by Kasthuri Patto
Malaysians must resist greater erosion of rights – Fan Yew Teng
“Finally, it is more than clear that the ISA arrests and detention were not intended to preserve the country’s security but to preserve and perpetuate the Mahathir government’s own security and tenure of office. The White Paper deserves not only to be rejected but also to be treated with contempt.” -If We Love This Country by Fan Yew Teng, 1988
The scenario is simple. You are next to a table of young, high-spirited men of various ethnicities and you can hear a man speaking with a rather heavy Indian accent. You lean out to see who the man is, and you chuckle to yourself, surprised to find that the low, comforting voice belongs to a young handsome Chinese man. That was Uncle Fan Yew Teng.
I know Uncle Fan as an old family friend of my father, P. Patto. A strikingly good-looking man with his black framed glasses –it was quite the in thing at the time— who was quick with a smile and a witty remark. I know him as someone who dressed very simply and was so driven with his ideas, thoughts and principles that I used to wonder if this man ever slept.
I have heard Uncle Fan and my father share stories, mostly perhaps about what happened at the ceramah the night before, their escapades from the long arm of unjust laws, and about hilarious responses given by BN MPs in Parliament then. Wait for the punchline and the last statement will be followed by them bursting out laughing rambunctiously.
Sdr Fan Yew Teng was truly a diamond in the rough. He was a former Member of Parliament for Kampar in 1969 and Mengelembu in 1974 and a former Selangor State Assemblyman for Petaling Jaya.He was a leader who had a lot of grassroots support as Uncle Fan was a very approachable person and that made Malaysians from all walks of life walk up to him to greet him or they came to him with hope that he would help them with their problems.
To me he was a very versatile person; he looked Chinese, spoke Malay flawlessly, and loved Indian food, a true Malaysian. He, for one, was always on the forefront fighting for the rights of the minorities and the downtrodden. Many Indians, be it from the colonial estates to the kampungs and tamans hold someone like Sdr Fan Yew Teng close to their hearts as a principled fighter who was truly colour-blind.
From squatter issues, displaced estate workers, selective persecution of teachers up to “Hapuskan Tol” protests, hunger strikes and daily bashing of an oppressive regime, Sdr Fan was a man who fought on so passionately to deliver justice and freedom to the marginalised.
After my father passed away, Uncle Fan visited us a lot and he was truly a comfort. There is nothing more heartwarming than to see one of my father’s brothers-in-arms and sit over a cup of coffee or tea and share stories of the yesteryears. I would listen wide eyed and try to absorb as much as I could making mental notes of important dates, places and persons to remember in his sharings.
Truth be told, I always felt a little smarter after spending time with Uncle Fan, a placebo effect of all the intelligence this simple man radiates.
Uncle Fan could make you feel smart! He also brought me various reading materials and gave me a cassette of traditional folk music from Sarawak which I still listen to till today. Yes I still do have my cassette player.
Uncle Fan was a man of class. I visited him in Taman Tun Dr Ismail with my family and had the wonderful privilege of meeting his lovely daughters, Pauline and Lilianne. After just spending a few minutes with them, I wanted to be like them and made me wonder what an amazing job Uncle Fan did raising his daughters to who they are today ~ bright, articulate, poised, courageous and passionate young women.
I salute Uncle Fan for not comprimising on his principles and for taking the road less travelled. Brave men like Sdr Fan Yew Teng, Sdr Karpal Singh, Sdr P. Patto, Sdr Chan Kok Kit, Sdr Chien Eng Kai, Sdr Peter Paul Dason, Sdr Loh Jee Mee and many more who are no more with us had the choice of giving up and retire to a normal and perhaps a more luxurious life.
Instead these fighters for freedom and human rights risked all and went head on to bring down a corrupt, oppressive BN regime, putting the people’s needs first. I cannot find enough words of gratitude to be written here to pay tribute to tall hem who stood up for justice, freedom and democracy. Who championed for a Malaysian Malaysia.
You are truly the rakyat’s champion, Sdr Fan Few Teng. You are missed but never forgotten. -The Rocket
* Fan Yew Teng passed away on 10 December 2010, aged 68.
* The views expressed in this article are the personal opinion of the columnist
