Yesterday, Amarjit, Chandra and I went to the Kamunting detention centre to see RPK to get him to affirm his affidavit in support of a fresh habeas corpus application.
We were allowed an hour with RPK.
How is he?
Well, first you may wish to read for yourself what RPK has to say about his present state.
I have not seen him since just before he was detained on 12th September. And it pained me to see him yesterday.
As we embraced, I had to hold back my tears as I did not want him to see any weakness in me.
He was gaunt and had clearly lost a lot of weight.
Much of the time was spent with him reading the affidavit and then affirming the same.
We had to speak in a hushed tone so that the guard who was present throughout would not overhear what we said.
He wanted to know what was happening outside, especially about the takeover by Pakatan.
We told him whatever we knew.
He reiterated that a new Pakatan government was the only hope of all the ISA detainees coming out early.
He said that he had not received any cards from well-wishers of late. I told him that that was probably because the authorities were withholding them to weaken his resolve.
The hour was up so soon.
As we embraced again, I whispered to him that I would not rest until he is free.
The People's Parliament 
matt
September 30, 2008
Sad isn’t haris that a man like RPK has sacrificed so much for us Malaysians and yet the evil that man do goes unscathed.
delcapo
September 30, 2008
They r Not Forgotten
lets make as much noise as possible… starting this Raya… until we get them out…
________________________
http://delcapo.wordpress.com/
H.Pang
September 30, 2008
those idiots must have kept the Raya cards, I sent the greeting card to YB the day he was sent to Kamunting, the card should have reached detention camp by now.
Thinker
September 30, 2008
Godspeed Haris, Godspeed RPK……may justice be serve on the real devils soon.
daniel
September 30, 2008
I sent cards to RPK from Tokyo…
dont think the cards would reach to RPK…
arianna
September 30, 2008
Dear Harris,
ISA detention is meant to break and rob one’s dignity and fighting spirit. I saw that happened.
Next time you see Pete, convey this message from me. “Apartheid failed to break Mandela. Mandela defeated apartheid”.
Bring your courage and determination with you when you visit Pete. That will tell him that we keep the flame burning.
Salam Eid Mubarak. And take care.
lilian
September 30, 2008
To cage a man is already inhuman and trying to break his spirit down, is COLD-BLOODED!!! And now with his latest article that appeared today in MT, God, I hate to imagine what other treatment they will undo to him. God has mercy on Him.
billy
September 30, 2008
I intend to send rpk a card every week. But I am sorry to say that it will be a home made one for I can’t afford to send expensive ones weekly. I tell myself it’s the thought that counts.
temenggong
September 30, 2008
How can anyone celebrate Raya when the detainees are not freed? We wil celebrate when they are freed!
Jarod
September 30, 2008
Billy, i think what count is from your heart and RPK will appreciate it a lot. It does not matter with the card quality, its the content that he look/read into.
peng
September 30, 2008
Thank you Haris for the news on RPK! It’s good that you are able to see him and give him the truth on what’s going on outside.I pray that although his physical self may be poor but his spirit is still the same RPK we know. I will be joining the others for the trip to Kamunting to convey Raya greetings.
penang71
September 30, 2008
It makes me sad when i read you and Marina mention about RPK inquiring on the Pakatan takeover.
He is right – that is the only hope for the detainees to be freed. (I doubt BN will repeal the ISA anytime in the near future and our new PM-elect would never release RPK)
I imagine him lying in his cell waiting for the takeover to happen.Thinking it may happen soon.
Is there still hope it would?
Please say ‘Yes’.
PLEASE…
Victor Chin
September 30, 2008
Equality under the rule of law, Inequality under the ISA
The lawyers from the Malaysian Bar Council and many other civil society groups and also opposition politicians, had all declared, in one way or the other, that we have adequate laws in place to deal with the security and lawlessness in the country and that there is no need to use the ISA to arrest and imprison indefinitely any Malaysians without a proper open trial in our courts. This is an inclination towards political tyranny and inequality.
What Malaysians have been longing for, in the last 51 years, is for a time of political maturity, where, talent and hard work matters (not race and religion), loyalty is not automatically owned to any one and that respect for each other had to be earned and not demanded by using tyrannical threats and intimidation like the ISA.
Ironically, we have inherited the old form of tyranny from which we have emerged as a nation but that has been transformed by our present government to oppressive its electorates.
So, we are eagerly awaiting the next change of government (legitimate or otherwise), as this present group is not doing what they had been elected to do, which is to protect the country from abuse of power and leading us to the road to despotism and despair.
Palaniappan
September 30, 2008
RPK must know that he is not alone and the whole civil society is behind him. He is an epitome for truth and justice. We love him so much and we will do whatever we can to get RPK released together with others and fight until the obsolete ISA is repealed. Pete, I feel very sad you can’t be with your family to celebrate Hari Raya Edulfitri but our prayers are always with you and your family. My inner feelings tell me that you will be out soon. May God Bless You and Your Family.
Navin
September 30, 2008
Put the guilty bastards under the ISA. i am sure you all know who they are.
Come on BODOH WEE USE YOUR POWER AS A PM FOR THE LAST TIME AMD RELEASE THE DETAINEES AND ABOLISH THE ISA.
BRING THE TRUE CULPRITS TO JUSTICE UNDER THE VARIOUS LAWS.
RPK I TOO HAVE SENT A LETTER TO KAMUNGTING FROM THE UK
WHICH YOU MAY NOT HAVE BEEN GIVEN BY THE PRISON AUTHORITIES
HAVE COURAGE AND STRENGTH,LIKE MENDALA,GHANDHI AND AM SURE KEEP YOUR SPIRITS HIGH . BE POSITIVE AND YOU WILL EARN YOUR FREEDOM VERY SOON
wandererAUS
September 30, 2008
The ghosts of freedom are haunting the incorrigible UMNO scums, they are running around, directionless, like blue ar*se flies.
Let us show these scums, our resolve and kick them out, when, opportunity arises. RPK detention, maybe, a blessing in disguise. It has not only made the public aware of this wicked act, it has encouraged the rakyat more than ever, to demand the repeal this unjust law. We will succeed…good always triumph over evil!
wandererAUS
September 30, 2008
Selamat Adilfitri Haris!
Pity, I am going to miss the malay delicacies.
anna brella
September 30, 2008
Suggest letters and gifts to RPK and other ISA detainees be sent to Malaysiakini (or to RPK’s/detainee’s home address if known) with a request that they forward them to Kamunting.
I am in no doubt that anything sent directly to the detainees in Kamunting will either be stolen by the authorities there, or witheld from the detainees.
“Imagine Power To The People” John Lennon.
Parli-Man
September 30, 2008
Hang in there RPK our nation’s hopes and aspirations lie with you and your safe being.
Estrelita Soliano Grosse
September 30, 2008
Your friendship, loyalty and concern for your friend, our friend, RPK is an inspiration to many people.
Selamat Hari Raya to you and your loved ones from a great fan.
malsia1206
September 30, 2008
Please spare a thought for RPK when you have reason to celebrate Hari Raya this time around. No more, no less.
Mag M
September 30, 2008
Dear Haris
I will show him my support at Kamunting this Thursday. I will never forget him or anyone like him. You too are a good man and I hope you will take care and be careful coz we do not want to see good people like you in ISA.
Mag M
September 30, 2008
Another thing, to me, he is like the hero in “Braveheart”. Till the very last, he shouted “Freedom!” RPK is braveheart.
lucia
September 30, 2008
if RPK said he had not received any raya cards lately, then for sure the authorities must have withheld them. shame to them (the authorities!).
last friday at our anti isa vigil in penang, i notice many people (as many as 100 or over) signing raya cards for RPK and i was there to help stamped the envelope… and for sure those cards were posted, so how can RPK not received them?
think i agree with anna brella. better not send direct to kamunting.
Angela Ooi
September 30, 2008
I have sent him 2 cards last week
DR SURESH KUMAR
September 30, 2008
I take this opportunity to wish you and your family `Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri’as well as to all muslims in Malaysia.Plz do convey my well wishes to RPK and his family,will you sir?
God Bless.
anonymous
September 30, 2008
Is there any concerted effort or programme besides the legalistic habeas corpus application which the people can do to show support for the great man and to convey their disdain to the authorities for the abusive use of the ISA?
kkitsam
October 1, 2008
No cards? No way i have send two cards on saturday. and i’m going to send another but Pos Malaysia will be closed for 5 days, but don’t worry, thousands will flood to Kamunting soon.
Dear Haris, for future vigil night, i think we don’t need to gather thousands people at the same spot. I suggest we make small group of 4 people (since they argue more than 4 will need permit) and we spread to all around KL especially at LRT stations where most people will be, then 1000 people will have 2502 groups, i believe this will cover more grounds as well as spreading the message across easily.
Muhammad Firdaus Christopher
October 1, 2008
Dear brother Haris,
Thanks a million for sharing your meeting up with our beloved Pete. Please let him know that we will definitely keep up with the pressure inside, outside of Malaysia until he is released.
Do convey my love and warm wishes to Pete, Marina & the kids.
Cheers,
Christopher
foodforthoughts
October 1, 2008
Dear Haris
It is, WE will not rest until he is free.
Paul Warren
October 1, 2008
My most consoling words at a time like this for Pete, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Paslm 23 V.4.
Rastaman.JB.
October 1, 2008
Dear Haris,
While I know you are in no mood to enjoy this auspicious
day,nevertheless,let me wish you and your loved ones Selamat HR Aidilfitri.
To all fellow Muslim bloggers and blog readers Selamat HR Aidilfitri greetings as well.
I truly hope that the HR celebrations for 2009 will be much better than the current sombre one.
To RPK and the rest in KDC…….Hang in there buddies….you shall be liberated soon,and I mean real soon !
Our concerted efforts shall not be in vain.
* I have improvised my black t shirt…with the help of my daughter’s limited creativity (SAY NO TO ISA) and shall don it when I go over to the Pelangi Palace grounds for the royal’s open house fare.No,I won’t eat nothing anyway.
BR
RastamanJB.
Alex Wong
October 1, 2008
Anwar vs Abdullah in Malaysia’s Casino Royale
by Alex Wong
Here’s a light moment to share with you after all the intense build-up to September 16.
In a no-table-limit poker game between two players, the winner is not necessary the one with the best cards. It could also be the one with the highest amount of chips, or the one with the biggest bluff, or both.
This paragraph may look redundant, but let’s re-visit the rules of the poker game. When a player is challenged with large amount of chips, but believes that he holds the strongest card, he can either “up the ante” or place a “call”. That is provided he has enough chips to do either one. Otherwise, he has to “fold” and the opponent who challenged him wins, despite having inferior cards.
So in the case of Anwar Ibrahim vs Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is Anwar the one calling a bluff? Does he even have enough chips to call the bluff? Or does he really have the strongest card to win the game?
In the author’s opinion, a good poker player does not only want to win, but win with the highest possible margin. That means you have to play the game until you have all three. Even if you have the strongest card and challenge your opponent with the biggest stake, you still give the impression that you are calling a bluff to entice your opponent to follow with a “call”, or even better, “to up the ante”.
But what if you haven’t even played the final card? What if your opponent’s position improves after drawing the final card?
The current situation in Malaysia is even better than the movies “God of Gamblers” and “Casino Royale”. The game is played as though both sides do not even have the ability to see their own cards!
To make matters even more complicated, what if this is a no-holds-barred poker game that is played by many in convoluted levels of deceptions? Perhaps there is no end-game and no singular winner? Certainly the real con in the game is the game itself, which convinces us that there is a con, when the con might not be what we think it is and the revelation may not explain anything.
In that case, we may have infinite levels of deceptions. The thing is, no one knows for sure. Perhaps the quantum theory of abstract mathematical object that allows for the calculation of probabilities of outcomes of experiments will better explain the above situation. Can someone please call Stephen Hawking!
Note:
My article was also published in Malaysiakini on 17 Sept under the title “Abdullah vs Anwar: Who Will Fold First”.
Gandhi
October 1, 2008
Harris I can bet on my last dollar that as long as UMNO stays in power, there is no question of abolishing the ISA. ISA is the LIFELINE of UMNO.If not for ISA UMNO would have been finished long time ago.UMNO needs ISA for its own survival.Any human who stands on the way of UMNO will either disappear or will be behind ISA.They dont have any other weapon.Somehow they will design an anti islam overcoat for him and show to the world that the coat belongs to him and shut him up as being anti islamic. A grand design which only a rocket scientist of many years experience will know!!!! If Mr.Good Pak Lah cant abolish the ISA,than forget about Najib. He may come up with a few more ISA kind of ACT just as a back up system. If the original ISA is abolished then he can depend on the other act to save him..So under the present weeping situation the best bet will definitely be ANWAR.Though obviously Anwar is moving cautiously and slowly, ultimately I hope Anwar will become the winner.I have compared it to the mother in labour pains. Though there may be false labour pains now, but finally when the time comes our New Malaysia baby will be born. So lets all wait for the real LABOUR DAY!!!