‘I was placed alone in a room with the lights on 24 hours’

KEPONG MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw (pic) was relaxing at home with his wife Dr Oon Hong Geok and two children when he was picked up during Ops Lalang under the Internal Security Act.

Although the intrusion came as a rude shock, Dr Tan said he was prepared for what happened.

“When you speak out against injustice, being detained is one of the consequences that you have to be prepared for,’’ said Dr Tan, 75, who was released after seven months.

He said he was brought to a detention centre located near Batu Caves and held in solitary confinement for 60 days.

“I was placed alone in a room with the lights on 24 hours without being given anything to even read,’’ said Dr Tan, adding that there was no contact with any other person and food was pushed through an opening at the door.

After a month of silence, Dr Tan asked for the Bible and he was given one immediately.

“After that, I asked for the Dhammapada (book of Buddhist verses) and they gave me one after a while,’’ said Dr Tan.

He said once the first 60 days of detention was over, he was taken to the Kamunting detention centre in Taiping with the other detainees.

However, the authorities lost interest in him after he arrived there, he noted.

“The ISA was formulated to deal with communists but I was not a communist, so they lost interest in me.’’

Dr Tan said when he was questioned, there were allegations against him regarding a talk organised by Chinese educationists at the Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur.

“They said I had gone up on stage and spoke. I did not speak at all. It was (DAP chairman Lim) Kit Siang who spoke, not me,” he added.

He said once this was revealed, the authorities were no longer interested in him and he was released.