Source: M,siakini 11:46AM Dec 2, 2014 By Kua Kia Soong A hornbill who has taken to the sky 6 9 2 TRIBUTE Many Malaysians think that hornbills are only found in Sarawak. Only a few weeks ago, as I floated in Tasek Kenyir, I watched in awe as hornbill after hornbill flew home to roost at dusk. In fact, I first sighted a hornbill one morning when I was a kid during the 50s, on our mangosteen tree in Batu Pahat, Johor. It was a thrilling sighting and I still experience the same thrill every time I sight a hornbill in the wild with its majestic beak and spectacular colours… Sim Kwang Yang (SKY) certainly embodied the wild majesty of the hornbill. He represented Bandar Kuching for three terms in Parliament, speaking up not only for his peoples and forests in Sarawak but also about injustice and the environment everywhere in the world. SKY founded the blog ‘Hornbill Unleashed’ to highlight the socio-economic and political issues in his beloved homeland, Sarawak – the land of the hornbills. SKY was an extraordinary politician. He certainly did not fit into the mould of the standard Malaysian politician – he was a humanist who was naturally connected to his native peoples; he spoke their Iban language and lived among them. When he hosted us in a longhouse during the early 90s, I could see that he was completely at home with his people in that rustic environment. A genuine human rights activist I first had contact with SKY when he wrote to me while I was detained, without trial, at the Kamunting detention camp in 1988. From his letter, I became aware of his warmth and sincerity as a fighter for freedom and justice and a genuine human rights activist. Later, when we became comrades in the DAP, I felt an affinity with SKY’s adherence to his principles and his deep commitment to intellectual integrity. He would not put up with any birdshit from anyone, not even the leaders of the party, and it was a breath of fresh air to hear him speak. His raucous voice was as resonant as the hornbill’s call… His first love was philosophy – he majored in philosophy at a university in Canada. Any conversation with SKY would invariably be peppered with philosophical references, both Western and Eastern sources. He was as fluid at talking about Socrates and his theory of justice as he was about Zen philosophy. There was never a dull moment, as SKY never failed to bring these ruminations down to earth to reflect on current affairs and to colour them with his irreverent language. When I was the principal of New Era College in Kajang, we started an elective in Philosophy, in which he was the resident lecturer. SKY also started philosophy as a further education course all on his own, which attracted quite a luminous following and generated keen debate among his students in a world dominated by pragmatic thinking and business outcomes. Fired imagination of many young Malaysians His philosophical bent added a reflective ingredient to his thinking, which made a difference to the ritualistic knee-jerk responses that are too common among Malaysian politicians. SKY was a talented linguist. Besides his regular contributions to the English language press in the mainland and Sarawak, his grasp of the Chinese language was masterly and he was a regular columnist in the mainstream Chinese language press as well. We shared an affinity in being Teochew and we enjoyed some banter in Teochew whenever we met. For certain, as the MP for Bandar Kuching, Sim Kwang Yang has brought the plight of the Sarawak indigenous peoples and the extinction of the Sarawak forests to our attention. He has never failed to point to the root cause of this tragedy, namely, the corruption and monopoly of political power by the ruling elite of Sarawak and their close links with the ruling elite in the peninsula. SKY has fired the imagination of many young Malaysians through his lucid, inquiring mind, his romantic ideals, his delightful language, his political activism and his passionate pursuit of the truth, freedom and democracy. Farewell Kwang Yang! It’s been wonderful to know you. Thanks for unleashing the hornbill and rest assured you that will find peace in that place in the SKY... “Sarawak, you splendid shield Hung askew on the Equator What poems will you carve On this shield, my braves? Let your poetry resound in the SKY With the roar of the mighty Rajang In tender, loving tongues From seas, plains and mountains Etching the story of struggles in a new age... (Adapted from Wu An) DR KUA KIA SOONG is Suaram adviser and he considers himself and Sim Kwang Yang (or SKY) to be comrades-in-arms
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 08:02:21 +0000
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