and believed that one day Malaysia would
become a place in the sun for all, where all Malaysians
are judged not by the colour of their skin or religion
but by their character.
To Patto,
the place in the sun is a place where no one single group
of people should lay claim on Malaysia as their own.
Patto believed that Malaysia is for all Malaysians. His
ideal could be neatly summed up as what the Iroquois
Indians had in mind about a homeland in Canada, "the
land does not belong to us but ...we belong to the
land."
Another
wish of Patto was that Malaysia would one day become a
land where people are not prosecuted for what they think
or say. If there is any prosecution at all, it should be
for criminals like robbers, rapists, murderers and etc.
Freedom
should not be reserved for the Barisan Nasional's
politicians only but for all. The Barisan Nasional's
politicians have always expounded the idea that freedom
is anarchy. They want us to believe it because they want
to instill fear in us. If there is freedom in Malaysia,
they know that they would not hold on to power that
easily. They would be closely scrutinized by the people,
this they do not want.
Freedom
should not be seen as a commodity of the anarchists, it
should be seen as a tool of the people to demand for an
honest and open government.
Freedom, as
Franklin Delano Roosevelt put it in simple term:
In the
future days, which we seek to make
secure, we
look
forward to a world founded upon four
essential freedoms.
The
first is freedom of speech and
expression everywhere in the world.
The
second is freedom of every person to
worship God in his own way - everywhere
in the world.
The
third is freedom from want - everywhere
in the world.
The
fourth is freedom from fear - everywhere
in the world.
Patto was a
humble, kind, generous and compassionate man without
wealth or any official title. And yet he had a wealth of
kindness and compassion in him that had won him
admiration and love from all races. For those who had
known him had only one common feeling about this man,
that was respect and love.
In all the
years he had fought for the people, he never once
received official title or medal from the government. To
Patto, this was not important. What was important was
that the people recognised his deeds and his sacrifices.
He even dislikes being called, "Yang Behormat".
Apparently
when one visits his office, one would see a huge wooded
sign board with these words written on it, "fighter
of the people". The wooden board was presented to
him by the people - a sincere form of recognition and
gratitude that value more than medals or titles.
The news of
his death at the age of 48, on 12th July 1995, had left
us in disbelief. Nobody would believe that he died at a
time when the party and the nation needed him most.
Had he
lived, he would be the firebrand in the Malaysian Ninth
Parliament. He had without doubt excelled himself as one
of the best and effective parliamentarian.
On a few
occasions after his defeat in the 1990 General Elections,
I came across many who said that it was a shame that
Patto was not elected in 1990 for he would have given
hell to the Barisan Nasional's politician then. As fated,
he was to serve only 78 days as Member of Parliament for
Bagan after the 1995 General Election.
But now,
the people had to be contented with a parliament without
his voice. A voice that had represented the downtrodden,
the weak and the poor. A voice that we have known and
loved for more than two decades. A voice that would be
missed by all Malaysians who love democracy. For Malaysia
had just lost a true son of democracy.
It is not
difficult to understand or to get to know Patto. He was a
man who I know could mix literary with all levels of
society, from the rich to the very poor from intellectual
to the illiterate. Hence, it was not surprising to see
him very much at ease, chatting with his constituents at
the roadside 'roti canai' stall or 'mee stall'.
When he
visited his constituency, there was no great fanfare
displayed like those displayed for the Barisan National's
leaders, huge posters and flags to welcome them. Patto
would just pop in and talk to the people.
There was
no communication gap between him and his constituents. He
was always around to listen and help whoever needed it,
be she or he a Malay, a Chinese or an Indian, it did not
matter to him.
He was not
constricted to a narrow view like many politicians of
'you Chinese', 'you Malay' and 'you Indian'. All he saw
was, Malaysians and nothing else.
Not many
politicians could genuinely come down to earth to speak
or to listen to the ordinary people like Patto.
Not only
can he mix with people of all sundries, he also was well
known Internationally.
When he was
released from detention in 1989 there were restrictions
imposed on him. He could not hold any position in the
party; his movements were restricted and worse of all he
could not speak publicly to the people. But when the
restrictions on him were lifted, he was immediately sent
overseas by the Party to attend a Socialist,
International meeting in Rome. There he was overwhelmed
by the unexpected rousing welcome given by socialist
comrades present.
The person
who was most happy to meet Patto was the late Willy
Brandt, former Chancellor of West Germany, and the then
Chairman of the Socialist International (SI). And while
Patto was incarcerated at the Kamunting Detention camp in
Taiping, Perak, Willy Brandt and SI actively lobbied in
the international circles for his and other detainees
release. So when Patto walked into the conference hall,
there was a standing ovation and Willy Brandt personally
came down from the stage to meet Patto.
From Rome
he flew to London, there he met Adam Raphael, the
columnist from The Observer. Adam Raphael had earlier
written a story on the purchase of Tornadoes by Malaysia
at inflated prices. An excerpt for the Observer:
The
basic price of the Tornadoes bought by the RAF and the
German Luftwaffe is 17-20 million (pounds), depending on
the scale of equipment. But the price of the Tornadoes
being
sold to Malaysia by British Aerospace is nearly 40
million pounds. This huge discrepancy in prices
cannot be accounted for solely by differences in
equipment, servicing training or spares.
This issue
was brought back to Malaysia, and Kit Siang effectively
brought it to Parliament. One of Kit Siang's oral
questions in Parliament:
The first
question directed to the Minister of Defense asks,
"
..why
Malaysian Government agreed to the price of 40 millions
pounds
each for
the 12 British Tornadoes under the
RM 4.5 billion ringgit British arms
deals, when the basic price of the tornado bought by the
British RAF and German Luftwaffe was 17-20 million pounds
each, and whether it is true that the weapons agreed
under the deal are unsuitable for Malaysia's needs."
After this
scandal was known, the government dropped the purchase of
the Tornadoes planes from Britain.
Patto was a
man of many talents and one of his talents lies in public
speaking. He was an eloquent speaker. He could speak in
perfect Malay, English, Tamil and some Cantonese.
In
Parliament, his performance was par excellence. He had a
rare gift in debating issues in parliament. His
spontaneous replies and rebukes had earned him the
respect of the Barisan Nasional's House members.
On one
occasion there was a heated debate between two Barisan
Nasional's Members of Parliament on the issue of taxi
licenses. Patto stood up and quipped that perhaps the
aggrieved Barisan Nasional's Member of Parliament was
sore because he could not get the taxi licenses himself.
This remark put the house in laughter.
Not only
was he quick on replies, he was also knowledgeable on
Parliamentary and State Assembly rules and regulations.
Many MPs and SAs used to come to consult him on these
matters. Apart from this, he was also a good writer and
did not get his one last wish, that was to finish his
book.
1. This Article was
sent to Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today, Aliran and Suaram
on the 12 07 -
08
2. Video Clip of S. A
Mary (Pattos widow) can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJsQp_vAwT4
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