J.B. Jeyaretnam: a Singapore hero passes on to glory
September 30th, 2008
J.B. Jeyaretnam died of a heart attack at a Singapore hospital. To me he was a true Singapore patriot and hero. Read more from this BBC report:
Singapore opposition leader dies
Veteran Singapore politician JB Jeyaretnam has died of heart failure in a Singapore hospital, aged 82.
He was the first to break a government monopoly on power in Singapore when he won a seat in parliament in 1981.
He had been forced into bankruptcy over defamation cases won by the government but was planning a new run for office.
Dubbed the Grand Old Man of opposition politics, analysts said Mr Jeyaretnam was a thorn in the side of Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan-yew.
Born in 1926 in Jaffna, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Mr Jeyaretnam trained as a lawyer in Britain before making his home in Singapore.
Political injustices
He served as an MP from 1981 to 1986 and from 1997 to 2001.
His first victory, as standard bearer for the Workers’ Party, came when he defeated the People’s Action Party (PAP) of founding prime minister of independent Singapore Mr Lee.
He was returned to parliament in 1984 but in 1986 was found guilty of making a false declaration of his party’s accounts and fined a sum which made him liable to expulsion from the legislature.
He was disqualified from sitting in parliament until 1991, and disbarred from legal practice.
The Privy Council in Britain ruled in 1988 that he had been wrongly disbarred in “a grievous injustice”.
Mr Lee “appeared determined to drive him from political life” wrote Professor Michael Leifer in his Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia.
Not until 1997 did Mr Jeyaretnam try again; he re-entered parliament as a non-constituency member without voting rights.
Just over a year later he was again brought to court, on the charge of having defamed then prime minister Goh Chok-tong and ten other senior members of the PAP.
Although the court found in favour of the government it awarded damages at only one-tenth of the amount possible but on appeal, damages were increased and full costs imposed on Mr Jeyaretnam.
By May 2000, he was declared bankrupt for failing to keep up payments in another libel case.
He left the Workers’ Party in 2001, and was discharged from bankruptcy in 2007.
Re-election plans
This year he helped form the Reform Party to challenge the 40-year rule of Singapore by the PAP, saying Singapore had been “enslaved” by its rulers.
He said in April he planned to run in the next parliament election, due by 2011.
His death came just days before he was to appear in the High Court to seek an order that a by-election be held for a seat that is currently vacant, his family told AFP news agency.
GK Pamela, another of his relatives, said Mr Jeyaretnam hoped he would be propelled back into parliament.
“That was his wish,” she told AFP in tears. “Such a good man. Why did God take him?”
The opposition has long been marginalised in Singapore, where it complains of limited access to the pro-government mainstream media and restrictions on public assemblies.
The People’s Action Party, which has ruled Singapore since independence from Malaysia in 1965, holds 82 out of 84 elected seats in Parliament.
The Straits Times website described Mr Jeyaretnam as “pugnacious”, an “old warhorse” and “irrelevant”.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7643379.stm
I hold a different opinion from the Straits Times, and think he was passionate for the cause, an accomplished tenacious pioneer, a resilient voice in the wilderness, and a beacon of undying hope and courage.
May he rest from his labour and enjoy eternal bliss.
Entry Filed under: Heroes
Al Fatiha…
Those who want to go directly to hell, they can follow capitalism. And those of us who want to build heaven here on earth, we will follow socialism - Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s President
(Don’t tembak me, i just tot the quote is cute…)
Cute but fatally flawed.
All paths lead to hell if you follow anybody but Jesus.
Follow Chevaz and ultimately it will lead to another socialist “Stalinist Gulag” or “Maoist Great Leap” paradise.
Follow another human fool at your won eternal peril.
Strait Times said that? Woah! So much for neutral reporting.
J.B Jeyaretnam was a devout Anglican Christian. He was as a server in St Andrew’s Cathedral. He also led the choir procession carrying the cross. He was a family friend. We bumped into each other on more than one occasion. He was always kindly and asked for the family.
He was a brave man who spoke up for the working class. In the 80’s he coined the phrase “A Caring Society”. This phrase entered mainstream society and became a slogan for many. His wife was a lawyer and was deeply involved in social concern. Her death made a deep impression on him and he missed her deeply.
His courage and his compassion for those on the margins of society will be his legacy!
Journeyman’s comment “All paths lead to hell if you follow anybody but Jesus” bring the following to my mind:
Following Jesus could end up in hell too if one walks the Christian path in a certain manner. “Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord Lord’ could enter…” Many, including those who did miracles in Jesus’ name, will be rejected by Jesus. On the other hand, not following Jesus in this current earth can end up living with Jesus on the future new earth (heaven is Christians’ ultimate aim; a renewed earth is).
Those who truly love truth (and truly love goodness regardless of their imperfection in their love) can ultimately come face to face with the Truth, and when that happens, they will probably adore, embrace, hug and worship the Truth, and can ultimately come to the Father through the Truth (”I am the Truth, the Way and the Life” - though probably not words of Jesus himself, reflects the Ultimate Reality nevertheless), even though throughout their lives they had walked the paths of atheism, agnosticism, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Jehowah Witness, Mormonism, and so on.
The paths themselves (be it Christian, Buddhist, Atheism, or others) does not determine their final acceptance or rejection by God, but it is rather HOW each person walks on the specific path he is convinced of that will probably shape the way they will respond to the Truth when they finally meet Jesus face to face, eyes fully opened. (I repeat, it is the HOW or the MANNER that matters)
C.S. Lewis basically said the same things too in one part of his Narnia Chronicles where Aslan the Lion accepts a certain person, to the surprise of that person who had all the while worshipped another entity.
I quote from a author who highlighted that story written by Lewis regarding this issue:
In The Last Battle, Aslan’s followers are journeying “further up and further in” toward a place beyond the towers of Narnia where they will be united with Aslan in glory. On the way, they meet Emeth, a Calormene soldier, who has spent his life worshipping Tash, the Calormene god. Emeth relates how, upon meeting Aslan, he IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED him to be the true “Glorious One” and despaired: “I am no son of Thine but the servant of Tash.” In other words, “My Calormene tower of religion blinded me to the truth.” However, rather than consigning Emeth to hell for his wrong belief, Aslan assures him, “Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me.”
It is not that Tash is another manifestation of Aslan. No, they are as opposite as Satan is opposite to Christ. Rather my point is that the manner one walks on a path (be it the Islamic path, the Middle Path, the Hindu path, the Christian path, etc) will shape one’s character (or heart) day by day in a way that he would ultimately either genuinely embraces, hug, adore and worship the Truth for Truth’s sake when Truth is revealed fully, or he may out of selfish reasons try to bow down to Jesus, and he would be rejected by the Jesus even if he perceived himself as a follower of Jesus all his life.
There will be many surprises on that day. Many happy surprises and many sad surprises.
Anyway, whether or not one goes to hell should not be the dominant consideration in decision-making. A godly person chooses hell if that can bring others out of hell (relieving others of suffering). (but the very nature of hell being “locked on the inside” by hell-dwellers themselves makes this impossible). The ultimate consideration is the glory of the most Worthy One, which probably is the god of Jesus.
Talking about liberating others from suffering: The Buddhists’ desire expressed in their phrase “may all sentient beings be relieved of suffering” reminds me of “God desiring that the none should perish but all to come to repentance” (1 Pet. 3.9)
I made a typing error. I missed out the important “not” in my statement in the second paragraph:
“heaven is Christians’ ultimate aim; a renewed earth is”
I intended to say:
Heaven is NOT Christians’ ultimate aim; a renewed earth is.
Hi BL,
You may well be right but on a personally.
Personally, I follow Jesus and be guided by the Bible, but not the “church”
CSLewis is very gifted “Apologetic” - came to know Jesus thru his work, “Mere Christianity”. His other contemprories Huxley, Tolkien, Orwell, DHLawerence etc were equally gifted authors, much of our modernism have been shaped by this “Ox-bridge” mob from 1930-50’s
Shalom.
Happy to know that Lewis’ Mere Christianity made a fundamental difference to you.
Tom Wright has recently written the book Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense; many have compared it to Mere Christianity. Hopeful years down the road some persons also experience a fundamental change in worldview due to Simply Christian.
Buddhist lover,
You wrote: “The paths themselves (be it Christian, Buddhist, Atheism, or others) does not determine their final acceptance or rejection by God, but it is rather HOW each person walks on the specific path he is convinced of that will probably shape the way they will respond to the Truth when they finally meet Jesus face to face, eyes fully opened. (I repeat, it is the HOW or the MANNER that matters)”
If this is truly the case, why did Jesus have to suffer and die on the cross for us?
Jesus suffered and died firstly fo the sin(s) of Israel to bring about the true “return from exile” for the Jews (who were exiled not just geographically) or the re-constitution of Israel, and then, derivatively, for the sin(s) of wolrd (of which Gentiles are a part).
To deal with the sin(s) of the world would ultimately involves the death of death (destruction of death) and the renewal of creation. Sp from another angle or perspective, Jesus suffered and died to bring in the beginning of the new age, to bring in the beginning of the Kingdom of God, to bring about the start of the transformation of the old earth and old creation into a new earth and a renewed/redeemed creation.
So Jesus’ “work” needs to be seen on a universal scale that involves the redemption or transformation (still in-process) of the non-living realm (e.g. the ecology, the earth, etc), the non-human realm (e.g. animals, trees), and the human realm.
Within such a broad scale of redemption there is this aspect of the redemption of human being.
If one were to assume and use the traditional Christian language”:
Part of “Jesus dying for the sins of the world” would include dying for the sins of individuals as well. Jesus’ atonement for sins would enable God to maintain justice in His forgiveness of the sins of Christians, atheists, Buddhists, Polytheists, Taoists, Muslims, agnostics, etc, when they genuinely embraces, adore and worship the Truth which is Jesus. No one from hell can cry “unfair” or “unjust” because of Jesus’ atoning work.
This embrace, adoration and worship of the Truth by Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians etc happens after their death, which means their eyes will be fully opened to the Truth. Many of them, including many Christians, would not be able to genuinely repent, embrace and adore the Truth because their character (or heart) has been so hardened by sin and selfishness that they could only personify selfishness (and perhaps evil) in some fundamental way and they will be rejected by Jesus.
But for others (i.e. the remaining Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Christians, Polytheists, Agnostics, Atheists, Hindus etc) who manage to truly repent, embrace, adore and worship the Truth during that eye-opening encounter with Christ after death, then despite their imperfections God is Just to forgive and accept them, because of the atonement of Jesus.
So in this sense, everyone who in the end during their eye-opening encounter managed to “come to the Father” do so “through Jesus”. In this sense, even though Jesus might not have spoken these words in the “Gospel according to John”, it is nevertheless true that “No one comes to my Father except through Me”.
You may then ask: What is the point of evangelism if it is not for saving of people from hell?
My answer: The motive for evangelism should not be human-centred but god-centred. The motive for evangelism is for the glory of God. It is for the glory of God that more people worship him now rather than later. The truth is worthwhile to be proclaim for truth’s sake - and such an attitude reflects the glory of God, letting his glory shines through and through.
Buddhist lover,
You said: “But for others (i.e. the remaining Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Christians, Polytheists, Agnostics, Atheists, Hindus etc) who manage to truly repent, embrace, adore and worship the Truth during that eye-opening encounter with Christ AFTER DEATH then despite their imperfections God is Just to forgive and accept them, because of the atonement of Jesus.
If what you said is true, after killing thousands of people and blowing himself up, a terrorist would be save from hell too? Is that correct?
Hi Simon,
The killing of one or thousand will not matter to God - I think the intent would be most important but this is pure speculation on my part as I really do not know how a perfect being percieves and act or better still becaus he comands my mortal enemy TIME, irreversible and 3 dimensional for me but infinite dimensional for God.
In fact the some of the guys who made the atom bomb possible were stauch Christians - they even asked for God’s help in building and deploying. Justification for killing 250K civilians in Japan was it saved “million” of lives as it stopped the war?
By the way, does anyone know if they are acceptable to God? The “Church” tells you so?
No right answer except ones’s faith and belief system.
Hi Simon,
Even if you disregard whatever I have said but go back to the basic affirmation of evangelical Christianity, evangelical version of Christianity will tell you this: salvation does not depend on how much bad deeds or good deeds one has done, otherwise salvation becomes dependent on our accumulation of “merits” and not on God’s grace. That is why evangelicals say that Jesus’ blood washes the sins of even the VILEST SINNER who truly repents and rely on Christ, making him whiter than white.
This means that no matter what terrible things a person has done, if the person comes to TRUE repentance and embraces Jesus as his hope, God will be merciful to him. God will forgive him.
Now, this does not mean that one can do all the evil he likes or sin all he likes and imagine he can come to TRUE repentance at the last minute when he sees Jesus face to face after death. Human character (or the heart) is formed slowly over time. A person, through persistent sinning, can so hardened himself that by the time he encounters the Truth/Jesus, it becomes impossible for him to come to GENUINE repentance. All he could achieve may be just submission OUT OF SELFISH FEAR and not loving goodness/truth/TRUTH for the sake of goodness/truth/TRUTH. Such a person, when given freedom and opportunity again, will continue to commit evil. Such false repentance would be rejected by Jesus. God cannot be fooled.
Cheers!
Here’s a touching letter from JB’s comrade in arms that someone sent me. It gives us a glimpse of a side of these leaders that we rarely see:
“Friday, 03 October 2008
Chee Soon Juan
Dear Mr Jeyaretnam,
I visited you one last time on Tuesday. I’ve never seen you so peaceful
and contented.
This is such a change from all the years that we’ve been working together.
I remember how bitter we felt sitting in your rented apartment at Orange
Grove Road after the 1997 elections. The place has since been turned into
swank, upscale serviced-apartments. We were drafting a letter to the
United Nations to ask for the monitoring of future elections here.
It was a tedious job recounting everything that had happened: the hounding
of Tang Liang Hong, the threats made against voters, and the gatecrashing
of polling stations by ministers. The task was made lighter only with the
delightful combination of the savoury Indian vadai and Earl Grey you
served.
I remember also asking you about the copy of Long Walk to Freedom by
Nelson Mandela sitting on your coffee table. You said that once in a long
while, there comes a man who achieves greatness without having to cause
the suffering of others.
On another occasion, my wife and I visited you at another rented house.
From the outside, we could see a few of your shirts hanging by the window
ledge on the upper floor. Mei said that she felt sorry that you had to do
your own laundry at your age without anyone sharing those chores with you.
This reminds me of the time when we were driving along Serangoon Road and
you wanted to stop by to pick up a bunch of flowers. I had asked you what
the occasion was. You said it was your wedding anniversary and that your
late wife, Margaret, would have liked the bouquet.
Then there was the time when we visited New York City. I was surprised
when you mentioned that that was the first time you had set foot in the
US. We had checked into this small hotel and struggled with our luggage
along the narrow and dingy corridor. And as I fumbled for the key to open
the door, I heard you mutter to yourself: “Oh Ben, what have you gotten
yourself into?”
My heart sank when I heard you say that. I was feeling a little depressed
myself and I was hoping to get some cheer from you. Seeing you so
despondent made my own morale wobble.
But I knew that you were feeling depressed and anxious because of yet
another lawsuit. As we put our weary heads on the emaciated pillows, you
said that they didn’t just want to win politically but were determined to
also crush us personally.
We made a pact that night that while we may not yet be able to beat them
politically, we would not allow them to defeat us on the personal front.
They may take away all our possessions, but they will never take away our
will to speak up. And then you said that we needed to rest as “tomorrow’s
another day that we have to fight.”
The next morning I came out from the shower and saw you reading the Bible.
We talked a little about the Book of Ecclesiastes. Then you knelt down by
the bed to say a prayer and I joined you. We prayed for strength and
sustenance.
Rejuvenated, we went down to what New Yorkers call a “deli” for breakfast.
I remember you asking me what a bagel was and I said that it was the
American version of the vadai. You chortled and we mouthed down a couple
of Ham and Cheeses. Actually, I did. You found the bagels a little too
hard.
During breakfast we talked about setting up an NGO to advocate
transparency and democracy in Singapore. When we came back, we had a bit
of a laugh seeing how the gentleman at the Registry of Companies squirmed
as he tried to handle our application for the “Open Singapore Foundation”.
After rejecting the term “Foundation”, “Institute” and a couple of others,
the ROC finally allowed the use of “Centre”. Thus was born the first human
rights NGO in Singapore.
We left New York and you headed south to Florida to visit your son. When
you returned, you bought my daughter a little pink teddy bear. It squeaks
when you press its tummy. When she was a little older, we told her who
bought it for her. She named it “JB Bear” because she couldn’t quite
pronounce your name.
My wife said that it was funny to think of this cute little pink bear and
picture you at the same time, a big elderly man with bushy hair and your
trademark “mutton chops”. You always made her jump a little whenever your
voice boomed through the phone: “Is that you, Mei?”
Several months later, your worst nightmare came true. You were found
guilty of defamation again and you now had to vacate your seat in
Parliament for the second time. I remember talking to you on the phone
after your appeal was rejected. You sounded so crestfallen.
I had asked you if you wanted to talk, but you said that you just wanted
to be “alone for a while.” The next day we met for lunch near your office
at North Bridge Road. We got into a heated argument. I had asked you not
to continue paying the money and playing into the hands of Lee and his
people.
I knew you were angry at me for saying so, but I also knew that you wanted
me to be honest with you. Through the years, we have had our clashes and
disagreements. But we always knew that we were locked in spirit and that
we would always remain true to each other and to what we believed in. No
matter how serious our disagreements, we always stood on the same side.
As you lay down to rest, democracy is not yet at hand. But don’t you ever
believe those who say that your fight on earth was irrelevant and
personal. Nothing could be further from the truth. You have inspired an
entire generation of Singaporeans and we will keep the fight going.
We will keep on reaching for that star in the black sky, that shimmering
distant star of liberty. If we are closer to touching it, it is because we
stand on your shoulders.
Your legacy and walk on earth will not only remain but it will grow. You
have left a void that cannot be filled.
I think of that night in New York when we pledged not to let them defeat
our persons. You’ve kept your end of the pact. They may still have the
power but, boy, you sure showed them what a fighter for truth is. You
leave us with honour and dignity, no one could buy you over and no one
did. And even though you did not possess millions in your bank account,
the treasure which you have stored is with you today and forever.
Goodbye, Ben, I will miss you.
But even as I mourn your death, I celebrate your life because it has
touched mine. You have fought the good fight and now you have been called
home to rest. They cannot hurt you anymore. Until we meet again, dear
friend, I will always remain
Yours in Justice and Freedom,
Soon Juan
CSJ’s letter to JBJ moved me to tears…he describes the pain of a follower of Jesus Christ - this kind of faith-living seems more realistic in light of
Matt. 5:3 ¶ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt. 5:4 ¶ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Matt. 5:5 ¶ “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Matt. 5:6 ¶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matt. 5:7 ¶ “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Matt. 5:8 ¶ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Matt. 5:9 ¶ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Matt. 5:10 ¶ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt. 5:11 ¶ “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Matt. 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matt. 5:13 ¶ “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
Matt. 5:14 ¶ “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
Matt. 5:15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
Matt. 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
————
Even if the world is against us, would we stand up for what we are deeply convicted of? Would we be willing to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake or seek to be loved and pandered to by the world?
I think in Singapore Christians tend to put alot of emphasis on salvation/getting saved/getting others saved that we forget about what comes after “getting saved”…this is where too many Christians give Christianity or more likely Jesus Christ a really bad name.
Do we really understand what CONVERSION is?
Anyway, may we have the courage of JBJ even when the majority speaks against us…Jesus didn’t have the support of the ruling party either if I remember correctly *wink*
I liked the part when they knelt down and prayed after he saw JB reading ecclesiastes.
Hi Bolivian Beat,
I liked your personal tribute to JBJ found here: http://bolivianbeat.blogspot.com/2008/10/jb-jeyaretnam-r.html