Francis Khoo, Singaporean who fought for Palestinian
rights dies
Tributes to Francis Khoo (1947 - 2011)
A memorial service for Francis Khoo will be held in Singapore at
a date to be announced. Contact :[email protected]
Francis Khoo Kah Siang passed away on November 20, 2011. He will be
missed because he leaves a void for many of us who were and remain
inspired by his work for Palestinian rights. Francis Khoo is an
icon of countless others, who like himself, are neither Arab nor
Muslim, neither from the Middle East nor culturally or politically
connected to Palestine by birth, but who support the Palestinian
cause.
Many of us, but especially Westerners and Americans it seems, learn
essentially nothing about the Nakba in school. Yet many, often
quite by chance and for one reason or another, have come into
contact with the Question of Palestine and, learning about the
great injustice that has befallen the Palestinian people, could not
remain indifferent or idle. Francis was one of these.
But by the time we finally met, which was just fourteen months
before his sudden and untimely death last month, I knew what kind
of a person he was and something about his lifelong quest for
justice. Over the past half-decade I learned something about his
remarkably work through my friend, his wife, the gifted orthopedic
surgeon and well known humanitarian, Dr. Swee Chai Ang, who for
three decades has embraced and supported Palestinian refugees both
with lifesaving medical care under heavy and indiscriminate
bombardment inside Shatila Palestinian Refugee Camp and Gaza
Hospital in Beirut, and with her indefatigable work for the
refugees’ return to Palestine. The latter included lectures and
appearances around the World, sometimes in the company of
Francis.
It was in September of 2010 that I met Francis in person when he
came to Beirut for the 28th annual commemoration of the September
1982 Sabra-Shatila Massacre. He attended a reception at the office
of the Palestine Civil Rights Campaign and participated in a heavy
schedule of activities during his visit.
All the while he was in Lebanon he was on peritoneal dialysis for
kidney failure which he administered himself three to four times a
day. On the bus south, to visit Palestinian camps, Francis
entertained the passengers with songs, including Beladi (‘my land’)
the beautiful Arabic anthem of the Palestinian revolution, followed
by a soliloquy on the origin of the song and his
interpretation.
Few of the passengers on the bus had much idea about Francis’
background. He was born into a closely knit, devoutly Catholic
Singapore Peranakan family. As a lad he sang in the Singing Khoos
with his brothers and at an early age developed a passion to work
for the rights of the oppressed. Once admitted to the Singapore
Bar, Frances began working on sensitive civil rights cases that
many other lawyers preferred to avoid.
Francis had earlier developed a reputation as a defender of the
downtrodden and while as an undergraduate at University, or later
as Vice President of the Student Law Society, he opposed the
introduction of the Suitability Certificate, fought the abolition
of the jury system in Singapore and condemned the indiscriminate
criminal 1972 Christmas Day bombing of Hanoi ordered by President
Nixon.
Before long Francis found himself being accused of violating
Singapore’s Internal Security Act which, particularly during the
1977-1987 period, was used to arrest hundreds of Singaporeans who
were held without trial. Following their January 1977 marriage, his
young wife Dr. Swee Chai Ang, was also sought by authorities who
came for her and threatened to handcuff her while she was in the
operating theatre performing surgery. Eventually, and following
torture, Dr. Swee was released as part of a government scheme to
try to lure back to Singapore Francis, who by then had escaped and
left for England and he began his 34 years of exile from his
country. Swee joined her loved one and they developed their careers
in London.
Francis’ niece recently wrote that, “They could kick Francis out of
Singapore, but they could not kick the Singaporean out of Francis,”
as he followed events in his country, frequently wore his Peranakan
skirt — the Sarong, and wrote about his homeland including the
well-known song, “And Bungaraya Blooms All Day.” Francis had hoped
that 2011 would be the Singaporean Spring.
Some friends saw a parallel between Francis’ wish to return to his
homeland and his decades of advocacy of the Palestinians Right of
Return.
Francis Khoo, was a gifted humanist. With many talents that
included using his legal education to challenge injustices and
using his energy and organizational abilities to defend the
oppressed such as the UK’s striking miners in 1985, working as
Director of War on Want, established by the late British Prime
Minister, Harold Wilson, co-founding with his wife and their
friends Pamela and Derek Cooper, Medical Aid for Palestinians and
serving as its Vice Chairman from 1984 to 2007, and donating his
times and abilities to numerous other charities.
Francis’ passions included writing, especially articles, poetry and
songs, photography, and drawing. He possessed a particularly unique
skill as explained by his niece Melissa, currently doing her
residency in surgery and using the medical term ‘eidetic memory’ in
describing her uncle’s photographic memory, that gave Francis the
ability to recall images, sounds or objects with remarkable
precision.
Francis Khoo lived a full and valuable life and left this world a
better place because of his lifelong labors for justice. Those of
us who share his commitment to the liberation of Palestine and the
full return of her six million refugees will pay him tribute by
continuing his work for peace and justice.
FRANKLIN LAMB volunteers with the Palestine Civil Rights Campaing
in Lebanon.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/12/02/a-tireless-advocate-of-justice-for-palestinians/
__________________________________________________________________
A tribute to Francis Khoo Kah Siang
by Tan Wah Piow
We take the opportunity of this gathering to pay our respects and
register our tribute to Francis Khoo, husband of Ang Swee Chai and
a patriotic son of Singapore.
Born on the 23.10. 1947, Francis sadly died unexpectedly in London
last Sunday 20 November 2011.
Some of us who had the privilege of knowing him, and had worked
with him during the 1970s will feel the great loss of a passionate,
courageous and creative advocate for change.
I first met Francis in 1973, he was then a 26 year old young lawyer
and an active member of the Student Christian Movement in
Singapore, He was then an important source of inspiration amongst
his peers. He helped to organise the demonstration outside the
American embassy protesting against the US bombing of north
Vietnam, a rare anti-war event in Singapore.
In 1974 he represented one of the two workers from the American
Marine factory who, together with me, were victims of a frame-up
stitched up by the Singapore government controlled trade union. The
trial brought Francis closer to the student leadership at the
University of Singapore. 1974 was a time of economic recession in
Singapore, hence a time of intense political persecution against
dissent. He had already made his mark in 1971 when he, together
with 4 others, tried to form a cooperative to revive the Herald
newspaper, which was closed down by the authorities in a crackdown
of the independent press.
Although for a period in the 1970s he suffered malicious,
unjustified and unfounded slanders to his integrity as a political
activist, Francis was able to rise above them, thanks to his deep
political commitment and faith.
In February 1977, the Singapore government launched one of their
periodic sweeps under the draconian powers of the ISA. Scores of
people were detained without trial. Francis knew he would be
arrested due to his active political dissent. He managed to escape
to the UK. He and Swee Chai were newly weds then. When the
Singapore Government realised that Francis had escaped from their
clutches, they arrested Swee Chai instead. They released Swee Chai
on the understanding that she would coax him to return to
Singapore. Francis and Swee Chai were reunited and they sought
asylum in the UK.
Cut off from his Singapore base, Francis quickly adapted to life
abroad redefining his role as a humanitarian internationalist,
immersing himself in many worthy causes including helping Amnesty
International to launch the Lawyers’ Group and spoke at several of
their International Human Rights Days. In the late 1980s, he became
the Director of War on Want. He was also active in local social
issues and was chairman of RADICLE, the London-wide charity
providing services and accommodation for teenage mothers, drop-in
centres and support for the elderly. His most enduring achievement
was, together with Swee Chai, setting up Medical Aid for
Palestinians, which is now a well supported charity giving much
needed help to the Palestinian people.
Francis Khoo was politically a socialist and spiritually a
Christian humanist. His 34 years exile did not diminish his
commitment and concern for Singapore and Malaysia. Despite the
exile, he maintained close contacts with family and political
friends. He will always be remembered by friends and comrades for
his deep convictions, amiable attitude, love for life and food, and
for his song, “the Bunga Raya” and for his poems.
Francis selflessly supported the work of his beloved wife who
spared no effort or time in promoting the Palestinian cause. His
life, and the way he chose to live it, will remain an inspiration
to us all.
Tan Wah Piow
26.11.2011
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This eulogy was published by the Straits Times, 25 Nov 2011.
Francis Khoo Kah Siang, 23 October 1947 to 20 November
2011
by Ang Swee Chai
It must be so bizarre that the one person who loves you beyond
words and whom you also love the most in this world goes on to make
you a widow – and without polite notice!
So it is the case with my beloved. As I stepped off the plane, I
received a text message sent a few hours ago that he “cannot come”.
As I came into the house, I smelt delicious chicken macaroni soup
freshly cooked in the kitchen. There was some left in a bowl which
he must had eaten from to stem his hunger as the plane was delayed.
But there was no answer to my call, except from our agitated cats.
Yes, my beloved had died in the room upstairs.
Did he choose to die before I got to him to spare me the pain of
resuscitating him? Was it Divine Mercy that he was taken home to
God so painlessly, silently, and alone before medical science
complicated his humanity? Was it to spare his wife anxious moments
waiting at the hospital intensive care? Could I not just cradle him
in my arms in these last precious moments on earth? Only at our
re-union with our Maker and with each other can these questions be
answered. For now, I am grateful to be able to look after him on
this last lap of his earthly journey as he returns to the One who
created him.
As news of his death broke out, thousands of emails, letters, text
messages, phone calls, flowers poured from all parts of the world
and all walks of life. From heads of states, diplomats,
politicians, and friends employed and unemployed. I am not only
overwhelmed by the volume but by the affection and admiration they
held for him. Friends and family are flying in from all over the
world. I have managed only to reply to just over a thousand
messages over the last 48 hours. The rest might have to wait for
their reply until the funeral is over.
So who was this Francis Khoo?
He was the fourth generation of an established Singapore Peranakan
family. It is a close knit family. As a boy he sang in the Singing
Khoos with his brothers Lawrence and Victor, and the family is
devoutly Catholic. As he grew up he began to acquire a strong sense
of justice – beyond merely legal. Of course he was a lawyer, but
even in University as Vice President of the Students’ Law Society,
he served a greater justice. He opposed the introduction of the
Suitability Certificate, the abolition of the jury system, and
later on the heavy bombing of Hanoi on Christmas day. His other
nterests include photography – he patented a pocket camera at the
age of nineteen. He loved drawing, writing and ran the St Joseph
Institution school paper and the university Undergrad.
Despite all the above “distractions”, he qualified and was called
to the bar. Within months of arriving as a junior lawyer in his
firm, he took on the legalities of forming a Citizens’ Co-op to
save the Singapore Herald, the liberal English daily closed by the
government.
In 1974, I met him at a Justice and Peace meeting. His deep
commitment to social justice was to him a Christian obligation. The
first commandment is to love God; the second is to love your
neighbours as yourself. Two weeks later I read in the Straits Times
that my new acquaintance was to defend a controversial trial in
which factory workers and a student leader were charged with
rioting. I called him to ask him to re-consider since he might
invite personal repercussions. Being a “kiasu” (law-abiding timid )
Singaporean, I sensed that the government wanted the workers and
the student leader imprisoned, and to defend them would be seen as
being anti-government and the consequences would be dire!
He patiently explained that everyone is entitled to legal defence –
and no one should be deemed guilty until proven beyond reasonable
doubt. These workers were poor and established lawyers would not
take their case on and someone just got to do it, in the interest
of justice. If he had to pay the price of doing so, he would accept
it!
I am still not sure when my admiration for him turned to love. In
1976 when I sensed that he might be detained under the Internal
Security Act I asked him to marry me, so that if he were to be
arrested I can visit him in prison and at least be his link to the
outside world. We married on 29 January, 1977.
The arrest came, and he managed to escape. I was detained shortly
afterwards and questioned about him. Upon my release I joined him
in exile in the United Kingdom.
Francis started his live in exile as a cleaner in a Central London
Hotel. He then went on to work as an administrator in a British
Charity, Medical and Scientific Aid for Vietnam. Two years later he
was journalist for an international third world magazine, South.
From there he went on to direct War on Want, a prominent
international NGO founded by the late British Prime Minister,
Harold Wilson. Apart from chairing numerous charities he was
co-founder and Vice Chairman of the British Charity, Medical Aid
for Palestinians from 1984 to 2007. He had to step down as new
British Charity Commissioner Legislation advised against office
bearers serving more than 9 years , He had served 23 years!
From War on Want he returned to legal practice in London until his
failing health forced him to stop work. Despite this, his work for
many charities continued.
He wrote many poems, songs and articles. He sang for many including
the wives of the striking miners. One of his songs Father Christmas
in the Slag Heap brought the whole of Hemsworth, a town faced with
pit closure, to tears during their poverty stricken Christmas in
1984. He also sang at canteens catering meals for the aged. His
songs and writings are available to the Singapore public for those
who are interested.
He suffered renal failure from 1998, went on dialysis, but had a
successful renal transplant on the NHS in July 2011 – the generous
gift of an anonymous British woman donor. The day before his death
he was at the Annual General Meeting of Living Stones, a charity to
which he was trustee. His diary is full of future engagements
including the Haldane Law Society, charities for the homeless,
Medical Aid for Palestinians, the Scottish Parliament, and the
House of Commons - plus supporting me in dozens of public lectures
and talks. It is full of engagements until end of September
2012.
His untimely death left a huge void in all our lives. We are all in
a state of shock. But by God’s grace, time will make it possible
for his memory to overwhelm the pain of our loss. My tribute to him
will be to continue to serve the cause of peace and justice. I also
hope to be the widow who will take his ashes back to his beloved
Singapore after his 34 years of exile.
Dr Ang Swee Chai
(Mrs Francis Khoo)
22 November 2011
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No barrier to lawyer's widow returning here, MHA
says
Sunday Times
The Government has made it clear that there is no barrier to Dr Ang
Swee Chai returning to Singapore. The widow of lawyer Francis Khoo
placed an obituary in The Straits Times on Friday in which she
wrote of her hope of taking her husband's ashes back to Singapore.
Mr Khoo fled Singapore in 1977 to avoid being questioned by the
Internal Security Department. He died of a suspected heart attack
last Sunday, leaving behind his wife who had joined him in London
in 1977. He was 62. Responding to queries from The Sunday Times,
the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said 'there is no barrier to her
return'.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
How the Straits Times reported it, Nov 22
2011.
http://singaporerebel.blogspot.com/2011/11/tributes-to-francis-khoo-1947-2011.html