Demanding Singapore
government to abolish the ISA
And to apologise and compensate
the victims and their families
—Joint statement in commemoration of
the 60 th anniversary of the
“2nd February Incident”
Source: sahabatrakyatmy.blogspot.com
Today (February 2, 2023) marks the 60th anniversary of the Operation
Coldstore. To implement the “Malaysia Plan”, Lee Kuan Yew ruling clique in
Singapore colluded with the British colonial government and Abdul Rahman
ruling clique in Malaya, resorting to large-scale suppression of the
leftists in Singapore by launching the so-called "Operation Coldstore"
(also known as the "2nd February Incident").
Today, 60 years after the "2nd February incident", a group of the former
political detainees expressed their resentment against the tyranny and
draconian law of Singapore via a joint statement, sternly demanding the
Lee Hsien Loong PAP government of Singapore to abolish the Internal
Security Act (ISA). They also ask for an apology and compensation to
victims of the ISA and their families.
This statement and the complete list of signatories were announced by
some of the signatories at a press conference held at the following
location at 11:00 am today (2nd February)—
The Arts & Civil Space 10,
Ubi Crescent
#07-96 Ubi Techpark （Lobby E）
Singapore 408564
Below is the full text of the joint statement. Picture above and
subtitles in the statement are added by the Editor of Sahabat Rakyat
——
We, the undersigned former political prisoners, affirm and support Dr Poh
Soo Kai’s statement below. We ask for an apology from the People’s Action
Party (PAP) government and reparation, whether symbolic or substantive,
for physical and psychological mistreatment, and consequential deprivation
of livelihood suffered by some of us during and after our imprisonment
without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
The ISA has to be abolished. It has been used by the PAP government
repeatedly against those it feared would be threats to its power.
The ISA has done tremendous damage to us, our families and the people of
Singapore.
DR POH SOO KAI'S STATEMENT
Sixty years ago, on 2 February 1963, I was imprisoned without trial along
with over a hundred others. I was then the Assistant Secretary General of
the Barisan Sosialis. I am now 91 years old and am one of about 50
survivors of Operation Coldstore alive today. In 1963, most of us were in
our youthful twenties.
The PAP government has been relentless in using the ISA, arresting and
imprisoning people without trial.
Those of us who refused to sign “confessions” were imprisoned
indefinitely, some for almost two decades. Dr Chia Thye Poh, then an
elected Member of Parliament, was arrested at age 25 and imprisoned for 23
years; for nine more years he was forced to live with severe restrictions
– three years confined to Sentosa Island and six years within the limits
of Singapore.
Today, I demand accountability for myself and all political prisoners, so
that Singaporeans can understand the roots of our draconian political
system. The PAP has been the only ruling party in Singapore since 1959.
Its younger members may not be fully aware of how their party managed to
defeat its political opponents and critics so thoroughly. It is time they
know the party’s history.
On 19 September 2011,
16 ISA survivors signed a statement calling for the Singapore
government to abolish the ISA
when the Malaysian government announced that it would repeal their
ISA.
Purpose of the "Operation Coldstore" is to suppress the leftists in
Singapore
The Ministry of Home Affairs responded that the signatories were involved
in “subversive activities which posed a threat to national security” and
that they were not detained for their political beliefs but were “actively
involved in Communist United Front activities in support of the Communist
Party of Malaya (CPM), which was committed to the violent overthrow of the
constitutionally-elected governments in Singapore and Malaysia”.[1]
I CATEGORICALLY REJECT such spurious and unsubstantiated
allegations and fabricated charges. The PAP government has continued to
repeat such lies for 60 years.
I CHALLENGE the PAP government to produce evidence to substantiate
their allegations against me.
I STRONGLY MAINTAIN that I was arrested under Operation Coldstore
because of my political beliefs, which were based on the anticolonial and
proworking-class manifesto and constitution of the PAP when it was formed.
I was one of its founding members.
Operation Coldstore was about Lee Kuan Yew, the compliant successor of
the British colonialists, needing to keep his position as prime
minister.
An account of the key political events in the 1960s will bear this
out.
The people of Singapore were anticolonial. They were against the Lim Yew
Hock government for arresting innocent students and trade union leaders in
1956. I now know from de-classified archival documents that Lee Kuan Yew
was secretly plotting those arrests with Lim Yew Hock to win over the
British, who wanted to retain her military base in Singapore.
The PAP had a landslide victory in the 1959 general election. There was
no political crisis or instability in the country in its initial years as
government. Once in government, Lee collaborated with the British who
pressed him to act against the left faction of the PAP led by Lim Chin
Siong.
Lee Kuan Yew caught in awkward situation in three by-elections
Instability emerged within the PAP itself when Lee expelled his rival Ong
Eng Guan. Ong defended and retained his seat convincingly as an
independent in the Hong Lim by-election of April 1961. He had campaigned
on the platform of keeping the PAP government true to its election
pledges, including freeing prisoners held without trial by Lim Yew
Hock.
From the Hong Lim by-election, the British realised with alarm that the
PAP was no longer the force it was when it came into power in June 1959,
and that the electorate had a mind of its own.
In July 1961, the PAP lost the Anson by-election in the face of the same
demand to free those imprisoned without trial. When the seat of Sembawang
became vacant not long after, Lee (having lost two by-elections) did not
dare to face another by-election.
Labelling the anti-(fake) merger as a "subversive" activity
The British threw Lee Kuan Yew a “lifeline”, as they put it. They gave
Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman the merger deal of a Malaysia which
included British North Borneo and Sarawak and which put Singapore’s
internal security in the Tunku’s hand. Lee relentlessly called the PAP
left “communists” and expelled them when they refused to give him complete
control to decide on the terms for merger. The expelled PAP left-wing
formed the Barisan Sosialis which was then the strongest political force
in Singapore. But Operation Coldstore totally decimated them.
Operation Coldstore was ordered by the British, Singapore and Federation
of Malaya members of the Internal Security Council to overcome the
challenge from the Barisan Sosialis. Nine out of the 16 Central Working
Committee members led by Lim Chin Siong were arrested and imprisoned.
Their imprisonment eliminated the Barisan’s top echelon from the September
1963 general election, giving the PAP a clear win. Despite that, the
government almost immediately ordered another wave of arrests, including
of another three members of the Barisan Central Working Committee who were
successful in the general election.
Separation took place less than two years after merger, and the ISA
continued to be the instrument used to suppress political activities which
were constitutional but which the government labelled “subversive”,
without needing to provide evidence. I remained in prison at the pleasure
of the PAP government even when Barisan’s objections to the terms of
merger were shown to be valid.
After 60 years, the PAP government should go beyond just repeating
unsubstantiated allegations. It should provide evidence to support the
justifications they gave for launching Operation Coldstore.
Allegation that Barisan Sosialis is involved in the "armed rebellion"
is ridiculous
The 2011 Ministry of Home Affairs’ statement repeated the lies that
Barisan Sosialis was ready to join forces with “groups resorting to
violence and bloodshed as in the Brunei revolt” and that national defence
and Singapore’s security were jeopardised.
Nothing can be further from the truth. What Barisan Sosialis did was no
more than issue a statement of moral support for the Brunei revolt of
December 1962. It was a statement of solidarity with all colonies rising
to overthrow colonial rule. As the PAP government well knew, Barisan
Sosialis did not possess or supply any weapon to the Brunei People’s Party
led by A. M. Azahari who had won the election but was denied the right to
govern Brunei.
The 2011 Ministry of Home Affairs statement also mentioned that one of
the signatories had given medical aid to a CPM saboteur. While the person
was not named officially, I believe it was a reference to me.
I was arrested for a second time in June 1976. A month earlier, the Dutch
Labour Party had tabled a memorandum to expel the PAP at the Socialist
International meeting. My speeches highlighting the prolonged imprisonment
without trial in Singapore were cited.
Poh Soo Kai rebuts allegations of his arrest
However, no mention was made of the Socialist International memorandum as
reasons for my arrest. Instead the government alleged that in December
1974 I had given medicine for an injured bomber who had intended to
assassinate the managing director of the Nanyang Shoe Factory.
The person who came to my clinic made a televised “confession” that he
had passed on medicines from me to his injured comrade. At the same time,
the ISD said to me that their raid of my clinic showed that I had given
him medication for his sore throat and that my records were in order. They
were showing me that they were free to make false accusations and I was in
no position to stop them.
Then in 1977, I was alleged to have also treated the other injured bomber
hiding in Masai, Johor. My wife, a nurse was alleged to have accompanied
me there.
This “Masai incident” was a total fabrication. I only found out about
this alleged incident later. “Masai” was never mentioned in my prison
interrogations.
I have categorically denied and rebutted these allegations for the last
ten years and more. I have done this in my speeches and writings, and
whenever the authorities repeated the lie.
Three strong demands of the former political detainees and their
families
Operation Coldstore carried out on 2 February 1963 was the start of the
pernicious use of state power by the PAP government to imprison
political opponents without trial and for as long as it chooses.
ON THIS THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF OPERATION COLDSTORE, THE UNDERSIGNED
FORMER ISA PRISONERS AND I ARE PUTTING ON RECORD THAT WE DEMAND:
❶ The immediate abolition of the ISA;
❷ An apology from the PAP government to rectify the grievous crimes it
had committed against us; and
❸ Compensation for us, former political prisoners and the families of
those who are deceased.
We ask this as a matter of right, as survivors of the most serious and
baseless allegations which the PAP government has chosen to ignore.
Dated this 2 February 2023
Complete list of signatories of joint statement
Signatories
| Name | Date of Arrest | ||
| 1 | Mavis Puthucheary wife of James Joseph Puthucheary | 普都遮⾥ | 1956, 1963^ |
| 2 | Otto Fong son of Fong Swee Suan | ⽅⽔双 | 1956, 1963 |
| 3 | Ng Beng Tee | 黄明治 | 1956 |
| 4 | Otto Fong son of Chan Lai Ying | 陈丽英 | 1956 |
| 5 | Tee Hong Seng | 池⽅盛 | 1957 |
| 6 | Tan Kok Fang | 陈国防 | 1957, 1963 |
| 7 | Roesman bin Mohd Said son of Said Zahari | 塞.查哈利 | 1963 |
| 8 | Liew Lai See wife of Hoe Cheok Wah | 何卓华 | 1963# |
| 9 | Rose Tan wife of Tan Jing Quee | 陈仁贵 | 1963, 1977 |
| 10 | Lee Soon Huat | 李顺发 | 1963 |
| 11 | Wee Toon Lip | 黄循⽴ | 1963 |
| 12 | Iqbal Ghouse son of Salahuddin Ghouse | ⾼式 | 1963 |
| 13 | Chen Yutao wife of Kang Hoon Lim | 江云林 | 1963 |
| 14 | Haw Thar Heong | 陶祚强 | 1963 |
| 15 | Lee Tee Tong | 李诗东/思东 | 1963 |
| 16 | Michael Fernandez | 费南德 | 1964, 1977 |
| 17 | Lim Yew Beng | 林耀明 | 1964 |
| 18 | Chiew Kam Chow | 赵⽢照 | 1965 |
| 19 | Tan Muihua | 陈美和 | 1966 |
| 20 | Chong Ming Kee | 钟明记 | 1966 |
| 21 | Tan Gim Joo | 陈锦福 | 1966 |
| 22 | Fu Yang Yeow | 傅仰曜 | 1966 |
| 23 | Lan Ah Lek | 林亚礼 | 1966 |
| 24 | Toh Ching Kee | 卓清枝 | 1967 |
| 25 | Liu Li Ying | 刘丽英 | 1967 |
| 26 | Tan Seng Lee | 陈静坤 | 1969 |
| 27 | Wee Bee Kwee | 黄⽶贵 | 1970 |
| 28 | Chng Min Oh @ Zhuang Ming Hu | 庄明湖 | 1970 |
| 29 | Tan Sin @ Tan Seng Hin | 陈成兴 | 1970 |
| 30 | Goh Peng Wah | 吴平华 | 1970 |
| 31 | Kee Ai Tee wife of Tan Kim Sew | 陈⾦寿 | 1970 |
| 32 | Chwa Seh Kea | 蔡世居 | 1970 |
| 33 | Sim Teong Hiok | 沈仲叶 | 1970 |
| 34 | Toh Siew Tin | 卓秀珍 | 1970 |
| 35 | Ngoh Teck Nam | 伍德南 | 1974, 1977 |
| 36 | Tan Suan Poh | 陈川波 | 1974 |
| 37 | Tan Gim Seng | 陈锦新 | 1974 |
| 38 | Oh Soon Loo | 胡顺裕 | 1974 |
| 39 | Ho Chin Huat | 何进发 | 1975 |
| 40 | Lee Wan Ning | 李菀宁 | 1975 |
| 41 | Ong Sooi Eng | 王瑞荣 | 1975 |
| 42 | Oh Teng Aik | 胡丁海 | 1976 |
| 43 | Teng Ah Boo | 邓银岗 | 1976 |
| 44 | Tan Ping Wee | 陈兴娓 | 1976 |
| 45 | Chew Thiam Pow | 周添宝 | 1976 |
| 46 | Mok Kwong Yue | 莫光裕 | 1977 |
| 47 | Chua Chap Jee | 蔡奕志 | 1977 |
| 48 | Koh Kay Yew | 许赓猷 | 1977 |
| 49 | Pang Thu Sing | 彭杜⽣ | 1977 |
| 50 | Lim Pai | 林沛 | 1979 |
| 51 | Ting Moi King | 陈妹⾦ | 1980 |
| 52 | Vincent Cheng Kim Chuan | 钟⾦全 | 1987 |
| 53 | William Yap Hon Ngian | 叶汉源 | 1987, 1988 |
| 54 | Teo Soh Lung | 张素兰 | 1987, 1988 |
| 55 | Tan Tee Seng | 陈智成 | 1987 |
| 56 | Low Yit Leng | 刘⽉玲 | 1987 |
| 57 | Wong Souk Yee | 黄淑仪 | 1987, 1988 |
| 58 | Chng Suan Tze | 庄瑄芝 | 1987, 1988 |
| 59 | Tang Fong Har | 陈凤霞 | 1987 |
| 60 | Chew Kheng Chuan | 周庆全 | 1987, 1988 |
# Arrested in 1950 under the Emergency Regulations Ordinance, 1948
Photos from the press conference
Function 8, a civil society organisation in Singapore is
commemorating the 60th anniversary of the "2nd February incident" in
a very meaningful way by promoting the joint statement of the former
political detainees that puts forward their demand. According to
"Lianhe Zaobao" Singapore, about 80 people attended the press
conference online and offline.
The event was hosted by Teo Soh Lung, who was detained in the
"Operation Spectrum" in the 1980s under Lee Kuan Yew’s government of
Singapore. Teo is a retired lawyer.
The 86-year-old former trade union leader (now still a registered
TCM Physician practitioner) Chng Min Oh @ Zhuang Ming Hu took a
group photo with Teo Soh Lung, the moderator and the Function 8
working team members after the press conference. Front row from
the left: Chin Wye Tze, Derrick Lim, Wong Souk Yee, Low Yit Leng,
Tan Tee Seng, Fong Hoe Fang. Back row from the left: Teo Soh Lung,
Chng Min Oh @ Zhuang Ming Hu, Pak Geok Choo. Chng Min Oh has
forged a strong bond with Teo Soh Lung and the others in their
contact with each other over the years.
The English rendition of Probing Into The Sufferings Of
Singapore's Left-Wing Labour Movement In The 1960s by Chng Min Oh, was edited and published by the Sahabat Rakyat
editorial board in 2020. Chng Min Oh and his close comrade-in-arms
Tan Sin (Chen Xin@Tan Seng Hin) (83 years old, also the eldest
member of the Sahabat Rakyat Working Committee), both endorsed
this joint statement.
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