Chia Thye Poh (born 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who was the de facto Leader of the Opposition in 1966. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jurong from 1963 to 1966.
Accused of engaging in pro-communist activity and of seeking to foment a communist revolution, he was held without trial for 23 years from 1966 to 1989. Following this, he was subjected to a further nine years of restrictions amounting to house arrest, first on the island of Sentosa and subsequently under stringent curbs upon his residence, employment, travel and political expression. These conditions were lifted in 1998.
Before his detention, Chia had been a teacher, a lecturer in physics, a socialist political activist and a sitting Member of Parliament. After his release from formal restrictions, he pursued studies at the doctoral level and later worked as an interpreter.
Early life
Born in 1941, Chia read physics at Nanyang University. Upon graduating, he worked briefly as a secondary school teacher before becoming a graduate assistant at his alma mater. Concurrent with his holding of office, he worked as a university physics professor.
Chia was banned permanently from entering Malaysia in the wake of a political speech he delivered to the Perak division of the Labour Party of Malaya on 24 April 1966. In the same month, he was arrested together with 25 others and charged with unlawful assembly for participating in a demonstration opposing United States involvement in the Vietnam War, which resulted in open confrontation with police. He was active among peace campaigners calling for an end to the U.S. bombing of Indochina during the Vietnam War in the 1960s. This action was part of BS' strategy to protest what it viewed as "undemocratic acts" by carrying the struggle beyond Parliament. On 7 October, Chia resigned from the Parliament. On 8 October, he led an illegal protest march of 30 supporters to Parliament House, delivering a letter to the Clerk of the House demanding a general election under eight specified conditions, the release of all political detainees and the revocation of all "undemocratic" laws. Chia and 22 other leaders of the BS were arrested under powers granted by the ISA. and by 1985 the government asserted that his detention was based on allegations of CPM membership and his supposed willingness to engage in political violence and terrorism against Singapore.
He refused the offer on the understanding that it was a government civil service position in which he might, as a result, be "muzzled"
Reduced restrictions
In 1990, some of the restrictions on Chia were eased. He was also granted the right to change his residence and seek employment without first securing permission from the Internal Security Department (ISD). Amnesty International also issued a statement marking the end of restrictions on "Singapore's longest serving prisoner of conscience", describing the decision as more than thirty years overdue. He later continued his academic work at the institute, and in 2006 the supervision of his PhD thesis was completed. He was subsequently conferred his doctorate.
A March 2008 version of his staff profile at the ISS listed his position as project assistant to the project MPA in Governance, Suriname. In late 2011, he was awarded the Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award at a public ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. In 2015, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Writings
- Transplanted or Endogenized? FDI and Industrial Upgrading in Developing Countries. Case study of Indonesia (2006), Shaker Publishing
Notes
References
External links
- Singapore's gentle revolutionary
- Security act must go, says victim of 32-year ordeal
- See pp. 2–3.
- Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs press statement of 26 November 1998
- Amnesty International statement of 27 November 1998
- November 1990 face images of Chia Thye Poh
- November 1990 images of Chia Thye Poh in his room
- November 1990 image of Chia Thye Poh waving to tourists
- Interview with Chia Thye Poh, Newsweek