Dignified and unbowed
Wednesday, 1 October 2008, 12:36 pm | 2,799 views
Latest update: JBJ’s funeral cortege leaves Funeral Parlour 1, Mount Vernon, at 1 pm on 4 Oct; for 2pm service at St Andrews Cathedral; Cremation at 4.30pm, Mandai Crematorium, Hall 3. Join the Facebook tribute, click here. It has more than 1,100 members so far.
TOC Obituary
Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam (5 January 1926 - 30 September 2008)
Choo Zheng Xi / Editor-in-Chief
To read Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam’s history of speeches in Parliament is to marvel at the breadth of the task he took upon himself in 1981, when he entered Parliament as Singapore’s only opposition member. While championing the causes of free speech, the rule of law, and social justice, he unfailingly related them to the concerns of ordinary people.
His overarching philosophy was simple. In the Introduction to his book, Make it Right for Singapore, he affirmed the set of core principles he stood by:
‘That they (the people) should determine collectively the good of society and not have it determined for them by anyone above them, however benevolent…It follows that in every democratic society, the individual matters, however lowly he might be.’
This was not empty rhetoric. JBJ would unfailingly enter the arena of Parliament armed with the concerns of ordinary citizens. In one Parliamentary sitting typical of many of his speeches, he brought with him hospital bills of a ‘senior citizen, 68 years of age, unemployed, no income at all’ who could barely afford the consultation charge at a public hospital.
Upon his return to Parliament in 1997 as a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP), he moved a motion for an All-Party Committee of Parliament to check on prices for basic necessities, service and conservancy fees, University fees and Class C wards.
In a signature issue that endeared him to taxi-drivers around the island, JBJ constantly inveighed against the diesel tax for taxis, and freeing up taxi ownership licenses from being oligopolized by a handful of companies.
To his mind, no issue was too small to be raised in Parliament, no Singaporean was to be left behind.
The personal toll
The arc of JBJ’s political career is a trajectory of remarkable resilience in the face of hardship.
In his writings, JBJ recalls his fervent support for the UK Labour Party during his university days in London. He held up Aneurin Bevan as his political idol, the coal miner turned Labour Minister responsible for the post-War introduction of the National Health Service (NHS).
While JBJ’s early life never resembled the economic hardship of Bevan’s coal mining days, the turmoil of his political career more than made up for it. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew once boasted that Jeyaretnam knew ‘that in my bag I have a hatchet, and a very sharp one. You take me on, I take my hatchet, we meet in the cul-de-sac’.
Time and again, that hatchet was used on JBJ. In 1986, he lost his parliamentary seat and was disbarred from legal practice after being fined for making a false declaration on the Worker’s Party (WP) accounts in 1982. His disbarment was appealed to the UK Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and was memorably described thus:
The appellant (JBJ) and his co-accused Wong, have suffered a grievous injustice. They have been fined, imprisoned and publicly disgraced for offences of which they are not guilty.
It was to be of no effect. An appeal to the President on the basis of the Privy Council judgment was rejected on the advice of Cabinet.
In 2001, JBJ was to suffer another hatcheting, losing his NCMP seat when he could not pay the damages in a defamation action brought by five People’s Action Party (PAP) MPs.
JBJ bore the blows stoically, selling his books outside Centrepoint in an attempt to discharge himself from bankruptcy. He was bloodied by the hatchet, but stood dignified and unbowed.
But JBJ’s greatest tragedy was personal: the loss of his wife, Margaret Cynthia Walker. They met when he was studying in England, and she had campaigned with him in four failed elections from 1972-1980. She never lived to see his breakthrough victory in Anson, succumbing to breast cancer in 1980. Her death affected him deeply, and might have been the only time in his political career he bordered on regret. In an interview JBJ gave a TOC contributor four months before his passing, he said:
She shared my ideals and then, she left me… for a time I thought why should I carry on? I should just give up,” he said. “But if I wanted to give up, I should have given it up before she died. Then, I don’t know. I might have saved her life.
In his footsteps
To hold JBJ up as a symbol is easy. He stood for those hard done by in a city of plenty of plenty. He stood for an instinctive and simple sense of social justice. He stood for a principled and unyielding position in a political culture that placed a premium on pragmatism.
But the highest honor any Singaporean can pay JBJ is to walk the path he began back in 1981. To live a life of courage, principles, and empathy with our fellow men. To speak truth to power, whoever the ruler may be, at whatever the cost. As JBJ in the interview said:
The strength is in the ordinary people.
———-
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he didn”t see white
that ruffled feathers
a truly honest and courageous man who lived life to the fullest.
What a life well-lived. Our children, whom I believe will live to see a democratic Singapore, will thank him more than the current generation has.
Rest in peace, dear JBJ.
The true measure of one’s success in life and legacy in death is the amount of sincere tears shed and spontaneous accolades tendered. JBJ’s epitomised all of that in every respect.
And my hat off to TOC team for changing the colour of your website header to an appropriate somber black I believe, out of respect to the mourning of JBJ’s passing. This gesture will not be forgotten. Thank you.
My greatest shame is not having even a minuscule amount of JBJ’s courage and conviction.
I just in time to come I, if not others, could show that JBJ fight for democracy has not been in vain.
If only any of our nominated MP’s had an ounce of JBJ in them , I think Singapore would be about Singaporeans.
His stood the test of time and he has brought light into my understanding of Politics in Singapore.
May his soul rest in peace.
May we all continue to strive for what we believe in to make Singapore a better place for Singaporeans.
Dear JBJ
RIP. You are not here to walk with us anymore and we mourn our loss. Rest assured, however, that we will continue to walk to reclaim our birthright of freedom, justice, and equality. We will not allow the path you have opened up for us to be lost. We, the ordinary people, whom you believe in and for whom you fought, will be strong. And one day, hopefully soon, your dream which is also our dream, will become reality.
The adversities and setbacks that I have faced in my life simply pales in comparison to JBJ.
The biggest inspiration was seeing a vile political system that failed to put a man like JBJ down. He has shown me the meaning of going the full distance.
To the family of JBJ, I share your loss, but JBJ will not be forgotten.
JBJ’s example of courage and conviction makes me feel deeply ashame of the 82 PAP MPs and in my memory, JBJ is a true Son of Singapore.
I really would like to read his books; where can I find them?
Arix,
The book is important to JBJ and I notice they place the book in the premise of JBJ’s wake. You might want to visit the wake to browse the book. I’m sure the people there will be happy to let you get one there.
Rest in peace, JBJ.
For your spirit will live on. You are my role model.
RH:
1. For the record, JBJ was not a loser as a few might think : he, TANG Liang Hong and colleagues WON the 1997 Cheng San GRC elections but LIE KY and LHL cheated by stuffing fake PAP votes into 10 fake ballot boxes when the counting was almost over [see my blog for proofs].
2. Just like LIE KY cheated in the 1963 GE using a 6-hour electricity blackout around the City Hall vote counting centre, thus turning a Barisan landslide WIN into a landslide LOSS. He ordered everybody out of the counting hall during the 6-hour blackout. When they were allowed to return, most of the [fake] votes turned out to be his.
3. Rule of Law? His entire LIEgime is illegal, illegitimate and totally without mandate since he cheats/cheated routinely in elections. He and his son and their ilk are just an ordinary bunch of crooks, seizing and hanging onto power to pay themselves millions, and to control our billions for their own personal gain such as Royal Treatment from all countries wanting their ‘investments’.
4. The system LIE KY has created is a classic exploitative one, based on milking the captive population, with a miniscule economy that drops when the few pills-making factories shut for cleaning! The many MNCs are just showcase to Look Good and their operations here actually prevent the growth and development of local SMEs, who are reduced to supplying paper clips and toilet paper. These MNCs compete, dominate, drive up rentals and costs, so our SMEs can never grow. The GLCs, estimated to comprise >3/4 of the economy, then complete the final coup de grace. Any wonder why Singapore cannot produce anything?
5. LIE KY’s Golden Period is just another classic Bubble. And at this point in history, we all know what happens to Bubbles.
can someone tell me where his funeral will be held? sry that if i’ve ask a repeated qns
There will be a funeral service at the St Andrew’s Cathedral on 4 Oct 08, Saturday at 2:00 pm. The cortege will leave for the Mandai crematorium at 3:30 pm.
沒有一黨獨大！
只有全民最大！
To our fellow country man, JBJ has lead by example and never twisted his way around issue and views. For that I give the man credit, it is a person of such caliber that is needed to lead this country out of the puppet show.
May he rest in peace and may his fighting spirit for the people of Singapore live on to make the difference, that he has contributed towards the Singaporean cause.
Best wishes JBJ, Singaporeans and the world will miss you.
[...] Source: The Online Citizen [...]
I hope that all of us can pick up the gauntlet and continue the journey to which he has laid the foundation for all of us.
Let us hope that his death will not be in vain and we will achieve true democracy one day.
Arix,
it is confirmed the book can be found there.
Take a look
http://www.breitbart.com/image.php?id=app-508c8965-fcc0-4a36-b0c0-37035b1b3c96&show_article=1
A great man is always in great respect by his allies and opponents except for some paranoid and his family who keep holding to power for own selfish gain.
————————————————-
Singapore’s former president, C. V. Devan Nair, writes about opposition leader J. B. Jeyaretnam and his political party: the Workers’ Party.
A SERIOUS threat of closure faces the Workers’ Party led by Mr J. B. Jeyaretnam because of failure to pay the forbidding damages awarded against the Party by a court in Singapore. One hopes against hope that this might be avoided at the last minute. It is a slim hope.
The world has come to assume, rightly or wrongly, that the political tactics used by the governing PAP against opposition politicians have for some time come to include suing their pants off, forcing them into bankruptcy and losing their seats in parliament as a result. Now the same device is resorted to against opposition political parties themselves, as registered institutions. The onus of proof is on the government of Singapore - not on global public opinion.
Nothing that smacks of opposition seems safe in Singapore any longer. Singaporeans must sooner or later come to realise the harsh truth that nobody in Singapore is truly saved unless ALL are SEEN to be saved. The post of no return has long passed for Singaporeans, and one fears they will perforce learn this lesson the hard way. In the ultimate analysis, this is probably best.
The more painful the price paid to learn basic human lessons, the more firmly might they become embedded in the national fibre. A free Singapore will arise and justify the sacrifices and efforts of undaunted Singaporeans, now including the courageous Chee Soon Juan, who had immolated themselves on the altar of freedom. Phoenix-like, their dreams will rise once again from their ashes. Were this process not true, the world would have come to an end long ago.
It is just as well that I release this requiem now. If not timely yet, it will be soon enough. Here goes, for good or ill to myself:
Some months after I was kicked upstairs to the presidency of the republic of Singapore in October 1981, there was a by-election in the parliamentary constituency of Anson, which I had held prior to my ill-fated elevation.
I had won that seat with a comfortable majority of some 80 percent of the votes cast. The PAP’s candidate in the by-election was a relative unknown, while the Workers Party put up J.B Jeyaretnam. To the consternation of the PAP, Jeyaretnam won.
The day after the by-election verdict was declared, I had lunch with the Prime Minister. I was amazed at how he fretted and fumed like a caged fury. As I saw it, Jeyaretnam constituted no threat at all to the PAP whether in parliament or outside it.
For one thing, despite Jeyas courage, he displayed a woeful lack of economics. He clearly never knew at any point of time how Singapore clicked economically. And it was as plain as a pikestaff to me that in five years of free performance in ‘parliament against the likes of Dr Goh Keng Swee, Mr Lim Kim San et al, he would stand exposed in public for his abysmal ignorance of economics.
In truth, if I had to cope with J.B Jeyaretnam as a hostile delegate at regular National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) Delegates Conferences, I would have given him all the rope and more he wanted to hang himself with. And after free and open arguments over three days of conferencing, I would have beaten him hands down at the ballot box.
I knew this, as did the workers. For they knew that in the colonial days, Jeyaretnam had never stood on a picket line. I had, not once but several times, not only stood on picket lines, but also bedded down for the night on the gravel with the workers whom I led.
I told all this to Kuan Yew. Nothing I said sank in. He fretted about a potential critical percentage drop in PAP votes across all the constituencies that could eventually bring the PAP government down, and he wouldn’t stand for it.
Only later did I realise that this was the moment that started his formidable brain box ticking away furiously at the fecund gerrymandering schemes he was to introduce later to ensure that all opposition parties would be put in a Gordion bind that would make it impossible for them to ever achieve control of parliament, unless an Alexander came along.
Such a possibility appears impossible now, unless it takes the awesome shape of shattering geo-political circumstances already building up around Singapore.
Immediately, however, Kuan Yew’s attention was concentrated on how he would deal with J.B Jeyaretnam in parliament. I was quite alarmed at some of the things he told me at that lunch. “Look,” he said, “Jeyaretnam cant win the infighting. I’ll tell you why. WE are in charge. Every government ministry and department is under our control. And in the infighting, he will go down for the count every time.” And I will never forget his last words. “I will make him crawl on his bended knees, and beg for mercy.”
Jeyaretnam was made of sterner stuff. To his eternal credit he never did crawl on bended knees, or ever begged for mercy.
And it is to Lee Kuan Yew’s eternal shame that Jeyaretnam will leave the political scene with his head held high, enjoying a martyrdom conferred on him by Lee. Lest I be misunderstood, let me state that Jeya more than deserves the crown of the martyr for his indomitable courage and dignity in the face of the vilest persecution.
Even greater human spirits than Jeyaretnam had refused to bend their knees to Lee Kuan Yew. It is my considered view that the greatest human being living in Singapore today is one who declined to surrender to the intimidation of prolonged incarceration and restrictions imposed on him without trial for a total period which exceeds that suffered by Nelson Mandela.
And here was the mark of true greatness. He emerged from the experience like a god unembittered. His name is Chia Thye Poh. And it is Lee Kuan Yew who emerged from the episode as the knave and fool of his own mindless vindictiveness, while the real conqueror smiles benignly - unnoted, of course, by the local media. For only sound waves from the Istana Annexe are picked up and regurgitated by His Master¹s Voice.
There is no political justification for obliging the Workers’ Party to close down. And not a shred of moral justification. What lies behind the move is among the most brazen vindictiveness ever shown in the political life of Singapore.
It merely adds one more nail in the coffin of the PAP’s reputation when the true history of the party will be exposed to the world, as it surely will be one day in the coming decades of the third millennium.
As mankind accelerates to the abyss, the shining memories of the past will certainly not include Lee Kuan Yew and the department store dummies he boasts today as his acolytes. He clearly does not possess the foresight to avoid such a fate.
I gladly salute J.B. Jeyaretnam and the Worker’s Party at this highly deserved requiem, even if I never once had shared their platform.
C. V. Devan Nair.
Former President
Republic of Singapore.
March 26, 1999
will the late jbj of singapore be given an award at next year national day? i hope he will recieve one.
hope yet that opposition parties and NCMP will take up where JB left off.
Hope that PAP MPs and ministers will shake off the yoke of the Money God, wealth maximisation and million dollar salaries and serve the common people.
Hope.
this is the THE EULOGY we accept fully..not that piece of crap from a so called leader of Singapore!
2Ti 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Rest in Peace, JBJ
The Singapore government has treated you badly JBJ. May your soul rest in peace in heaven. Fear not JBJ for God says “Revenge is mine! I will punish those who oppressed my people.” Your courage and fortitude in the face of adversity will forever reside in the heart of the common people.
Politics is really weird; the names of Chia TP and JBJ had been mentioned in the blogs. While I do not know either men personally, saying sorry to any real wrongs done is never too late; forgiveness is also divine. Judgement day may not be far off.
Here and now is the opportunity to set things right in addition to the condolences.
It can only be good for the soul to be set free from inner guilt and torment….
Also there will be no labeling, no career disruption and no paycut…….
So please step up.
I regret not having ever bought the books before from Mr Jeyaretnam while he was at Centrepoint. A fear, perhaps, or being spotted doing so. but now that the chance is gone with his passing, I’m only left with regrets. and shame that my irrational fear has held me back from doing nothing wrong. Like the author said, the highest honor any Singaporean can pay JBJ is to walk the path he began back in 1981. To live a life of courage, principles, and empathy with our fellow men. Perhaps it is time to be a man and stand up and be counted. And i think, there’s no time like the present.
Sorry Sir JBJ, I regretted for ignoring you when I saw you at Centrepoint many many years back when I am in my early twenties, I was ignorant and a fool then fearfully of the watchful eyes around and just started a job in the govt ministry. I sincerely seek your forgiveness Sir JBJ. Though I agree we are enslaved with no freedom and oppressed, I had not dare to air this view. Now being older, I really appreciate and understand your view point and belief, fighting for the poor, enslaved and oppressed Singaporean like me.
Thank You Sir JBJ, I respect and honour you and thank you for loving God’s people selflessly & unconditionally. I believe we will exercise our vote wisely in the GE. May God bless your soul and bless you with Eternal Life, pray for us too and please forgive us for our ignorance and foolishness.
I will always respect and honour you, Sir.
Sir JBJ, rest in God’s peace. I SALUTE to you, SIR JBJ.
God bless you, JBJ. We will keep your legacy alive.
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My posts made last night have been CENSORED; ie removed.
So much for accepting alternate views which are NOT racially, religiously or culturally offensive.
Rather just whining, ranting, reminiscing and all those useless diatribe, put your money and effort where your words are by joining or supporting JBJ’s Reform Party.
RIP to the true Singapore Patriot who fought for the Singapore people and for the country.
The best condolences the Lees and Goh and the PAP could give to JBJ is for the old Lee to attend the wake and service of JBJ (to show how gracious he is, which he obviously is not), go down on their knees before JBJ’s dead body to pray for forgiveness and return all the money that they have gotten from JBJ to a charity.
Sir you are a true son of Singapore. You did everything for the people of Singapore at a very expensive cost. You could have a led wealthy lifestyle with your family but you chose to fight for a cause. You took all the heavy blows and still kept going for the people of Singapore till your last breath. True Singaporean ,May you a take break and Rest in Peace.
I could never imagine the fortitude of the people that wrote here.
Death has never seen so dignified. Not in my life. 27 years.
Devan Nair. You have my respect. You were ahead of your time in judgement.. And bold enough to make it. Not like most of us. When the Great Person is Dead.
Dear Sir,
I did not see you in Centrepoint. But I saw you in CIty Hall. And I couldn’t even fork out twenty dollars to buy your book. I’m really sorry. Now I want to read it. But you’re gone. And its never gonna be the same.
Please give me wisdom and ability to follow in your footsteps.
Please give me wisdom and strength not to repeat the mistakes that you would not want your future generations to commit..
Please allow me to take this spirit, courage, fight and faith further on. So we can see some light.
Not solely for the opposition. But Really. For Singapore.
And the sons and daughters that depend on it and will continue to live here and be rooted here to make this country work. Irregardless of economy, opportunities or prospects. Like we have so been brought up to expect. Of a home; as a meritocratic generation.
Let us learn the forgotten values that this generation have taken for granted. Nation beyond Self. People before Party. Self love, Self respect, tolerance and all that embodies Human rights inclusive of national pride and all that makes self more than we see it today.
Of stating controversy as it is; Regardless of situation, environment, presence of support. or lack thereof.
Of building this country ourselves. Singaporeans. And those who call this home. Not depending on others who neither own this country nor will be here when times are difficult and unfavorable for us.
Help us to walk the steps of faith. To lay our lives like you have. To tread the beaten humiliated path that has no end in sight.
To always keep our eyes above. Even when we fall. To look to heaven. Even when our captors blinds our sight.
Help us.
For this road was not easy. And you know it best.
Thanks for taking the walk. Now we see new roads. And we have to walk them ourselves. God help us.
Many will still fall. But your footprints will be a guide. Laid in stone.
Farewell Hero.
Your sword and bloodstained armor. Your future generations will fill.
May the worthy carry your honor.
May your name live forever.
[...] Internet Footprint I was looking through my Facebook today and i came across this article that was being shared on the late Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam. For those who don’t know him, [...]