Kao Weng Sheng
27 Nov 06
Just the other day, a friend messaged me online and we talked about the imprisonment of Dr Chee, Mr Gandhi Ambalam and Yap Keng Ho, he was sympathetic to whatever was happening and that the laws the 3 men were convicted on was very archaic and only deemed for one purpose which is political suppression.
Having spent the first and fourth night with fellow supporters at Queenstown Remand Prison (QRP) holding a vigil against their imprisonment, it comes to mind why we even bothered doing so. I got myself involved in politics for a reason, and that reason was justice for my fellow friends and family.
It was something that the layman on the street would consider as being foolish or just simply asking for trouble from the authorities at hand, the question that one should ask themselves is do we have a conscience? From the day I came into this world, my parents taught me what’s was right and wrong, my religious beliefs also stated that when evil is flourishing and one does nothing about it, that is basically being hypocritical when one says he is a Christian.
I was moved by a message on Sunday from a respected evangelist here, stating that the main thing in our walk with Christ, should be embodied with the fear of the living God, meaning simply that anyone can be knowledgeable about things, do good works or be someone that deserves the outmost respect, but at the end of the day, a man can fall because he doesn’t have the fear of God, the foundation of our faith is based on that fact, one can’t love when he doesn’t fear, meaning if I do not have a conscience thats fighting for good in this world and simply choose to be ignorant about it, I’d be lying to myself, my life would be a joke.
The cause this 3 men were imprisoned for, is one of justice and good. I’ve never gone to prison but this good people have, they are suffering for our sake, because they care for their fellow men, and I’ll continue to be present on the days of vigil to give that support they deserve.
The online conversation with my friend ended with me inviting him to join me for my shift during the vigil, he passed the invitation citing being uncomfortable doing so and told me to light a candle on his behalf, I replied to him saying: “Why should I light it for you? I simply believe the single purpose is that the candles represents individuals, you’ve got to be there to feel for this people, it’s not someone’s burden, it’s yours alone”.