The legendary Singapore opposition icon, Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, better known as JBJ (photo credit: Wikipedia), passed away early this morning of heart failure.
After having left the Workers Party, he had just formed the Reform Party to mount a new challenge to PAP dominance. He was the interim secretary general of the party.
He was Singapore’s Mr Opposition, having broken the PAP’s 15-year monopoly in Parliament in the Anson by-election in 1981, winning 52 per cent of the votes to become Singapore’s first opposition MP.
He suffered much personal hardship after being at the losing end of a string of defamation and libel law suits and was forced to pay substantial damages, which eventually left him bankrupt for a number of years.
The first time I met him was some years ago in Johor, where I was speaking at an inter-faith conference and JBJ, an Anglican Christian, was in the audience. Apparently, he was spending a lot of time in Johor back then due to some of his ‘problems’ in Singapore.
During the break, he came up and had some encouraging words for me. And that made a deep impression on me – to actually meet the legend in person.
All through the long, dark years of persecution, he kept the flame burning. For many, his perseverance with what sometimes appeared like a lost cause was an inspiration.
Today, Singapore’s opposition politics is here to stay. In the last general election in Singapore, for instance, huge crowds – usually not shown over the mainstream media – attended the Workers Party’s election rallies.
For his heroic role in keeping the flame of democracy blazing, Singaporeans owe a debt of gratitude to the solitary figure who was often seen in the past at street corners, selling his Workers Party publication, The Hammer, during all those lonely years of struggle. ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven!’ Matthew 5:10.
Rest in peace, JBJ. You have fought the good fight; you have completed the race.
Here is a selection of your tributes:
Says blog reader Richy:
I did not meet him personally. But somehow just as you, he too created an impression on me. His speeches, writings and interviews were very impressive. His last interview with The Star made my heart moved for him. I would like to quote those words of his during the interview:
“At times I feel tired and say to myself: “Don’t you think you should give up now?” But that is only momentary. It is followed by the thought that if I have started on a job and as long as I have the health and strength, I will have to go on with it. And there are people who look to you especially when you walk the streets of Singapore. It is just my conviction that when things are wrong, and if there is anything I can do to put them right, then I should do that. I think every citizen should feel like that. It is a citizen’s duty.
“I did not have many properties but I had to sell a bungalow in a very fashionable area in Singapore to pay the judgment obtained by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. Having sold that, three years later I bought a small apartment, and then I had to sell that too. All in, I had easily about 12 to 13 suits to pay off. Some people say I was a fool. All I can say is I do not regret it because, to me, life is not all about making money and acquiring wealth. Life is doing something for the people around you.”
JBJ had lived his purpose. He had no material wealth but his human values would be hard to earn even with millions of dollars.
Peace be upon your soul, JBJ!
Adds Antony G:
JBJ was indeed a giant among men. He will be remembered as one of the few truly great Singaporeans. I hope that the powers-that-be who hounded him during his life time will now take a minute to stop and think of what JBJ stood for and his contribution in moulding Singapore to what it is today. Without JBJ things would certainly have been different.
I did not have the opportunity to meet this great soul but I have seen him many a time in some Indian Restaurant in Johore Baru all alone over his dosai and sambar.
You have indeed fought the good fight.
Parli-Man pays tribute to JBJ’s fighting spirit:
JBJ will definitely go down in my books as a heroes’ hero. What a man! – who bravely stood up against the system. No matter how many times LKY tried to bring him down, JBJ got back up. He is the true ‘Rocky’ (politically, that is) of our era.
Long live JBJ in our thoughts and in our minds.
May you rest in peace.
JMD says there is a lesson for us all:
Despite all the materialism around him it would have been so easy (for him) to give up, join the crowd, make money and live a luxurious life. What is important is for all (here and in Singapore) to appreciate and understand the why. Why did he continue when it would have been so easy to do otherwise?
There is a lesson in that for all of us, since we (Malaysians and Singaporeans) are cut from the same cloth: The price of democracy and liberty is not cheap. It is innately human to want to be free, to think freely, to act freely and not to be coerced by the State.
RIP JBJ. Gone but not forgotten.
And he was an eloquent speaker, recalls Shyam:
What a lion of a man! It’s a pity that the Singapore of today will not produce anymore like him. It stifles dissent. But where will your creativity come from if you only want to be surrounded by yes men?
I used to enjoy watching Singapore’s parliamentary sessions when JBJ was in Parliament. What a great speaker. The whole bunch of MPs were no match for him. It needed LKY to attend Parliament often to fend off the attacks from JBJ.
To JBJ’s family, he was indeed a man who was greatly respected on both sides of the causeway!
What a great loss for Singapore and the region. Pay your tribute in the comments below.
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I was actually in Singapore studying at the time when he won the Anson seat and was there when the celebration was going one. I salute this great man and have not met some one with so much courage, will power and hope. Rest in peace dear JBJ. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
S.Mosas
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Fairdinkum ,
may his soul rest in peace and God bless us all.
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I hope to get to pay my last respects today on the last day of Ramadan here in Singapore. The first time I saw JBJ was me on top of a float in my first year of law school in SU. We had this fund raising thing for first years. I saw him crossing the street in town and I believe I yelled JBJ! Hurray for Worker’s Party! He turned around and waved at the bunch of freshies. I saw him years years later at the Speaker’s Corner in Hong Lim Green. JBJ is a man of integrity. He will be remembered : )
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God bless his soul a fighter to the end.
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When I was a journalist in Singapore, I met Jeyaretnam in 1989 in an impromptu meeting and joined him for lunch with a friend in a public canteen. He was a humble man and was open to talking to us even though he hardly knew us.
He spoke of how the Singapore government persecuted his family to the extent that his children had to work overseas. Despite the hardships and fiery reputation, he had a gentleness about him. I will remember meeting him as a true politician who put his country first before his politics.
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…a real hero who has been victimised … has died.
….
My deepest condolance to the family of Jaya.
Mustafa
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JBJ’s struggle will be continued though he is no longer with us! His fighting spirit will always be an inspiration for many of our younger generation of Singaporeans and those in Malaysia! May his soul rest in peace!
Das
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Singapore has lost a great son.
Yet, a large number of the youth will never know nor realise the sacrifices made by this man.
God bless his soul.
RIP JBJ.
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JBJ will definitely go down in my books as a heroes’ hero . What a man ! who bravely stood up against the system. No matter how many times LKY tried to bring him down JBJ got back up. He is the true ‘Rocky’ (politically ie) of our era.
Long live JBJ in our thoughts and in our minds.
May you rest in peace
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JBJ was indeed a giant among men.He will be remembered as one of the few truly great Singaporeans.I hope that the powers that be who hounded him during his life time will now take a minute to stop and think of what JBJ stood for and his contribution in moulding Singapore to what it is today.Without JBJ things would certainly have been different.
I did not have the opportunity to meet this great soul but I have seen him many a time in some Indian Restaurant in Johore Baru all alone over his Dosai and sambar.
You have indeed fought a good fight .
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Dear JBJ,May GOD shower HIS eternal mercy and peace upon your soul.
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He was the real “Lion” of Singapore…. Singaporeans owe a lot to him. He gave them the courage to stand up to the “dictatoship” of Lee Kuan Yew.
May he rest in peace
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‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven!’ Matthew 5:10
my condolences and deepest sympathies to the family of our brother in Christ.
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WE ARE SALLUTE U SIR MR JBJ..FR PKR JOHOR: OUR DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO ALL OPPOSTATIONS,FAMILIES OF SIR MR JB JEYARETNAM FOR HAVING TAKING THE TROUBLE TO FIGHT FOR SINGAPOREAN!!! IM NEVER FORGET THE DAYS IM WITH U..WITH TEARS .. RIP
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I did not meet him personally. But somehow just as you, he too created an impression in me. His speeches, writings and interviews were very impressive. His last interview with “the Star” made my heart moved for him. I would like to quote those words of his during the interview with star here,
“At times I feel tired and say to myself: “Don’t you think you should give up now?” But that is only momentary. It is followed by the thought that if I have started on a job and as long as I have the health and strength, I will have to go on with it. And there are people who look to you especially when you walk the streets of Singapore. It is just my conviction that when things are wrong, and if there is anything I can do to put them right, then I should do that. I think every citizen should feel like that. It is a citizen’s duty.”
“I did not have many properties but I had to sell a bungalow in a very fashionable area in Singapore to pay the judgement obtained by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. Having sold that, three years later I bought a small apartment, and then I had to sell that too. All in, I had easily about 12 to 13 suits to pay off. Some people say I was a fool. All I can say is I do not regret it because, to me, life is not all about making money and acquiring wealth. Life is doing something for the people around you.”
JBJ had lived his purpose. He had no material wealth but his human values would be hard to earn even with millions of dollars.
Peace be upon your soul, JBJ!
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Bankrcupted twice to be removed from parliament through politically-motivated defammation suits etc – JBJ is a consunmate fighter, a hero! Rest in peace, JB!
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To the late JBJ
You have shown the world that
One has to stand by one’s principle
No matter how hard it can be
You wanted change, but
What inspired us all was
The means you adopted
A peaceful path
Demonstrating your will
You believed in, that was
Void of violence, but
Mere articulation,let it be
In a democracy
Life was for you a struggle
To see things change, but
When you failed in the process
You never surrendered
You never caved in, and for that
You lived a full life
And raced through it, undeterred
Until the finishing line
Memories of you
Remains unblemished
In the annals of politics
May your soul rest in peace
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im shock hear the news.. its sad day for all opposition party,last month i meet up wit sir jbj at johor bahru walkin alone & i got chance to talk for 10min..he is real fighter,our deepest condolence to families & singaporean… R.I.P.
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Mr J B Jeyaratnam is a nice man a legend who has stood firm for what he believes in, despite all the hardship that has come his way. For that, he is admirable and in my book he is a great man whom I shall always respect.
Tragically, there’ll never be another quite like The Old Man-JBJ. The last of the giants will be missed more for the loss of a source of inspiration than anything else. May the spirits guide you gently home.
My heartiest condolences to all members of his family.
May his soul rest in peace.
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JBJ was resorted to come across the causeway to beg & borrow from friends and bankers to settle his suit debts; as cronies of LKY all avoided him. I have had the privilege to encourage the legendary foe of LKY with the late En. Razak Ahmad in mid-1980s. He has to resort to collaterised his family’s property here to support himself out of his ‘poverty’ situation created by LKY’s suit against him !!
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I was surprised to read about JBJ’s passing away. The MSM did not highlight the death of an icon. JBJ my your soul rest in peace.
I wonder what LKY and his gang now think. They crushed him under a slew of civil litigation cases that hit his pocket hardest, they ridiculed him and they did their darnest to destroy him. Yet he remained and continued. Despite all the materialism around him it would have been so easy to give up, join the crowd, make money and live a luxurious life. What is important is for all (here and in Singapore) to appreciate and understand the why. Why did he continue when it would have been so easy to do otherwise?
There is a lesson in that why for all of us, since we (Malaysians and Singaporeans) are cut from the same cloth.
The price of democracy and liberty is not cheap. It is innately human to want to be free, to think freely, to act freely and not be coerced by the State.
RIP JBJ
Gone but not forgotten.
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Deepest Condolences and May your Soul Rest in HIS Peace.May your
work continues to challenge others to run the race which you started
in the Republic.
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JBJ,
I will never forget you unless senility or death got me first.
Rest In Peace.
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The ultimate judgement comes when we die. At that time the souls don’t carry a resume to tell our worldly achievement.
It is not just JBJ alone, but his whole family suffered. He easily could have changed side, but didn’t. Man of principle.
May his sould rest it peace.
To the family of the late JBJ, my deepest condolence and sympathy. Be assured his name will remain forever.
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My condolence to the family of the last “great lion of Singapore”. Thru hardship he has achieve much for the opposition party. Let’s take a minute of silence from what we are doing to remember the passing of a great man.
On the other hand, I am just waiting with my champagne in hand as to when the Minister Mentor …
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