Who will speak for me?

It did not happen to me.  They’re not anyone I know.  They’re not family, so what happen to them won’t affect me.  -  Have we not uttered these statements some time or other in our lives?  Honestly, I have.  What if it does affect you?  What if it’s you or your loved ones?

Last night I took my elder teenager for her first ‘exposure’ in standing up for one’s rights, in supporting our fellow Malaysians who had been arrested under the Emergency Ordinance 1969 (EO) and to see for herself how other fellow Malaysians stand up for one another.

The candlelight vigil was for six of our fellow Malaysians currently under detention without trial under the EO  namely Dr Jeyakumar, N Saraswathy, Choo Chon Kai, M Sukumaran, A Letchumanan and Sarat Babu. 

Honestly I don’t know any of them personally.  However I’ve heard and read of Dr Jeyakumar’s works and his  tireless efforts towards the marginalized and poor but nevertheless fellow Malaysians. Dr Jeyakumar has been quoted as saying that, “it is not enough just to tell people what is the right thing to do but to stand with them when they do it.”  If any of six above had indeed committed a crime that calls for a jail sentence, then bring them to court to be charged accordingly – not to continue detain them without trial at this time and age.

We’ve been to Lake Club many times for my teenager’s swimming lessons when she was younger.  We’ve also walked and ran around Lake Gardens many times.  However it was her first time seeing the police headquarters in Jalan Tanglin at Lake Gardens.  She never knew it existed for there was no reason for her to go there.  For her to see it up close was an eye-opener for her.  It made me realize there and then, perhaps I should have exposed her to all these events earlier in her life?  But then it is never too late…

As usual when the rain came, the traffic jam reared its ugly head. Getting to Jalan Tanglin from Petaling Jaya was a bitch.  The traffic was horrendous but we managed to get there shortly after the candlelight vigil had begun.  Despite the rain, there were a good number of fellow Malaysians at the entrance of the police station.  Malaysians stood shoulder to shoulder in the rain, lit their candles and stood in solidarity against EO.

He came to state his stand

Noel Dass, Bersih in support

Shoulder to shoulder in the rain

Ee Chia in white T (Malaysiakini) with friends

First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew

Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me

(Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemolier, a German anti-Nazi theologian & Lutheran pastor)