I'd just like to provide a little more insight to one of those arrested - a little known unsung hero, 34-year-old lawyer, V Ganabathirau, who hit the limelight recently as one of the core leaders of Hindraf.
As you may have read from the New Straits Times , Gana is a DAP member . What makes the whole ugly episode so close to me is that Gana is a member of the DAP Damansara branch, of which I am chairperson. Gana joined me in March this year and subsequently helped form the Taman Muda branch in Shah Alam of which he is the advisor.
Having known him for the past eight months or so, I cannot claim to know him inside out. But there are some things which I will vouch for him with my life. Gana is not a racist. He is not a religious fanatic, neither is he a terrorist, as he is insinuated to be. He is the complete opposite of what the Pak Lah administration, through the mainstream mouthpieces, would like to paint him to be.
Gana is a full-blooded Malaysian who strongly believes that all Malaysians regardless of ethnicity must have equal opportunities to succeed. While some may quibble over the fact that Hindraf could have taken a greater multi-racial outlook in its position, no right-thinking Malaysian will deny them the fact that the overwhelming majority of Indians in this country are severely marginalised and live below or near the poverty line. With the way Malaysian politics is framed at this point of time, it is unsurprising that the ethnic Indians found themselves having to stand up and be counted. They really have nothing else to lose.
Some will argue that I can afford to spend time on politics today because I've made some money after having sold my company. Gana, despite having just started his own fledgling law firm, found himself frequently travelling (at least weekly) between his hometown Teluk Intan and his residence in Shah Alam to provide services to the needy and unfortunate. He even financed the rental and refurbishment of a service centre in Teluk Intan to carry out his services.
When I received cases at my own service centre in Damansara Utama and was in need of legal services to assist the complainants, Gana offered his services with no hesitation. For example, there was a group of seven contractors who failed to receive payment from a housing developer. Gana took up their case and offered legal advice pro bono. When legal action was required, I had to convince him to accept some payment from these contractors! Guess what? These contractors were all Chinese, but race never ever came into the picture, as should be the case for all right-thinking Malaysians.
Gana, the youngest of three brothers, is a son that would have made any family proud. He belongs to the Indian Telugu community and grew up in a poor family that made just enough to survive. Gana never had the privilege of completing his education at one go. After finishing Form 5, he had to take up various odd jobs to help support himself and his family.
However, that did not prevent him from investing his earnings and taking part-time courses to pursue his ambition of becoming an officer of the court. His dream came true in his late 20s when he graduated with a law degree from the University of London’s external programme.
He plied his trade as a legal assistant with a law firm in Teluk Intan before saving sufficiently to set up his own firm, having moved to Shah Alam late last year. But all these while, he held political ambitions, not to further enrich himself by illegal and unethical means but ambitions to play a part in the betterment of his marginalised community and of Malaysians in general. Having set up his own firm, he had, for better or worse, the flexibility to spend time on social and political causes. He did it with all his heart and soul.
Not too long ago, Gana got married to a school teacher. His first-born came on Merdeka day this year. His baby daughter is barely four months old and if Pak Lah has his way, by the time Gana is released from ISA detention, his daughter would be more than two years old. When Gana first pointed out his wife to me, she was sitting in the stands where he was being charged with sedition in the Klang sessions court. You could see tears in her eyes. Her fears have unfortunately come true.
Gana told me that his wife was a former Tamil school debater and is very politically-aware. In fact, she used to tease that he only knew how to "talk" politics but never got his hands dirty. More recently however, she would half-jokingly tell him that she regretted having ever encouraged him to join the fight for a just cause.
Gana is a good man. He has sacrificed selflessly to help create a better Malaysia for all Malaysians, particularly for the underprivileged and marginalised community. He quickly rose to prominence through sheer tenacity, hardwork, eloquence and dedication to the cause. About 30,000 Indians from all parts of Malaysia walked the streets of Kuala Lumpur not because they had nothing better to do, but because they shared his cause. They believed that enough is enough!
Pak Lah who is clearly unable to hear, accept and deal with the truth has invoked the draconian ISA in hopes of sweeping everything under the carpet. Thankfully, Gana has kind and loving family members who will help take care of his wife and child. DAP, as announced by the party secretary-general, will be setting up a fund to assist the families of those who have been detained without trial.
My eyes were moist as I wrote this letter. I firmly believe that Gana will be a stronger man post-detention. You would not have heard the last of him for a long time yet. I expect him to be a future leader of this country, a rare breed of the much needed righteous, caring, intelligent and dedicated kind who will contribute immensely to creating a better Malaysia for our future generations. His personal sacrifices must not and will not be in vain.
