“Prepare now,” he said. “Make sure your body, mind and soul are in shape.”
Kua, who was speaking last night at a forum featuring several former Ops Lalang detainees at an event at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall to commemorate the 30th anniversary since the crackdown in which more than 100 people were detained under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA), said this was especially important when in solitary confinement.
“When you’re in solitary confinement, the first thing you think about doing is going to sleep but I think that’s lethal because soon you’ll end up getting insomnia.”
He said those who found themselves detained without trial should also think of their opponents as paper tigers.
“Back in the Vietnam war, the Vietnamese thought of the US as paper tigers and they beat the US.
“When Dr Mahathir Mohamad was at his strongest, I thought of him as a paper tiger and if you listen to some of the things he’s saying now, he’s talking rubbish.
“They’re all just paper tigers in the end,” Kua said, referring to the expression which means “someone or something that seems threatening but is ineffectual”.
He added that it was also important to remain steadfast in one’s political ideas.
“For this, you need to know what you’re fighting for. What is Pakatan Harapan fighting for?
“The opposition want the prime minister to fall but is that it? What reforms will they be able to bring about?”
He said the most important thing when detained was to maintain one’s dignity.
“When you’re locked up, your dignity is so much at stake and there are very few opportunities for you to let your dignity shine.
“But whenever that opportunity arises, then ensure you hold on to your dignity.
“If you ever have to go to the hospital, for example, refuse to wear handcuffs. You have that right because you are a political prisoner.”
Also present at the forum was PSM chairman Nasir Hashim, who said that when he was detained during Ops Lalang, he did everything he could to maintain his sanity.
“I read the Quran, I painted, I took care of an injured bird, and I even managed to grow a small apple tree.”
He also recalled that he had his first experience with acupuncture when he was locked up.
“I traded with some of my Chinese friends there. I taught them English and in return they would perform acupuncture on me.
“I was frightened and worried when I realised that there weren’t any acupuncture needles in the lock-up and so they used sharpened paper clips instead.”
Selangor Prominent Friends of Women member Irene Xavier, who was also one of the panellists, said she was impressed with youth activists today.
“My generation grew up in an atmosphere where everyone was frightened over the possibility of being locked up under the ISA. You could be locked up for a long time,” she said.
“After Ops Lalang, something changed in the country and people aren’t so afraid of being detained so much any more.
“The culture of activism has changed for the better but the government is also adapting to this.”
Ops Lalang was carried out supposedly to prevent the occurrence of racial riots in the country.
The operation saw the arrest of over 100 people, including NGO activists, opposition politicians, intellectuals, students, artists, priests and others.
It was the second largest ISA swoop in Malaysian history since the May 13, 1969 riots.
The crackdown took place at a time when Umno was split into two opposing groups, one led by Mahathir, and the other by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Musa Hitam.
Among the more prominent ISA detainees were then DAP secretary-general Lim Kit Siang, DAP deputy chairman Karpal Singh, MCA vice-president and Perak chief Chan Kit Chee, PAS Youth chief Halim Arshat, Umno Pasir Mas MP Ibrahim Ali, and Umno Youth Education chairman Mohamed Fahmi Ibrahim.