SDP announced that one of its Central Executive Committee members, Mohd Isa bin Abdul Aziz, had passed away due to renal failure.
Who was Mohd Isa bin Abdul Aziz?
I did not know him, and most of you probably did not know him. In fact, I did not even know such a person existed until I read about SDP’s recent announcement. Even now, I do not know much about him, other than what was written in the announcement.
The announcement struck a note on me when it mentioned Isa, a SDP stalwart, had been with the party since the late 1980s. Despite his illness, he still joined party members in walkabouts and house visits, taking a break at void decks when he was tired – before resuming his task.
Without having watched Isa’s political speeches, I would speculate that he did not project an impressive political image on stage – otherwise he would have captured the public’s attention long ago. He was like many of those unknown political heroes whose works, sacrifices and contributions to achieve a more democratic Singapore were often gone unnoticed by members of public.
Unlike people working for the ruling party, these unknown heroes of opposition parties do not receive reward in return for their hard work: no privilege, no mentioning in the media, no national day award. On the contrary, they have plenty to lose: personal time, family members’ time, incurring pocket expenses, social discrimination, career discrimination, risk of legal troubles …. We ought to bear this in mind: they need not have to volunteer for those thankless roles! Isa had contributed more than three decades of his life fighting for what he perceived as a better society for fellow Singaporeans. He could have chosen to spend those precious years with his family, friends or building a career.
I believe Isa must have stood firmly with the SDP when his party was going through its most difficult time as a result of advancing its good cause. Then, the vast machinery of the ruling party and its news media were pounding heavily on SDP. It was a ruthless and unjustifiable campaign carried out to demolish the SDP for challenging its opponent and refusing to recognize what its opponent claimed as “miraculous achievements”. Sadly, the old generation Singaporeans during that time chose to swallow the propaganda, not knowing what valuable rights they had given away and the future consequences of their naivety. Today, many of those Singaporeans are paying the price for their gullibility.
The SDP’s announcement mentioned that Isa’s biggest wish was to see Chee Soon Juan got into parliament. I hope his wish will come true. After all, Chee Soon Juan must have been more than a decent guy, given that he could remain as the SDP leader for so long and has a significant number of supporters behind him – despite a series of highly successful and cruel campaigns against him and his party. Perhaps like Isa, Chee then was probably too focused on what Singaporeans should be entitled to, instead of the game of politics. I personally think that you got to get yourself into parliament first, before you could fight for what you believed to be Singaporeans’ interests.
While we do not know each other, I write to say thank you to Mohd Isa bin Abdul Aziz for his great efforts, stretching over more than three decades, in fighting for what he perceived as a better Singapore for all of us. In the process of doing it, he must have suffered a lot and been ridiculed.
Mohd Isa, I am sorry for not knowing about your presence and the work you had been quietly doing for Singaporeans.
Thank You and Rest In Peace, Isa.
Celia Lim