This picture reminds me so much of the first time I met Uthayakumar.
Our position was reversed, I was in a court that looked exactly like the one he is in the picture, and I was the one in cuffs.
He recognised me and very kindly offered to defend me, as the cops had ‘forgotten’ to tell my own lawyers where and when my remand hearing was to be held. I was very anxious at the thought of not having legal representation.
He also helped me smuggle out my passwords, so that they could be changed.
2 years later, he now sits in Kamunting, with no hope on the horizon for his release.
I have reproduced his heartbreaking letter marking his 500th day of detention, a letter which calls to mind another well known letter written from jail, in full below.
In it, he writes not just of himself, but of his fellow detainees, going on 8 years of detention.
He writes of an unwavering dedication to the cause, a conviction of his principles and the struggle against injustice in Malaysia.
He writes of his fears that he may lose his leg to amputation - the sense of helplessness and complete lack of sympathy from the authorities.
He writes of being served beef. Can you imagine if stories emerged of prisoners in Guantanamo were being fed pork?
He writes of his pride in the Makkal Sakhti movement, in the men and women who have thrown off their fears and stood courageously together.
He writes of defiance against his oppressors, just as Reverend King did, echoing stories I read in Syed Husin Ali’s ‘Two Faces.’
He writes of unshakable faith that justice will prevail in the end, if only we persist and are patient.
He writes of missing his family.
Just as he has refused to cut his hair, I think I will not grow mine until they close down the hellhole of Kamunting.
Read the following and be inspired, we have so much to change ahead of us.
Makkal Sakhti Valga!
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