Full of Ideals

He held out so much hope with his idealism

In writing about the death of Agha Shahid Ali, the great Kashmiri poet, his close friend Amitav Ghosh lamented, “Now in his absence, I am amazed that so brief a friendship has resulted in so vast a void.” That’s how we felt when our dear friend and colleague, Azmi Khalid, passed away on 24 May 1992. He left such a vast void.

His passing was all the more painful because he was so young, not quite 43 years old. He held out so much hope by his youth and idealism; and we were encouraged to believe that he would be with us for a long, long time.

Who could have ever dreamed that Azmi, so young, so vibrant, so idealistic, so driven by good intentions to serve the cause of human rights, would be cut down in the prime of his life? Who would have thought that our society would lose the contributions of this young man so early in life and so suddenly? We are so much poorer now by his tragic death.

Azmi joined Aliran on 3 December 1978 and the following year he was elected into the Executive Committee at the third Annual General Meeting on 24 December 1979. His very first article for the internal newsletter, Lidah, was a critique on the judicial decision of the Privy Council on the Essential (Security Cases) (Amendment) Regulations 1975. This article was written on 22 December 1978, 11 days after the Committee of the Privy Council delivered its judgment. In this celebrated case, the Privy Council ruled in favour of Teh Cheng Poh, who was facing a mandatory death penalty after he failed in his appeal to the Federal Court. But Cheng Poh’s victory was short-lived. Azmi had correctly observed, “... the Government’s vast political and legal machinery could still be put to bear so as to extract `victory’ out of a defeat (as has happened so often before and has recently occurred with the Mahan Singh decision, which prompted a Constitutional Amendment to reduce the rights of civil servants). But consider the political embarrassment and the future erosion of credibility if such `victories’ continue to be sought in similar fashion. What then will be the value of later official platitudes of belief in the rule of law?”

His first press statement as an Executive Committee member focused on “Amendments to Labour Laws and the Need for a Viable Labour Movement”. This was made on 14 February 1980. In part this statement read: “Freedom of association has been guaranteed for organised labour so as to facilitate its own welfare and growth as well as to enable workers to contribute to the country’s economic progress. Restrictive legislation could hope to control tendencies which seek to undermine the public good but laws should not curb the development of a strong and viable labour movement which could offer positive contributions.” Azmi also raised a very pertinent question: “In the midst of current economic improvements in the country, should not the right of the workers also substantially be enhanced?”

Azmi served on the Executive Committee for an unbroken period of nine years from 1979 to 1988, serving in various bureaux and in many capacities. He started the “Human Rights Round-up”, a quarterly column, and sustained it well giving a vivid summary of human rights abuses around the world. He contributed articles emphasising the rule of law and the constitutional provisions that have been denied.

In 1987, soon after the launch of Operasi Lalang on 27 October, I remember meeting him together with Veng Wye. We were all very concerned — and very angry — about those who were unjustly taken in by the ISA dragnet. Those detained included Aliran President Chandra Muzaffar and 105 others who were cruelly robbed of their precious freedom on trumped up charges. Our discussion revolved around the abuse of the ISA and how it was conveniently used for political expediency when it was meant to be applied against subversive elements out to topple the duly elected government by violent means. The irony of the day did not escape us and were it not for the fact that the topic of discussion was grim and serious, I’m sure we would have had a hearty laugh. Ever imagined how the Minister of Justice abused the ISA in his capacity as Minister of Home Affairs who must have instsructed himself as the Prime Minister to unleash the draconian ISA on innocent people. Yes, Mahathir was all that — three in one — when so many well-meaning Malaysians were rounded up for incarceration.

Azmi was no rabble-rouser. I don’t seem to remember him raising his voice in all those years in any of the meetings. He was soft-spoken and well focused. He was calm and purposeful in putting across a point.

Azmi was definitely without any ethnic bias and his concerns went well beyond ethnic boundaries and reached out to the common bonds of humanity. He was an all-embracing soul. There were no airs about him. He wasn’t pretentious. He was humble and sincere. His position as the Deputy Dean of the Law Faculty in the University of Malaya and his erudite personality did not get in the way of friendship.

In all those years that he served on the Executive Committee, he remained true to the Aliran principles and continued to be a very committed and concerned member. His passing was a grievous loss. We shall remember him fondly and cherish his memory affectionately.

P Ramakrishnan

• Azmi's Journey
• Azmi: An Inspiration
• Azmi: Full of Ideals