The New Heroes – A New Chapter

The most unlikely new hero in this queer little city state is an anonymous masked man infamously called The Messiah. He hacked into the websites of public institutions, including the PMO and the Istana. And some people clapped and called him the Robin Hood of the oppressed. He has been unmasked as James Raj, a drug addict on the run, and the hacker that threatened the govt. This revelation still did not arouse a barrage of attacks and criticisms for what he had done which everyone would admit was not a proper thing to do.

The myth and mystery of the mask have been removed. In the eyes of the law, he is a criminal waiting trial and may serve terms behind bars. He is on the wrong side of the law. Then out of the blue came this ‘Support James Raj, victim of the Singapore Govt’. This is an article appearing in TRS and authored by Andy Xian Wong. Wow! This is another challenge to the govt, no longer anonymous. This is a very brave act indeed, literally condoning a wrongful act.

Nevermind, my discourse is about the making of New Heroes in this uncertain time. A hacker attacking and threatening the govt is received by quite a number of people as a hero. And he is not the only one. Many that were tarred and feathered are now seen as heroes in the eyes of some quarters of the population.

M Ravi, the famous and one and only human rights lawyer in this city is also worshipped as another new hero. He has taken up many high profile and politically tainted cases for the underdogs, motivated not by money but by a sense of justice and fair play. He has been victorious so far. Despite the saga when he was almost bundled into the Institute of Mental Health and not seeing daylight. Some learned people had claimed that he was mad or suffering from mental illness that made him unfit to be a lawyer, he is now standing taller than before. He is definitely not mad and every inch a lawyer, and a righteous one.

The victims of the Marxist Conspiracy and Operation Cold Store have written their stories and are seen with a different light. Dr Poh Soo Kai is quietly acknowledged as another hero in the hearts of many Singaporeans, and so were his comrades.

And there is Chee Soon Juan and his SDP. Charged in court several times, faced bankruptcy, branded, dishonest for claiming a few dollars more on taxi fares and using university postage instead of paying for himself, he is being revived, and gaining more popularity and support from the people. His party is growing and he is becoming more credible and a political force to be reckoned with in the next GE.

And of course there was the famous JBJ. His name will be forever etched in the history books of this city as the most tenacious politician that would not fall. He took all the body blows and stood up again and again. He fought a political career and lost everything, but gained everything in respect from the people. He is an icon of sort.

A new chapter is being written with New Heroes in the making. Salted fish resurrected. Many salted fish will be resurrected as the new heros of this queer city. They need not be scholars or eminent doctors or lawyers with a string of degrees. They are the ordinary citizens, the ordinary Singaporeans who care for this country and its citizens, the Singaporeans. They are standing up to take on an onerous and arduous task of reclaiming and reconstructing the country and the lives of its citizens, to write a new chapter of its history.