EDITOR'S NOTE: Some factual errors about P Patto's public service have been corrected.
MALAYSIANSKINI | Batu Kawan MP Kasthuriraani Patto is probably best known for two reasons. Firstly, being the daughter of DAP’s legendary firebrand leader P Patto, and secondly, being at the receiving end of some ungentlemanly remarks from Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim in July this year.
But neither is the reason she deserves your attention. Growing up in a politically aware household has left Kasthuri, as she is better known, with a deep passion for fighting injustice in its various forms.
While it’s been a roller-coaster ride since she was first elected in 2013, she is not one to contemplate walking away in the middle of a fight.
Her late father was detained twice under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in 1978 and during Operasi Lalang, and served as state assemblyperson for Gopeng (1974-82) and Sungai Pari (1986-90) as well as MP for Menglembu (1978-82), Ipoh (1986-90) and Bagan (1995). He was the incumbent MP for Bagan when he died from a heart attack in 1995.
Now into her second term as an MP, Kasthuri credits her political passions to not just her father but her mother Mary, who was a DAP pioneer as well.
Her commitment is to progressive causes such as parliamentary reform, women’s rights and opposing the death penalty, and she is determined to stick to her beliefs even if the viewpoint is not the popular path to follow.
As the Parliament prepares for a potentially explosive sitting that commences today, we spoke to Kasthuri, who at age 41 is part of a new generation of MPs who can be looked upon to help lead the country into a new political era.
This is her story in her own words:
I had always seen myself involved in politics. I understood poverty and inequality from a young age through the many walkabouts and campaigns with my late father and his comrades. I was taught just through observing how down to earth he and his party comrades were, which made it so easy for everyone to speak to.
Social injustice pricked at my heart at a young age, inequality, especially gender equality, also spoke volumes to me.
Seeing myself in politics wasn’t a very alien sight as my mother Mary was also active in politics.
She was the first secretary for Wanita DAP when it was formed and has been not only a very strong-willed, smart wife to my father and a very loving, selfless person to my sister (Shaalini Anne) and I, but a political confidante to my father as well.
Till this day we talk about politics almost every day. So, it would be fair to say that both my father and mother played a huge role in me getting myself involved in politics.
My late father did not spend as much time with the family as my sister and I, and of course, my mother would have wanted him to. Party work, as well as an elected representative, took a lot of his time.
But he did try his best to make time for us on Sundays to sit down – literally sit down on the floor in the hall with straw mats, and raffia mats having a hearty meal that my mother would have painstakingly prepared.
We would laugh and I remember one episode where I was instructed to finish my onions with French beans perettal (fried) and my father glared at me to finish, to which I responded: “I don’t even have freedom in this house.”
I think I almost caught him stifling his laughter.
His time in detention was a dark period for my sister and me, but the darkest was when he passed away.
When he was detained in 1987, I was eight and my sister was six. My mother was getting phone calls to inform her that “Kit Siang and Guan Eng had been detained and Patto would be next”.
She put on a rock-solid brave front and started making calls to see where he was. It must have been a horrendous wait for her as there were no mobile phones in 1987, so public booths and landlines were just about the only modes of communication.
My father was detained on Oct 27, 1987, and was kept under 60 days of solitary confinement and interrogations enough to break any man or woman. But he rallied on – keeping a cool head and recording and etching in his mind every single thing that had happened to him.
As for us, it was awful. We knew for a fact our father didn’t do any wrong. He did not steal, kill, plunder or lie. We never lived a rich, fanciful life but it was rich with spirit, happiness and joy, especially when he was around.
I visited my father for the first time after the detention in early November and we hugged and cried. My little sister wept for him as she was his little “chello (pet) girl”, sharing the same birthday as him.
The next 15 months consisted of once-a-week visits to see him in the Kamunting Detention Camp in Taiping.
Mum would wake up as early as 2.30am and cook his favourite food, also to be shared with the other future ‘graduates’ from Kamunting. Mutton perettal, chicken curry, fried chicken, salted fish curry used to tickle our noses in the wee hours of the morning.
My late uncle Anthony or party comrades, Uncle (Fong) Ah Wah would take turns to drive us to Taiping. There we would stop at the Taiping Market to buy some steamy hot apom balik and head to the camp.
Anything and everything to be given to my father was vetted and checked and re-checked for any information smuggled for their eyes and ears.
After the long wait at the gazebo, my sister and I would compete to see who could walk faster to see our father first. That was how excited we were. The first meeting was so painful, and I remember it to this day.
The visitation block has one room which has two doors on opposite sides of the room. It was all tears with us all huddled together with my mother and my father the other side and separated by a plastic or glass partition and thin iron bars sandwiched between them and a small hole the size of a tennis ball opposite your forehead and a small hole, like at a goldsmith, where they would hold hands and she would kiss and hold tightly against her face.
We cried so much and the guard in the room must have felt sorry for us, he allowed my sister and me to run around the block to be with my father while my mother held the fort on the other side.
This went on for months, as I would rush to school after that. In between, we visited Parliament to submit a petition to call for the release of all ISA detainees.
On another day, we had a small picket protest in front of the detention camp. I remember asking the officer on duty why had he caught my father. He didn’t steal, he didn’t cheat, he didn’t kill or murder anyone, so why is he in jail? The officer then told my father that both his daughters were among the noisy ones, like Sangeet Kaur and Gobind Singh Deo. My father beamed with pride.
He was released in January 1989 and it was the happiest day of my life. I was in school and my sister came to get me. It was truly a cocktail of emotions. Was he ok? Is he ill? Did he have a fall? But all she said was “Akka, let’s go. Papa is coming home. He is going to be released”. I let out a cry and chucked my things in my bag and ran out to our old car waiting to take us to Taiping to welcome home our Papa.
Sometimes I hear stories that bring tears to my eyes. Like how my father mentioned to an officer how it pained him knowing that his youngest, his baby girl, was going to attend her first day of school in Standard 1 without him. Reminiscing this still brings tears to my eyes – even now.
I have many sources of inspiration. I was an ardent reader and loved reading all kinds of books – including at one time about Aung San Syu Ki as the face of resistance in Myanmar, of Martin Luther King and his struggle and fight for civil liberties and equality for all.
I loved reading about the human spirit, of persistence and indomitable spirit fighting tyranny. I read about Saddam Hussein and Princess Diana, of Pol Pot and the Bible. I am inspired to be the best version of myself by the heroes and not to ever allow power, position, greed and money turn me into these monsters.
Even though I’m still early in my career, there have been many significant satisfying moments. When you are able to help those in need, the minorities and the marginalised, when they cry and tell you their problems and you assist them in any way possible – the looks on their faces and the language of gratitude spoken diversely – truly rewarding.
I would like to see a more robust web of social justice and one that will really not leave anyone behind. To eradicate poverty, to ensure all children stay in school and are given equal opportunities to see their dreams turn to reality, to end child marriages, to abolish the death penalty, to ensure every person can enjoy their freedom of religion and belief, for more women in politics and to fight corruption, to uphold righteousness and to break the chain of racism and bigotry.
My biggest challenge is fighting for my voice to be heard, the blatant racism and sexism, the discrimination. It is not easy for a woman’s voice to be heard in politics, but over time it will happen. Also, encouraging more women to be active in politics.
In July there was an encounter in Parliament with Baling MP Azeez. To me, he is an uncouth, shameless person and is a repeat offender in spewing racist and sexist remarks in Parliament.
In October 2015, he called me a pondan and in July 2020 insulted my skin colour and me as a female elected representative. He kept backpedalling on his justifications for calling me that. He was unrepentant in his half-baked apology and walked scot-free with no fine or a suspension.
Therefore I had submitted a proposal to Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun to amend the Standing Orders to "criminalise" unparliamentary language in the august House by automatically referring the said MP to the Rights and Privileges Committee and make him liable for a fine for a minimum of RM500.
I will chase the speaker on the amendment in the coming sitting. The problem is the sheer arrogance and shamelessness of an elected rep of 222 from over 30 million people to carry yourself like this. What a joke.
Many MPs are not first-generation MPs, my view is simple – the person, regardless of political connections and affiliation, must prove himself or herself a person who can prove and test his mettle. If they don’t make the mark, then someone else needs to fill that position.
There are times when I just need to unwind. I love reading but have started to dabble in some painting as well – well, for a start for rusty hands like mine – paint by numbers. I also enjoy watching good movies and listening to songs.
Books - I used to love Virginia Andrews, and now for leisure, I like Cecilia Ahern, Helen Fielding and autobiographies of Diana, Malala Yousofzai.
Movies - I love Turtles Can Fly, In the Name of the Father, Gangs of New York, Little Women and comedies like Bridget Jones Diary. Nowadays I enjoy watching docuseries, of Diana and Malala Yousofzai.
Music – I like fusion, soft rock, Latin, oldies and some instrumentals.
Racial politics is still a major scourge. Why would any establishment or government alter their modus operandi playing and stoking the race card if it was a recipe that has worked for six decades, giving them the mandate to rule? The greatest irony is the siege mentality propagated by parties in the government who made up the majority and yet used the DAP as the bogeyman to plant fear in the hearts of the people. And DAP has never deviated from its Malaysian Malaysia concept.
It was a learning experience to be in the federal government when Pakatan Harapan held the reins. To understand how agencies work, how departments work. And to still perform check-and-balance as a government backbencher MP. That took some time getting adjusted to.
I never take the wisdom, knowledge and emotions of my voters and voters in general, especially in Penang and Selangor, for granted.
Looking at the spate of water cuts in Selangor due to pollution and burst pipes, the support generally is at a low, but I think it somewhat pales in comparison to the flip-flop decisions made by the PN government.
There clearly is no credible leadership in the country and the latest double and even triple standard treatment for VIPs (who violate Covid-19 SOPs) and the man on the street is revoltingly glaring and calls for the elusive rotan (cane) to be used (on the right people).
In Penang, we are still on a high after our Sidang Wanita held for women last month and only for women, with 40 women representing all 40 constituencies in Penang.
This was historical as a real simulation of a State Assembly sitting with the Speaker Law Choo Kiang and Deputy Speaker Amar Pritpal Singh chairing the one day sitting. Given the leadership under Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, Penangites come together when the going gets tough and look out for one another.
I believe voters will now measure a candidate and a government on their performance and make a sound judgment on it.
It’s still a challenge to regain the support of those disillusioned by Harapan infighting and defections. Those who defected, are paying the price as "traitors", and are constantly reminded on social media and even in the Parliament as well.
Everyone needs to go back and analyse this situation where BN/PN/Muafakan Nasional simply could not perform as an effective opposition coalition. So much so they had to worm their way in and wrestle power so they can sit on their decades-old throne again.
Malaysians can see with their own eyes and make their own judgment and decision on the current situation.
While there is some political fatigue in the air, a lack of action on the part of those who still believe in Malaysia and in reforms will hand over to a walkover victory to the racists, bigots, sexists and morally corrupt to continue to plunder this nation and bring her to her knees.
And we must do the impossible to save her from it.
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