The Best I Could (7 page)

My friend and I didn’t know what a foolish move we had made when we sat down and ordered our drinks. The drinks came and before we could start drinking, one person in the group of seniors, Chan Kian Hin, who was obviously their leader (and later became my good friend), told us to leave the drinks on the table and to stand up. It was barked out like an order which shocked us. I refused to stand up and because of that, my friend remained seated too. The seniors became very agitated and started shouting at me. They repeatedly asked me to stand up but I continued to refuse. They left my friend alone. There were about eight of them and they all sat down at the table. Kian Hin said I was outnumbered and that none of the group wanted to get physical but if they had to, they would. I remained quiet but refused to stand up. Then one of them tried to lift me and I grabbed my bottle of 7-Up. When they saw me reach for the bottle, some of them panicked and moved away. Kian Hin then asked me why I was going for the bottle. I told him very calmly that I was going to crack his head with it and then stab at least two of them before they got me. I could sense they were scared. A few other senior students who knew me intervened. They said I had no business being in Union House as I was not even a union member and told me to get out. They told my friend she could stay if she wanted to. She rejected their offer and walked out with me. Much later, when I was courting the same girl, she told me she was very surprised by the way I acted that day. She said she was trembling inside but I looked so cool and unafraid. She then asked me whether I would have done what I had threatened to do. I told her I would. She laughed and said she thought I enjoyed the whole incident.

I was a marked man from that day onwards. When term started and ragging officially began, every senior gentleman was after my blood. I had to be tamed. As far as the seniors were concerned, it would be a disaster if I wasn’t. They waited at every corner to confront me, but I refused to buckle. None of the freshies was allowed to be with me. They were threatened and so I walked alone with no friends. I refused to be ragged and humiliated by a bunch of morons who took great pride and satisfaction in humiliating a fellow student. Most of these raggers found courage only when they were in a group. On the occasions when I met any of them alone, they scurried away like the cowards they were. That one month of orientation was hell for me. I had no friends and everywhere I went, I saw hostile faces.

We were coming to the end of the orientation period when I was told secretly by some students that I should watch out for the seniors. They were plotting something against me. I normally sat alone outside Union House near the pond. Sure enough, one day, a group of students led by Karpal Singh (who is now an opposition member of parliament with the Democratic Action Party in Malaysia) confronted me at my table. I realised all the students were from the nearby Dunearn Road Hostel.

Karpal Singh asked me, “Are you a gangster?” I just kept quiet. He told me that silence under the Evidence Act meant yes. I remained quiet wondering what the Evidence Act was about. He then asked me what number I played, meaning what gang I belonged to. I kept quiet. “I am asking very politely, so I expect an answer. Tell me what number you play?” he said.

I told him that if he wanted to speak in that type of language, this was not the right place. Karpal Singh said that as far as he was concerned, it was the right place. I looked at him for some time and said that since he had chosen the place, it was only fair that I chose the time. He nodded his head. I said that I was sick and tired of what was happening to me and that at 7.00 pm that day, I would be at the same place and he was welcome to ask me what number I played. I also told him that this was a serious business and not to take it lightly as people could get hurt. He asked me what I meant by that and I replied that he would find out at 7.00 pm. I had decided that enough was enough. I was prepared to leave the campus and forget about law but before leaving, I was going to teach these senior gentlemen a thing or two. I gathered my things and left. I had a few calls to make.

I called Ah Teng first and told him I needed help. He immediately understood what I meant as I had been complaining to my friends about the ragging. I had told them many times that I felt like leaving university. My friends, who were proud of me as I was the only one from the group who was in university, refused to accept that. I made a few more calls to rally my friends. Ah Teng and Mark knew the campus very well as they dropped me off and picked me up from university on most days. They didn’t want me to face any danger from the seniors, especially outside the campus.

At about 6.30 pm, I walked into Union House by myself. I could sense the excitement. Most students knew of the confrontation that morning and everybody was waiting to see what was going to happen. From where I was sitting, I could see Dunearn Road Hostel. At that time, Bukit Timah Road and Dunearn Road were both two-lane roads separated by the canal that still runs between them today. There were no underpasses as there are now. In fact, it was even before the time when overhead bridges crossed Adam Road. (They have since been removed.) There was a grocery shop called Palaniamma’s in the row of shophouses at the Adam Road/Bukit Timah Road junction and a few houses lined up on the Adam Road/Dunearn Road junction, in front of what later became the Adam Road hawker centre. Then, part of the hawker centre site was still a jungle. It often flooded when it rained heavily, sometimes making the roads impassable to vehicles but, that evening, the weather was fine.

I saw some students walking across the field towards Union House. I recognised some of them as the ones who had confronted me in the morning. Karpal Singh was not with them. It was still early. His friends came and sat a few tables away. I continued drinking my black coffee and puffed on a cigarette as though I had no problems at all. In my mind, this would be my last day in campus because I was sure there was going to be a big fight. People were going to be hurt. I was a bit sad that it had come to this, but I was also excited about what was going to happen.

At about 6.45 pm, I saw five cars moving in a convoy along Dunearn Road. My friends had arrived. Two cars parked along Dunearn Road just outside the entrance of the hostel. The other three cars proceeded towards the direction of Union House. I smiled to myself. Ah Teng and Mark had done their homework carefully. At about 6.55 pm, the three cars arrived at the entrance of Union House and my friends got out of the cars. It was obvious that they were not empty handed. They came into the building shouting my name and I walked towards them. Mark came along with many of my childhood friends like Ah Soo, Ramli, Sam (who is now the president of our temple) and others. I remember Ah Teng asking, “Where are the bastards?”

The next thing I knew people were scampering out of Union House. The students who were not involved stayed put, looking worried but not wanting to miss anything. The Dunearn Road Hostel boys were the first to bolt. They ran across the field towards their hostel. My friends who were waiting in the two cars parked outside got out and chased them. The students did not expect that to happen. Some of them ran along Dunearn Road while others just raised their hands in surrender and sat on the pavement. My friends did not harm them. They were not bullies. In the meantime, I walked around Union House asking those senior gentlemen and ladies who were still around whether they wanted to rag me. All of them said no. My friends told them to pass the word around that I was to be left alone and if they had to come around again, people would get hurt. I got into one of the cars and left. We caught up with the other two cars and headed for Sembawang. My friends told me what a let-down ityear. There had been and that I had wasted their time.

One could get the impression from this incident that I was an important member of a gang. This is not true. Sembawang was a tough neighbourhood to grow up in. I had many friends inside and outside the Base. We were mostly around the same age and shared the same interests like playing football and listening to the popular music of the day. The Beatles and Elvis Presley were huge then. It was one big family and we were there for each other. I may have been the pride and joy of not only my parents but also the friends I grew up with. I was the first student from the Base to ever go to Raffles Institution to do the ‘A’ levels. I was also the first from the Base to study law. My friends wanted to see me succeed academically. I was doing what they could not do and they accepted it. There was no jealousy or envy. They were prepared to do anything to help me and definitely didn’t want a bunch of students to destroy my future. That’s how deep our friendship was. The day after the incident, I went to university as usual. Everybody left me alone. Some of my friends who were scared to be seen with me came over to say hello. They were not frightened any more.

Soon, orientation month was over and everybody continued with the business of studying. Eventually, the seniors forgave me. I played football for the university for four years. I also played for the combined universities of Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. I was president of the Non-Hostelites Organisation which represented all the students who did not stay in the hostels. It was the second largest organisation after the Students’ Union. I was also secretary-general of the Socialists’ Club (a club which Mr Lee Kuan Yew once described as a pro-communist club) and an executive committee member of the Law Society of the university.

During my time, the intake of law students was high and anyone who qualified was probably accepted. But in the years that followed, many were told to leave or had to repeat a year. There was no re-exam for students in the law faculty. In my third year, we were joined by some repeat students. One of them was Lau Tow Weng. He was from Malacca and we became good friends. Lau, Isaac Selvanathan, Tommy Choo, Christian Ayadurai and a few others who often joined us at Union House made up one of my cliques.

One day, while we were having our usual coffee in Union House, the subject of Karpal Singh popped up. I stated that he was a coward who did not turn up when he was supposed to during the orientation incident, about two years earlier. Lau looked at me and said that I didn’t know the full story. Karpal and his friends had returned to Dunearn Road Hostel that morning and reported what happened. They said that I had challenged them to go back to Union House at 7.00 pm. Some of the students were worried and consulted a security officer, Martin, at the library. Martin was supposed to be a high ranking member of a triad. He told the students that I was very dangerous and that they should not fool around with me. Later on, when I was doing my pupilage, Martin came to me for help on a case which I will recount later in the book.

After hearing Martin’s advice, the students went back to the hostel and told Karpal and his friends not to turn up at 7.00 pm as they might get hurt. Karpal said he had to go. It didn’t matter if he was going to get hurt or killed because his reputation was at stake. At about 6.45 pm, his friends burst into his room, overpowered him, tied him up and locked him in the room. They made sure he was released only after we had left. Lau told me that Karpal was a brave man. I had no reason to doubt Lau and my impression of Karpal changed.

Many years later, the Workers’ Party chairman, Wong Hong Toy, was charged with contempt of court. I was asked by J B Jeyaretnam to defend him. I was not familiar with the law and was quite nervous to appear alone. On the other side was Attorney-General Tan Book Teik, who was assisted by Glenn Knight. In desperation, on the eve of the hearing, I called Karpal Singh in Penang. When he took the phone, I told him who I was and he laughed. “You are the Sembawang kid, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” I replied.

I told him I needed his help and explained the problem. I said that the Workers’ Party could only pay for his air ticket and hotel room expenses. They were unable to pay his fees. He said that it was not a problem and asked when the case was scheduled for hearing.

“Tomorrow,” I said.

“What, tomorrow!” he exclaimed and scolded me. He said he had many things going on in Penang. He was also by then a member of parliament. I apologised and said that I was only given the approval to call him that same morning. He was still very angry and grumbled about me being irresponsible, but he said he would call me back. I didn’t think he would and began to get ready for the case. However, at about 3.00 pm, Karpal Singh called me. He said that he would be coming to Singapore with his wife and gave details of his flight. I was so relieved. I was at the airport to receive him and his wife, a lovely woman. I took them to the Pavilion Inter-Continental Hotel (now The Regent Hotel) and checked them in. After that, we left to see J B Jeyaretnam at his flat. We worked on the case until around 4.00 am. We argued the case before Justice Sinnadurai. Karpal was at his best, giving the Attorney-General and Glenn Knight a run for their money. Judgment was reserved. That night, I took Karpal and his wife to dinner with my then girlfriend, who later became my wife. J B Jeyaretnam couldn’t join us. It was a wonderful dinner. In a way it was good that Jeyaretnam was not there as we were reminiscing about Union House and all the mad things we did.

The next day I went to the hotel, paid the bill and invited Karpal and his wife for lunch. I also bought some gifts for them. Jeyaretnam again said he could not join us. I was very disappointed. Maybe it showed in my face. Karpal said, “Subhas, why are you so glum today?” I did not reply and he asked, “Is it because Jeyaretnam is not here?” Again I kept quiet. He looked at me and said: “You know, I didn’t come down to Singapore to see Jeyaretnam or his party members. I came down because you asked for help and you know the Union House spirit that binds us will not allow me to let you down.” He then grabbed my shoulder and asked me not to be so moody. I laughed and I realised that this was really a great man. I was glad he was unable to keep his appointment with me that day in Union House.

Ladyhill Hotel was a favourite haunt of university students during my time. It was a walking distance from campus and the stroll down the Nassim area amid the leafy environment and the massive colonial houses could be romantic, especially at night. It reminded me a bit of Sembawang. Ladyhill Hotel was also near the Soviet Union embassy.