Aliran : What was your most difficult moment during detention?
Gobalakrishnan: The most difficult times in detention were the thoughts about my family when I was told about my family… Because I knew what my situation was but I was completely cut off from the rest of the world. Only the interrogators were in touch with me and I didn’t know what was happening outside, to the extent, the interrogators told me that my family didn’t want me, my wife didn’t want me and my children never asked about me and that my family did not want to have the family visit even though the police, the interrogators said that they insisted that the family visit me. All these were lies. My family outside - they were fighting to get a chance to meet me. For 47 days, the police denied my family this right. One of the senior interrogation officers mentioned that during my two years of ISA detention, he would be taking care of my wife. I think what he meant was I would not be accessible to my family and I couldn’t get any news to my family of all the wrongdoings and bad things said by them. So that created fear in me because I didn’t know what was going to happen to my family next. The worst thing was the fear about my family because I knew that I could take care of myself even though I had to go through all that torture of improper food, the improper environment…I could take everything but not the worry about my family.
A: Has this whole experience changed you in any way?
Gobala: This ISA detention has changed me - I realise that I should fight more for the underprivileged and poor. I believe that the government arrested us under the ISA because they did not want the multiracial interaction taking place within the alternative parties. I intend to go down and create better interaction among the multiracial communities in this country…It’s a ploy of the Barisan Nasional to make sure that the Indians, Malays and Chinese do not interact among themselves. And only the leaders interact. When the communities don’t interact, they do not learn about the day-to-day lives of each community and that is one of the reasons that incidents like May 13 and Taman Medan happen.After my joining the alternative party, I have been able to give speeches in areas dominated by the Malay community. I have even given a speech where nearly 100 percent of (those attending have) been Malays. And I have been able to talk to them about the problems of the Indians and the day-to-day lives, culture and tradition of the Indians. The Malays are very welcoming of the other races and they are willing to learn, accept and go along with the other races. I hope the Barisan Nasional will not stop us from interacting more among the multiracial people in the country.
AM: What are your thoughts now about the ISA?
Gobala: The ISA is not necessary at all in a country which (claims) to be very advanced technologically and developed. In Malaysia, communication and IT have advanced to such an extent that I am very sure the police and the government know where I am and what I am involved in day-to-day. Why do they need the ISA - just to suppress and put us behind walls which restrain us from interacting with people?
What we are doing is bringing information and bringing about unity among the people. But the ISA has been putting people behind walls and not allowing them to interact with their families. All those arrested under the ISA to date are not people who have been violent. Among (those who were arrested) were Syed Husin Ali and opposition leaders like Karpal Singh (and) Lim Kit Siang - people who have been vocal and supportive of the development of the people. So ISA is not necessary at all for Malaysia.
I was released by the Shah Alam High Court Judge, to whom I am very thankful - may God bless him (Datuk Hishamuddin Yunus)… All these (allegations) were fabricated just to detain me and keep me behind the walls of ISA.
After my release now – it has been six months – if there is any truth to these allegations, either I should have been detained immediately after the restraining order (expired) or I should have left the country. I am still around and I am still propagating what I believe in. I don’t think that the police have any evidence at all because there is no truth at all in what they said.
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