Monday, December 23, 2013

BAT TOWN PROJECT

(speech delivered by K.Siladass to officiate this event on 22nd December 2013)

I am very delighted that a group of youngsters from Kluang have shown immense creativity in thought and action by organising this Bat Town Project. These youngsters of Kluang have shown that there is always a correct way in life and pursue that course to better and reach greater heights. A very thoughtful attitude and approach at a very young age.

It is not an exaggeration if I were to say that we see youths in great numbers who have lost their way and found themselves in activities which are socially and legally incorrect. The organizers of this event have shown, given a chance their energies individually and jointly could be directed to activities which could benefit the society, and the country as a whole.

By dedicating their energy in re-discovering Kluang, I believe it is the first step in right direction to acquire more knowledge and bring it to the notice of the whole Malaysia and the world. History is all about the past. Sometimes history is lost under the weight of ignorance and disinclination to know and understand the past. These children are indeed reminding us of the necessity to understand, appreciate and treasure the past. I am confident that other towns would emulate our young organisers.

When I first came to this town in the mid-fifties I was just
passing by which was forced upon me. The train service between Labis and the south had been interrupted because of derailment caused by terrorist activities. We had to travel in military truck from Labis to Kluang and here I had to take a cab. At that time it was a small town
surrounded with many plantations of rubber trees. When passing by it did not strike me I will return to Kluang one day.

However, a few years later, may be at the end of 1957 I returned to Kluang and not long after that I began to work as clerk in a law firm along Jalan Ismail. I am told by the organisers of this event that they have begun their discovery along Jalan Ismail.

It is in No. 19, Jalan Ismail, I first met the late Chelvasingham McIntyre, who was then the High Commissioner for India. Before entering the diplomatic services, McIntyre was an active lawyer with an office in Kluang and that too at Jalan Ismail. McIntyre would, in later years, become the judge of the High Court in Malaya and the Federal Court. He also served as the head of the Industrial Tribunal.

It is at No. 19, Jalan Ismail, I began my legal career.

Along the same road, just beside the Chinese School there was a law firm of M.P.D. Nair & Co. M.P.D Nair was a prominent politician in Singapore and he had also served as a Minister in the Labour Front Government in the
mid-fifties.

Jalan Ismail is noted for its other important occupant. Dr. Wee Lee Fong, my friend, practised medicine on one of the premises along Jalan Ismail. Dr. Wee Lee Fong, a soft spoken medical practitioner, was the Secretary-General of the Labour Party of Malaya and a very fiery speaker.

I left Kluang in the late fifties and returned in July 1964 and continued as a legal clerk at 12, Jalan Lambak, Kluang. Once again I left Kluang in the early seventies to read law. My law firm began the practice on the same premises in 1987 and continues to be there. The number of premises had changed but not the structure.

Perhaps the youngsters who have boldly ventured into this marvellous project must also give impetus to nature and beautify the town. Nature by itself is beautiful and let us not destroy it. It is nature which gives us the encouragement to see things in better perspective. Nature is a great artist and we all derive our inspiration from it. So let us not destroy it. Gunung Lambak is a natural beauty providing immense rich scenes in the mornings and evenings when lights add further glamour to the town. Another important feature we need to acknowledge is the significant role played by Kluang Rail which had its humble beginning at Kluang Railway Station in 1938, and the aroma of its coffee has spread throughout the country. There are many out of Kluang who express their enthusiasm to visit Kluang just to taste the rail coffee.

One of the direct descendants of the founder of Kluang Railway Station Coffee Shop, Mr. Jack Lim, still holds the family tradition and had indeed spread the aroma of rail coffee to various places in Kluang itself. Kluang Rail has become synonymous with Kluang Town.   

I wish the organisers the best in their endeavour and I am confident they will succeed. And I am also confident that the citizens of Kluang will wholeheartedly support this project and the organisers.

These are the youths with whom the future of Malaysia is destined. And I am confident that these youngsters are the symbol of the future with dynamic mind and dynamic future.


I am glad and honoured to declare open this worthwhile project.

Friday, December 13, 2013

MANDELA A BEACON FOR MALAYSIA

K. Siladass


The sad news that Nelson Mandela had become part of nature would bring sadness to those who had vigorously opposed racism, religious fanaticism and views based on colour of the skin and continue to do so. When the minority white regime in South Africa practised apartheid thus suppressing and oppressing the basic rights and dignity of the majority black race Mandela fought against it and for that he was incarcerated for more than a quarter of a century.

Upon his release from prison, considering the welfare of South Africa and the people he sowed the seed of reconciliation and found oneness in the people and in South Africa.

It is said that at one time when the South African Constitutional court declared that a law approved by Mandela, when he was President was a nullity, he instructed his legal advisers that the court’s decision should be followed. This illustrates the respect he had for justice. He did not condemn those (judges) who nullified his legislation, and his acceptance of the verdict brings out the magnanimity that resided within him. He believed in justice and justice can only mean that it is for all.

Unlike those, who, once having achieved power refused to let it go this Nobel prize la ureate served as President of South Africa only once and retired, spending the rest of his life serving the country and the people. He showed the world that political power is not the only means by which good things can be done.

The most important treasure Mandela had bequeathed to the human race is his ever oozing humane consideration. Although he was deprived of liberty at a young age by forces which implemented racist policies, but upon attaining freedom he did not show any animosity or hatred towards the minority white race which was instrumental to those ignominious laws: instead, he brought them into his fold and showed the world all can live happily as one family. This is a lesson to racists and religious fanatics.

Should Malaysia follow Mandela’s broad minded, meaningful and  useful approach it can achieve national reconciliation. On the world stage Malaysia claims to be a modern country. This is not enough, it must have the political will to declare and implement laws to show that there is no place for racism or religious fanaticism in this land of multiple races, religions and cultures.

It is no use crying over Mandela’s death or giving lip service to racial and religious understanding. Would his sacrifice and devotion to peace and human understanding be respected and his efforts carried on? Looking from that point of view one could say in a multi-racial, and multi-religious and multi-cultural Malaysia Mandela can be a beacon.
                           
Mandela is a time which had merged with nature. Memories remain. His work and his thoughts towards a better human relationship must continue. If the human race could continue that journey of Mandela that would be the greatest respect the human race can show Nelson Mandela.  


Dated: 11.12.2013