Next week will see social activist Hishamuddin Rais either having to undergo a nine-month jail sentence for sedition or otherwise, when the Court of Appeal hears his case on Monday.

The 65-year-old - known as one who never minces his words together with his trademark black coat and fedora hat - will sorely be missed especially by many young activists who view him as their mentor.

It is not surprising, therefore, for Gerakan Hapus Akta Hasutan (GHAH) and Kelab Bangsar Utama to embark on the #IshamRais campaign.

Social media users were encouraged to send messages of solidarity with the hashtag IshamRais on Twitter and Facebook as well as to change their profile pictures to that of Hishamuddin’s.

A close friend to Hishamuddin, Bersih secretariat member Mandeep Singh said the campaign, which was launched on Tuesday, has since garnered thousands of retweets on Twitter.

“I'm not sure how many exactly, but for sure it’s in the thousands. (The hashtag) has also been trending every day,” he told Malaysiakini.

In a series of tweets, Mandeep (photo) said he can tweet and write posts about Hishamuddin on Facebook but he cannot deny how he is sad about the man.

“Honestly, I’m sad. Sleeping in prison is not easy,” he tweeted.

“You may say that it’s only nine months. Damn, nine months in prison is not easy.”

Commenting on Hishamuddin’s possible predicament in jail, activist Syukri Razab is of the opinion that the authorities can only imprison Hishamuddin’s body.

“If the regime thinks they can contain his voice by imprisoning him, they are wrong.

“If they really want to kill his voice, they have to imprison hundreds, even thousands of young people who have been enlightened by him,” said Syukri in an article in tribute of Hishamuddin.

Hishamuddin’s idealism, he said, will continue to flourish in the hearts and minds of young people.

Syukri added that Hishamuddin, himself a former student activist during his days as a student in Universiti Malaya, has always been firm in his belief that it would be hard to achieve change in the country through elections alone.

No one, he said, can deny Hishamuddin’s obsession when it comes to street demonstrations.

And he is definitely not one who aims for riches and the comforts of life.

After years of fighting for the rakyat, he doesn’t even own a car, using the public transport wherever he goes, Syukri pointed out.

A good friend who never holds grudges

Meanwhile, lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri said Hishamuddin is a good friend who never holds grudges.

And because of Hishamuddin, her life has been colourful, said Fadiah, having been on the ‘gagalis list’.

The gagalis list is an annual list by Hishamuddin, posted on his blog about his friends who are single on Valentine’s Day.

“#IshamRais is the god of gagalis!” tweeted Fadiah (photo), of the man who has never been married.

Fellow lawyer, Lawyers for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen said he came to know Hishamuddin during his detention under the now defunct Internal Security Act (ISA) in 2011.

“It would be extremely foolish to jail #IshamRais - just gonna rile up a lot of people, especially youths,” he tweeted on Tuesday.

The Malaysiakini columnist was sentenced by the High Court in January to a nine-month jail term for sedition after the prosecution’s appeal for a heavier sentence was allowed.

The court, however, allowed a temporary suspension of the sentence pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal with a conditional bail of RM6,000.

The Sessions Court had previously sentenced him to a fine of RM5,000.

In 2013, together with politicians Tian Chua, Tamrin Ghafar and activists Adam Adli Abdul Halim, Haris Ibrahim and Muhammad Safwan Anang, Hishammuddin was charged with sedition for their speeches at a forum made on May 13.

Hishamuddin and the others had allegedly incited the public to overthrow the government through street protests after BN won the general election although the popularity vote was won by the opposition.