[Upon release from detention, this letter was sent out to friends on 12 October 1988.]
You already know that I was detained by the police on the 27 October 1987. I was released on the 17 September 1988 with a number of conditions imposed upon me. The conditions are:
* Restricted to the police districts of Kuala Lumpur, the Federal Territory, Petaling Jaya and Kajang.
* To be in the home from 9.00 pm to 6.00 am.
* To report to the police on the 1st and 15th of every month.
*Not to change place of residence except with police permission.
* Not to take part in political activities.
Of the five restrictions, the second affects my ministry most. I am unable to attend prayer meetings and conduct Bible studies which take place at 8.00 pm and finish at about 9.30 pm. Pastoral visits in the evenings are also affected. The meetings can of course be held in our home, but that would cause inconvenience to many people. The last condition does not affect me in any way since I have never been involved in political activities apart from voting, which I am still allowed to do.
The Charge and Allegations
The charge made against me was that I had been involved in propagating the Christian faith to Malays, who are Muslims by law, which may cause tension to arise between the various races in Malaysia and thereby pose a threat to internal security.
Four allegations were made against me which were supposed to support the charge. The allegations were made by distorting the statements that I had given to the police during the period of interrogation which took place in the first two weeks of detention. They were therefore totally untrue.
I have always preached faithfully the full implications of the Great Commission, including the significance of the ‘ta ethne’ (the nations) in Matthew 28:19. But the ministry had kept me busy so that I was myself unable to bring the gospel to the Malays. I have encouraged and helped a number of Malays who had already become Christians before I met them. Under the Malaysian Constitution every individual (which I interpret, correctly, to include a person who is ethnically a Malay) has the right to choose and practise his religion. The police appeared to be unhappy over the fact that I had helped these Malay Christians.
A group of Christians, Chinese and Malay, had met regularly to pray for and help Malays who become Christians. This fellowship, under the leadership of one Philip Cheong, organised a conference in December 1986 to bring together Malay Christians so that they might be encouraged. I was invited to give three talks based on Galatians. Also, a member of Philip Cheong’s group, the evangelist Joshua Jamaluddin who is Malay, was known to me. I was therefore wrongly suspected of being a member of the group.
In October 1987 the police arrested a total of 106 people under the infamous Internal Security Act to defuse the escalating tension between the different races in the country which was caused mainly by the politicians. The people arrested included politicians, educationists, trade unionists, social workers and church workers. I was among those arrested.
The First 60 Days
The ISA permits the police to detain people for an initial period of sixty days for investigation, after which a detention order of two years may be imposed on the detainee without trial in an open court. The detention order may be renewed at the end of every two years.
I was taken, blindfolded and handcuffed, to an undisclosed police remand centre somewhere near the city of Kuala Lumpur. I was given an identification number in place of my name and had to change into prison clothes. I was kept isolated in a small cell in which was a cement bed and a squatting-toilet that had a water pipe attached about a foot from the floor level. In the first two weeks, I was taken in and out of the cell handcuffed, blindfolded with opaque goggles, and barefooted for interrogation everyday.
Two police officers were assigned to interrogate me. Subtle threats, suggestive hints of impending release, provocative remarks and flattery were all used in the process of interrogation. My letters had been intercepted and telephone conversations tapped. It was a tough time for me trying to be “as gentle as a dove and as wise as a serpent”. I did not want to lose any little vestige of psychological advantage and so did not wash my hair since washing will cause it to be dishevelled and there was no hair cream to press it down. I was prepared to be physically assaulted but I wasn’t. The tension between telling the truth and withholding information from those who have no right to know was not much of a problem to me. I was so certain that I had not broken any law and could answer the questions on my activities with a clear conscience. The interrogation was finished in two weeks.
The de-individualisation process, the isolated confinement and the total absence of any reading material made the days difficult to pass. I spent the time observing the antics of some house-spiders and the behaviour of the ants on the walls. I composed some songs in the mind for my sons, although I am not much of a musician. I sang and whistled hymns and prayed every time the muezzin called from a nearby mosque. When lunch time arrived, I gave thanks to God for the passing of half the day. When dinner time arrived, I gave thanks to God that the day was nearly over. I thought much of my family and the church and felt terribly lonely. Not knowing how long I was going to be detained, I forced myself to do some stretching exercises every evening in the confined space of the cell to keep fit. The cell was hot in the day and cold in the early hours of the morning.
I was allowed to meet my family once a week, each time for half an hour. This took place in a police station in the city. We were warned not to mention anything concerning my case, otherwise the privilege of family visits would be taken away. A police officer was present every time. Some detainees were released after a few weeks. That made me expectant about being released but it did not happen. I was afraid of losing count of the days and began marking the wall with the edge of the tooth-paste tube for each day that passed. Towards the end of the sixty days, some officers came to issue me the order for two years’ detention.
Detention at Kamunting
We were sent to the detention camp at Kamunting some 240km north of Kuala Lumpur, in a police bus. Of the one hundred and six arrested, forty were detained while the rest had been released. We were distributed to different compounds that were enclosed by two layers of fences: the first layer was of zinc sheets which obstructed the view and the outer layer was of barbed wire. We stayed in dormitories and could interact with one another within our own compound.
Our families could visit us once a week. Food could be brought in to supplement what we were provided with. Reading materials were censored first. We could write only four letters to our immediate families once a week, and these were censored before they were sent out. Spies were planted in our midst by the rehabilitation officers and this created a lot of suspicion and tension among the detainees in the initial period. When the spies were identified, or transferred to other areas, or released, things became more peaceful.
I kept a rigid daily routine — sleeping at about 11.00 pm and rising at 7.00 am, doing Kung-fu exercises for an hour, learning New Testament Greek for about four hours, watching the television for an hour, and writing or reading for the rest of the time. In the last two months of my time there, I spent an hour each day learning Tai-chi (a form of Chinese martial arts) from a “hardcore” detainee who has been in detention eleven years and another hour teaching Kung-fu to two other detainees. During the detention, I finished the Greek course (based on the text by Wenham), read thirty-two books, completed the writing of two booklets and partially completed writing a third book.
The rigid routine helped me pass the time there. The separation from my family, however, was very hard to bear. My wife, Goody, had to bear the brunt of family responsibilities. The children missed me badly and were unwell very often. Members of the church were very supportive — baby-sitting, driving the family up for family visits, taking over church responsibilities, and doing countless other chores. Support in terms of prayers, gifts, letters, telephone calls and visits from Christians in this country and abroad has been overwhelming and was a great help to me and my family.
Christian lawyers offered their services and were able to visit me at the camp a number of times. I was on the verge of filing for “habeas corpus” in court through them when the Special Branch officers came and told me that they were recommending my release. The decision to file for “habeas corpus” was itself a difficult one to make. This was the first time that Christians were held under the ISA for religious reasons. The rehabilitation officers at the camp used all their powers to dissuade me from proceeding with court actions. There was the fear in me that I might be re-arrested should I win the court case, as had happened to many others before. My family would then be subject to further anguish. At the same time, I felt that it was my responsibility as a pastor to make a stand for religious liberty and the rights of conscience.
With the indication that I was going to be released, which was confirmed by the Advisory Board (supposedly independent, but in reality it worked hand-in-hand with the Special Branch) which convened a few weeks after that, I decided to postpone the court action. No date was set for my release. On 17 September 1988, news of my release arrived. After all the necessary paperwork was finished I was taken out of the camp together with eight other detainees at 9.00 pm. We were left in the nearby town of Taiping to find our own way home. I telephoned my wife, chartered a taxi with another released detainee, and arrived home at 3.30 am. The next morning, while I was still sleeping, our eldest son came into the bedroom and called out, “Papa!” as he jumped over me to give a big hug. His face did not show the usual smile but was contorted with emotion. Being older, he understood more than the other two boys.
Reflections
The whole experience has been very unpleasant for myself and my family. I came home physically fit but emotionally drained. In the first few days of freedom, I found myself a bit disorientated and was tempted to become bitter in spirit. But in the providence of God good has come out of it all. The reading, writing and studies accomplished during the detention would have been impossible in the same period of time under normal circumstances. There was opportunity to bear witness to the other detainees. It was a time for personal reflection and heart-searching. Members of the church were forced into positions of responsibilities, which was good for them and the church. Then there is the greater good brought to the worldwide Church in that believers everywhere were stirred to prayer. I look forward with expectancy for the Lord’s blessings in the work of the gospel in this land. Other good things that have arisen will be revealed in time, or eternity. Truly, in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose!
Of the five Christians detained for the same reason, one was released with me. Since our release, Joshua Jamaluddin had filed for “habeas corpus” and won the case. He has been released and is safe at the moment. We are waiting to see whether the Government will appeal against the decision, which it has one month to do. The other two still under detention are Philip Cheong and Hilmy bin Mohamad Noor, the latter of Malay ethnicity. They are filing for “habeas corpus” as well. Philip is an insurance supervisor by profession and Hilmy is a sales executive with Shell. Both of them are married and Philip has four children. Do remember them in prayers. My lawyers have also written to the Attorney General to have the restrictions imposed upon me lifted, failing which court action may be necessary. Our problems are not all over yet.
My family and I would like to thank all who have supported us in different ways in our difficult time. Your affectionate concern has been a great help and we are truly grateful to you, and to our God.
~~~~~