YB Lim Kit Siang is one man who is prepared to do anything to see a better Malaysia.

Even then, many were shocked with his willingness to work with his nemesis, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, with the intention of saving the country.

The brickbats were relentless. Many of Kit Siang's supporters were disappointed and upset. I am a fan, so that includes me.

Many questions were asked. 'Are you nuts, wanting to sleep with the enemy?' 'Why work with someone who has brought so much pain to you and your family?' 'Are you desperate?'

Some of the criticisms are unfair but understandable.

Thank goodness Mahathir ( left ) declined to work with Kit Siang or the opposition.

If Tun had said yes, there would a consensus ad idem, a situation where two or more persons are said to agree upon the same thing in the same sense. The consequence of that is unimaginable.

The arguments and tussles between Mahathir and Kit Siang, in and out of Parliament, are stuff of legends. They may dislike or hate each other, but as politicians, you can tell they have respect for one another.

But that is not what I would like to talk about here. I am penning this article to tell you the little I know about Kit Siang. To me he is a remarkable man.

Meeting the person

What you hear about Kit Siang being humble and approachable is true. No matter who you are, he will talk to you and you will feel that your views or opinions do matter. I was one of those lucky persons.

Let me relate to you an experience I had with the man himself. The incident took place in 1995.

I was working as a journalist at The Sun , an English daily. After completing my story from a late assignment, I was hanging around at the Newsdesk waiting for my copy to be cleared by the editors.

My then news editor Robert Ho asked me whether I wanted to tag along with him to meet Kit Siang for a chat.

Being a bachelor at the time, and having to choose between going back to an empty rented room in PJ Old Town and meeting the DAP stalwart himself, it was a no-brainer.

We fetched him and went to somewhere in Petaling Jaya for dinner.

During our conversation it was hard not to notice that Kit Siang was truly disappointed with his party's performance at the general election. He was a sad man.

The party won only nine parliamentary seats, down from 20 it managed in 1990. Some said he was so devastated that he was thinking about retiring from active politics.

But he was still raring to go. For him the struggle must continue.

See him, engage him

What came next during our chat surprised me to say the least. Kit Siang asked me whether I had any issues which I would like him to raise in the Parliament.

Being young and somewhat opinionated, I told him the few things close to my heart which needed to be highlighted. He listened to me like I was a veteran journalist.

Then he took some paper napkins from the table and started writing on them.

Some weeks later in Parliamnent, true enough, Kit Siang brought up some of those issues. No doubt I was thinking that he could have highlighted them anyway, without me having to tell him.

But the thought that he may have referred to those paper napkins when he took the drive to Jalan Parlimen that morning made me feel good, or rather special.

That was 20 years ago. Kit Siang has not retired and I won't bet against him not contesting the next general election.

Kit Siang has the ability to connect with people. Whether it is at coffee- shops in Kuala Lumpur, villages in Miri or shopping centres in Kota Kinabalu, I have seen him mingling with the locals like he was one of them. He was and still is.

He may not agree with you but still, he listens. So if you don't agree with him, tell him so. Send him an e-mail. Text him. If you see him anywhere in public, engage him.

You can also ask what prompted him to make the overture to Mahathir.

Sometimes Kit Siang says the wrong thing at the right time and sometimes he says the right thing but at the wrong time. However, they were few and not many would remember them except for his detractors.

Mentor for young 'uns

So lets go beyond all that and look at what he has done for many of us.

In his quest for a just and equitable government, he has experienced the worst. Whatever the bad things you can think of happening to a politician, they have all happened to him.

He was detained twice under the now repealed Internal Security Act (ISA), the first time in 1969 for 18 months and the second time for 17 months during Operasi Lalang in 1987.

He was charged and convicted under Officials Secret Act and must have been suspended at least once from Parliament. Many more I can tell. You name it, he is likely to have gone through it.

 

Kit Siang is now 74 years old. He was first elected as an MP for Bandar Melaka in 1969 and later went on to represent Kota Melaka, Petaling, Tanjong, Ipoh Timur and now Gelang Patah.

He also served as a state assemblyperson for Kubu, Kampong Kolam and Padang Kota. That is one long service record.

How do the current DAP leaders fare compared to Kit Siang?

I am very impressed with the present line-up of DAP leaders. A very good mixture of cool veterans and blazing young guns. Kit Siang has done well in grooming some of them.

But none of them I can see in the mould of Kit Siang. He is one of a kind. He is still the man.

My whole life I have never been a member of a political party. I know I never will.

However, if ever I have to or am "forced" into joining a party for the sake of one person, that person would be none other than YB Lim Kit Siang.

G JEGATHESAN is a member of the Malaysiakini team.