My Mentor, Dr Lim Hock Siew

　　I first met Dr Lim Hock Siew at the launch of Our Thoughts Are Free, a collection of poems and prose in 2009 by former political prisoners in Singapore which I edited with Tan Jing Quee and Koh Kay Yew. He was seated at the front together with Dr Poh Soo Kai. I had heard about Dr Lim a long time ago and had once attempted to visit him on Pulau Tekong where he was imprisoned for four years. But when I landed on the island, I was told that he had already gone to Singapore!

　　When I was arrested in 1987, Dr Lim's name occasionally cropped up in my conversations with the deputy director of the internal security department. He told me that Dr Lim was a "changed" man. He had eschewed politics and was very much a person who enjoyed life. I was told that Dr Lim had permed and tinted his hair! And of course, I was advised that upon my release, I should follow the example of Dr Lim and just concentrate on my law practice and make money!

　　What I discovered about Dr Lim Hock Siew two decades after my release was totally different from what was described to me.

　　Dr Lim was a person of great intellect and integrity. Of his involvement in politics, he said World War 2 had toughened his resolve to fight for independence of Malaya including Singapore.

　　Dr Lim had always been the top student in school and possessed immense oratorical skill. Some claimed that he had beaten Lee Kuan Yew in a debate on merger.

　　As a bright student, he could have chosen any career he wished. He could have opted to be an artist for having topped in Art in his Senior Cambridge examination in Raffles Institution in 1949, he could have taken the advice of his teacher who promised him a scholarship to study art in London. Much to the disappointment of his teacher, he chose to study medicine and to be involved in politics.

　　Dr Lim Hock Siew believed that being involved in politics was a "calling and not a career". He believed that it was a privilege to serve our country and that in the absence of repression, there would always be sufficient young people who really care for our country and would come forward to be counted. There was no necessity to entice people to hold office by offering extraordinarily high salaries.

　　True to his belief, Dr Lim gave up his plan to study paediatrics in London in order to participate in politics because he felt it was crucial for him to do so. He knew the danger of entering politics.

　　He was inspired by Jawaharlal Nehru and had read about the Amritsar Massacre in 1919 when the British fired into a crowd of peaceful protesters resulting in the death of several hundred Indians and injuries to many more. This incident was the prelude to Mahatma Gandhi's commitment to the cause of Indian nationalism. Dr Lim had no illusion that those fighting for independence using peaceful means could also be subjected to brutal treatment and loss of life. The gruesome murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first democratically elected prime minister of Congo in 1961 was one example. But he was prepared to stick his neck out and suffer the consequences. However, he never expected that he would be incarcerated for 20 years without trial. He thought that he would be in for a maximum of eight years as the longest record then was that of Ahmad Boestamam who was imprisoned for that length of time. When Operation Coldstore was mounted, his friends in Malaya told him he was one of those on the list. He chose to stay and was arrested. In prison, he refused to bow to pressure. Dr Lim's courage is truly admirable. Ironically, his friends who were with him in the University Socialist Club when they were students chose to stay with the PAP when Barisan Sosialis was founded. They were the ones who upon becoming home affairs ministers, signed and renewed his detention order several times.

　　It is often said that professionals were not ill-treated in prison. This is not true. Dr Lim went through the prison regimes of nearly all the prisons – Moon Crescent Centre, Changi Maximum Prison, Queenstown Prison and even Central Police Station which was notorious. When he won his habeas corpus application and was released, he was immediately rearrested and thrown into a filthy dark cell full of bed bugs in Queenstown Prison. He had to wash the chamber pot every morning. He was treated worse than ordinary convicted criminals. When asked how he survived such horrendous conditions, he attributed it to his conviction. He was not a communist as the government had claimed. He had done no wrong.

　　I was exceedingly touched when Dr Lim attended the launch of my book, Beyond the Blue Gate in 2010. Though frail in health, he not only came but bought ten copies of my book. He was very encouraging when I subsequently met him and told him that some readers commented that the chapters on habeas corpus were too boring. He said he found them most interesting and read the chapters several times! Maybe my legal battles reminded him of the legal battles he fought when he was in prison!

　　Members of Function 8 deeply respect Dr Lim Hock Siew. He was always supportive of our activities. When in 2011 Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that his government would repeal the Internal Security Act and the Emergency Ordinance, I contacted Dr Lim to enquire if he would sign a press statement calling for the repeal of the Internal Security Act. Speaking over the phone, he told me to give him a day to consider. The next day he called me to say that he would go along with us and recommended that I contact a few others. I sent him a draft and it took him just a few hours to call me with the request that some amendments be made. He was decisive and swift. That was how the first joint statement calling for the repeal of the ISA and signed by 16 ISA survivors of the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s was issued on 19 September 2011.

　　Dr Lim sacrificed 20 years of his life for Singapore. He missed the growing up years of his only son who was just five months old when he was arrested. His wife, Dr Beatrice Chen suffered discrimination at work when promotions by passed her despite her ability and seniority. Her sacrifice for our country is immeasurable.

　　Dr Lim Hock Siew will always be remembered and respected by all who know Singapore's past and are not hood winked by the easy availability of books about the enormous contributions and sacrifices of those officially identified as our first generation leaders.

　　Let me end with Dr Lim's thoughts on the ISA and the future of the opposition political parties: