Tears for the maverick

Happy return: On Jan 20, 1994, Dr Jeffrey was greeted by scores of his supporters at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, upon his release from restricted residence in Negri Sembilan.

THERE’S a difference between reading a newspaper headline and glancing at the personal documents from two and a half years of detention without trial.

Last week, I had the rare opportunity to visit the Keningau house of a former ISA (Internal Security Act) detainee, Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, to go through documents he wrote and received while in the Kamunting detention camp in Perak.

Keningau is about 110km or two hours drive from Kota Kinabalu. It was worth the drive with Teresa Alberto and Benjamin Magallanes, who are closely linked to the Keningau MP and Tambunan assemblyman.

Earlier, I saw the matter-of-fact The Star’s front page on May 14, 1991 - “Jeffrey Held Under ISA.” As a journalist, the front page told me what factually had happened.

The report stated: “Sabah Foundation director Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan was arrested today under the Internal Security Act.

“Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Haniff Omar said in a statement that Dr Kitingan was detained at 11.50am at the Kota Kinabalu police station under Section 73 91) of the ISA.

He said Dr Kitingan was being further detained under Section 8 of the ISA for ‘acting in a manner detrimental to the security of Malaysia in that he is said to have been involved in a plot to take Sabah out of Malaysia’.”

Cold facts, however, are void of raw emotions.

I was almost in tears when I quickly flipped through the documents in the Sabah Deputy Chief Minister’s house. I saw the tears and heartache behind the front-page headline. I saw touching letters and birthday cards from family, friends, and international figures.

Tomorrow will be the 33rd anniversary of Dr Jeffrey’s detention under the draconian ISA.

The tears and heartache are evident behind the front-page headline, says the writer.

Some of the young generations of Sabahans were probably not born when the event unfolded. The older generation might vaguely remember. However, their memory of Dr Jeffrey’s sacrifice for Sabah is diluted by his subsequent political actions.

Was his incarceration worth it?

I watched a video of him returning home after his release from “buang negeri” (restricted residence) in Seremban on January 20, 1994. He was released from Kamunting on December 22, 1993, and placed under restricted residence in Negeri Sembilan.

“It is good to be home after missing you for two and a half years. Two and a half years of painful living. But for the sake of the people, I don’t mind any sacrifices. Any leader should be prepared to face any consequences if he’s fighting for the rights of the people,” he told the press after arriving at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport on January 20, 1994.

In a dramatic teaser video for a documentary marking his 33rd ISA detention anniversary, Dr Jeffrey said:

“You don’t know whether you are dead or you are alive. Because you don’t know whether it is a day or night.

“You don’t know where you are. And so I had to ask myself whether I am dreaming or dead or am I alive. And you are in a building and the building is surrounded by high fences.

“You only see the sky. I lost sight of the world. I lost; I did not know. You can say I was dead.”

That summed up his 954 days (May 13, 1991 to Dec 22, 1993) of detention under ISA in Kamunting Detention Camp.

As a journalist who started as a rookie in my hometown of Sabah, I have covered Dr Jeffrey since 1994. When I wrote a political analyst piece about him, I liked to use the word “maverick”, which means he is an unorthodox and independent-minded politician.

“You can’t predict what Dr Jeffrey will do next,” was what we - The Star journalists - liked to say when predicting his next political move.

Through the years, I have had private conversations with the maverick politician. Some of our topics of discussion are about his ISA experience and why he was arrested.

According to the then IGP, Dr Jeffrey was detained for the Sabah plot. I’ll share verbatim a February 22, 1992 newspaper report on the plot.

“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today the Government was aware of a plot by ruling Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) to secede Sabah from Malaysia and set up an independent state.

“He said the Goverment was also aware that Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, younger brother of the Sabah Chief Minister, had ambitions of becoming president of Sabah.”

I’ve asked Dr Jeffery personally about this alleged Sabah plot. He has told me off the record what had happened.

As I learnt from the Keningau visit, the news reports and what happened are two different things. Watch the Dr Jeffrey 33rd ISA detention anniversary videos to understand the man behind the ISA detention.

It tells the story of tears behind a newspaper front page.