The Malaysian Insight

FOR someone who has “terrorised” the establishment for more than five decades, DAP’s legendary Lim Kit Siang has never had his own biography.

While there have been attempts to showcase his speeches and decisions at different political junctures, very few have tried to get under the 80-year-old’s skin.

That is until retired journalist, actor and poet Kee Thuan Chye made it his personal undertaking to write one about “Kit”, as the veteran politician is known to friends and colleagues.

“Kit Siang has never had a full biography. And if there is one person who deserves one for what he has been through, it is him,” said the 67-year-old writer when interviewed at a cafe in Damansara.

Unlike existing books about Lim, Kee said Lim Kit Siang – Malaysian First (Volume One: None But the Bold) focuses not only on his political life but also his family life.

He said while many are aware of Lim’s political journey as it is already documented, very few have attempted to get a deeper understanding of the Batu Pahat-born politician.

“In this book, I have managed to talk to more than 60 people to try and piece together what Kit is like. And by talking to different people, you get different perspectives,” he said.

Kee believes he has managed to piece together his subject from more than 60 people, ranging from classmates, relatives to political colleagues and rivals.

“Kit is a private person who doesn’t give out much. But by talking to different people, you get to piece together what Kit is like,” said the Penang author.

“What I’ve put together, though may not be the whole picture (as that is how it is with biographies), but I have tried to do that by interviewing as many people as I could.

“The best part is getting to know them and their stories, and it is heartening to hear from Kit’s closest friends, of whom some are in their 80s.”

And as such, Kee’s version differs from the other accounts on Lim as it emphasises on what others think of the Iskandar Puteri MP more than his fiery speeches and achievements.

The 40-chapter biography, for instance, begins by tracing Lim’s beginnings in the shophouse his family lived in in the 1940s.

When asked how he managed to paint Lim’s family home so vividly in the opening chapter, Kee said, “I managed to find it in one of my trips to Batu Pahat last year.

“I made a trip there during the RMCO (recovery movement-control order) period and found the house. It’s just like what it was, with the staircase for their rented dwelling leading to the back alley.

“And when Kit heard that I had gone to Batu Pahat, he joined me and showed me his old school – Batu Pahat High School – and the places he picnicked at as a student by the sea in Minyak Beku.”

A picture of Lim’s family home in Batu Pahat is also in the book.

What makes Kit Siang Kit Siang

As Kee states in the book’s introduction, his goal was to find out what makes Lim tick.

Journalists who have interviewed the veteran politician will know that this is a mammoth task as while Lim freely reels off when the topic is about politics, he becomes quiet when the spotlight is turned on him.

“While he’s friendly enough, he displays a certain shyness when the spotlight is on him,” said Kee.

“The trick is to keep probing.”

Take, for instance, when Kee asked Lim if he had ever asked Devan Nair why he picked him (Lim) as his political secretary in Singapore.

“Kit’s answer was he had never asked Devan. And when pressed, he just said he didn’t,” said Kee.

“But Kit has a certain dry wit that only comes off when you get close enough to him. And when I pressed further, Kit said it’s too late to ask Devan about that now as he’s dead.

“‘Maybe I’ll ask him when I get to the other world’ was what Kit added.”

The event was significant for Lim as the role propelled him into politics while he was working as a journalist for The Straits Times in Singapore.

But Kee said Lim was never evasive during the interviews.

And when the topic veers to family matters, Lim would tell Kee to check with his wife, Neo Yoke Tee, or his daughter, Hui Ying.

“But he never refuses to answer,” said Kee.

“While he is terse with some answers, I figured it was because he could not remember certain events in detail as he is 80 after all.”

Nevertheless, Kee feels he has got something that few writers have unearthed in their accounts of Lim.

That something comes across from retracing his student days.

“Even as a student, he wrote about Malaysian Malaysia after Malaya gained independence in 1957. In that school paper editorial, Kit wrote about his dream to see a Malaysia where everyone can share regardless of race, religion, culture and language and work together to help the country progress and prosper from it,” said Kee.

“And that I believe is still his battle. And even if you tell him it’s an impossible dream, he’d ask ‘how do you know?’ For him, it’s all about trying and that is what drives him and that is why he cannot stop doing what he does.”

And for Kee, that is what makes Kit Siang Kit Siang. – October 17, 2021.

* The book Lim Kit Siang – Malaysian First (Volume One: None But the Bold) will be launched by Kee Thuan Chye and Lim Kit Siang on November 9 via a webinar from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Among those invited for the event are Upko president Wilfred Madius Tangau, author Mariam Mokhtar, Undi18 co-founder Nur Qyira Yusri and Global Institute for Tomorrow CEO Chandran Nair. The session will be moderated by Johnson Chong.