I was introduced to Aravindan Balakrishnan (known as Ara) in London in autumn 1968 by my cousin who previously met Ara at a students' sit-in at the London School of Economics (LSE) at the height of students' rebellion in Paris, London and the anti-Vietnam war movement that was gripping the West.
Ara, a Singaporean of Indian descent, was a student at University of Singapore from about 1959-60 to 1962-63 and a member of the university socialist club. He graduated with a general degree which was a great disappointment to his family. He enrolled as a student at the LSE in about 1963-64 to study for a better degree but he did not complete his studies.
He got involved in political activities amongst Malaysians and Singaporeans in London, in particular the students' community. In the mid-1960s he took over the leadership of Pemuda Socialist Malaya, a small group of like-minded, mainly intellectual, Malaysians and Singaporeans in London. Within a few years he had the self-delusion that he was a revolutionary leader and began to reveal his extreme megalomaniac, control freak and authoritarian characteristics.
I would like to make it clear that the Malaysians and Singaporeans involved in progressive politics in London in the 1960s and 1970s were patriotic, well-meaning people with a strong sense of social justice who wished to make use of their stay in the UK to gain political knowledge to contribute to turning their newly independent country from a racially oriented quasi police state governed by a corrupt elite into a non-racial, just, truly democratic society where everyone has equal access to opportunities irrespective of their race and social background. These people were not left-wing extremists as portrayed by the ruling parties of Malaysia and Singapore, except for the likes of Ara.
The Daily Telegraph, reported (Nov 26, 2013) that an organisation named MASS Forum, of which many Malaysian and Singaporean students, including Ara, were members and supporters, was one of the more extremist Maoists groups in London. This is totally incorrect. MASS Forum, formerly Malaya Forum dating back to the late 1940s, was a progressive political forum committed to champion peoples' democratic rights. Many of students associated with MASS Forum in the 1960s and 1970s returned to their countries and made immense contributions to their communities.
Draconian restrictions
Ara, a Singaporean of Indian descent, was a student at University of Singapore from about 1959-60 to 1962-63 and a member of the university socialist club. He graduated with a general degree which was a great disappointment to his family. He enrolled as a student at the LSE in about 1963-64 to study for a better degree but he did not complete his studies.
He got involved in political activities amongst Malaysians and Singaporeans in London, in particular the students' community. In the mid-1960s he took over the leadership of Pemuda Socialist Malaya, a small group of like-minded, mainly intellectual, Malaysians and Singaporeans in London. Within a few years he had the self-delusion that he was a revolutionary leader and began to reveal his extreme megalomaniac, control freak and authoritarian characteristics.
I would like to make it clear that the Malaysians and Singaporeans involved in progressive politics in London in the 1960s and 1970s were patriotic, well-meaning people with a strong sense of social justice who wished to make use of their stay in the UK to gain political knowledge to contribute to turning their newly independent country from a racially oriented quasi police state governed by a corrupt elite into a non-racial, just, truly democratic society where everyone has equal access to opportunities irrespective of their race and social background. These people were not left-wing extremists as portrayed by the ruling parties of Malaysia and Singapore, except for the likes of Ara.
The Daily Telegraph, reported (Nov 26, 2013) that an organisation named MASS Forum, of which many Malaysian and Singaporean students, including Ara, were members and supporters, was one of the more extremist Maoists groups in London. This is totally incorrect. MASS Forum, formerly Malaya Forum dating back to the late 1940s, was a progressive political forum committed to champion peoples' democratic rights. Many of students associated with MASS Forum in the 1960s and 1970s returned to their countries and made immense contributions to their communities.
Draconian restrictions
I decided to go to the UK, on graduating from the University of Malaya, in 1968 to widen my intellectual horizons through reading books that I was prevented from reading because of censorship and the banning of books that the authorities deemed to be subversive. This was not uncommon amongst the youth of Malaysia who were craving for political consciousness.
The background to this in my case was that as a student activist I visited the UK and USA and experienced at first hand the huge difference between the freedom of the students in the West to read anything they wished, to participate in the political processes, compared to the draconian restrictions on students in Malaysia and Singapore where students' political clubs are illegal, books are subject to censorship, licences are required (and often not given) to produce newsletters, public gatherings of more than five individuals are illegal unless police permits are obtained, etc.
I did not plan to emigrate. My intention, like most politically active Malaysian students, was to spend a few years working and studying in the UK and then return to Malaysia to get involved in politics within the opposition, as I was opposed to the racial politics of the Alliance (now known as the Barisan National), the ruling coalition of the United Malay National Organisation (Umno), the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). Events, which are not the subject of this article, resulted in me remaining in the UK.
My interest in politics stems from the inequalities of opportunities, education, and income amongst Malaysians, the corruption and abuse of powers by the ruling elite, and the practice of racial politics by the political parties of the ruling coalition. All these social injustices were staring me in my face.
Within months of arriving in the UK I was involved in students’ political activities relating to Malaysia following my meeting with progressive students. The May 13, 1969 racial riots in Malaysia that killed thousands (though the government claims a few hundred), sparked off by the extreme wing of Umno because the opposition made gains in the May 1969 elections galvanised the intensity of my involvement.
The aftermath of the riots within the Malaysian community in the UK was a great thirst for knowledge about the real causes of the riots and the alternative to the race-based, corrupt politics of Malaysia.
From May 1969 until early 1972 I devoted all my time outside work (deferring my Chartered Accountancy studies) and gave every penny I earned, apart from what I needed, to what I believed was a patriotic and just cause of exposing the racist, corrupt self-serving ruling parties and seeking alternative socio-economic-political models.
It was from this time that my close involvement with the group of progressive Malaysian and Singaporean students led by Ara began. I worked closely with Ara from mid-1969 to mid-1971 in political study groups, organising seminars, teach-ins and protest movements. Almost everyone who was involved in or supported the group was motivated by reasons similar to mine.
From about mid-1971, Ara began to marginalise me from the group. This culminated in May 1972 when I, together with a few others who were deemed close to me, was "expelled" by Ara from the group. I believe this was because Ara saw that I was a potential threat to his authority. He did not tolerate views that were different from his, dissent and signs of independent thinking, better leadership and assertive characteristics.
Ara's machinations
During the two years that I worked closely with Ara I gained insight into his megalomaniac ways and the methods he used to psychologically manipulate students, who had noble intentions but had no depth of political awareness and who were not street-wise, into submitting to his authority.
Ara's greatest crime is his abuse of the noble intentions of students and the use of his encyclopaedic knowledge of ideological and political issues to further his pathological needs to control and dominate under the self-delusion that he is a revolutionary leader. The methods Ara employs are used by many manipulative politicians including historical figures. These include:
Firstly, he will overwhelm you with his great grasp of knowledge. He is well read with a great memory and a great story teller. This instils in listeners varying degrees of respect.
Secondly, he will use social and appropriate occasions to glean as much private detailed personal information about you other than the information that is generally available. He will use this information to erode your self-esteem, your self-confidence, create self-doubt in your intellectual ability with the aim to turn you to be emotionally dependent on him.
Thirdly, he will weave a different analysis and interpretation of factual events in your life to create an atmosphere of doubt surrounding you.
Fourthly, he will create a deep sense of paranoia and the need for strict security to protect the "leadership" and demand all communication be cut off from friends and family in the name of security.
The group he led began to disintegrate towards the end of 1973 as more and more students saw through Ara's facade and his extremist ideological politics. The last time I saw Ara was in early 1975 when he and his handful of followers attempted to disrupt a meeting at the London University Students Union at Mallet Street attended by amongst others progressive Labour Party MPs to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the detention of political prisoners by the then Singapore prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew.
Ara and his remaining core, of his then common-law Tanzanian wife Chanda Pattni, the most unfortunate Aishah Abdul Wahab and one other individual, were given a humiliating send-off by all present at the meeting. From the recent press reports it appears that Ara departed from the Malaysian and Singaporean political community in London from about 1974 and got involved in the lunatic fringe of the extreme left.
Ara was described in the media as a Maoist and on the extreme of left-wing politics. He is no different from the extremists of Christianity, Zionism and Islam who profess that they are doing the work of Christ, Judaism or the Prophet Muhammad but instead brought death and carnage all over the world.
I have good recollections of Aishah, the 69-year-old Malaysian who was released from the clutches of Ara. Aishah was very kind-hearted with a deep sense of social justice for the under-privileged. Under Ara's evil influence in her early days in London and in pursuit of her idealism she cut herself off from friends and family.
Probably by the time she realised Ara's true nature, she had no one in every sense of the word to go to in the UK, or for that matter in Malaysia.
The background to this in my case was that as a student activist I visited the UK and USA and experienced at first hand the huge difference between the freedom of the students in the West to read anything they wished, to participate in the political processes, compared to the draconian restrictions on students in Malaysia and Singapore where students' political clubs are illegal, books are subject to censorship, licences are required (and often not given) to produce newsletters, public gatherings of more than five individuals are illegal unless police permits are obtained, etc.
I did not plan to emigrate. My intention, like most politically active Malaysian students, was to spend a few years working and studying in the UK and then return to Malaysia to get involved in politics within the opposition, as I was opposed to the racial politics of the Alliance (now known as the Barisan National), the ruling coalition of the United Malay National Organisation (Umno), the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). Events, which are not the subject of this article, resulted in me remaining in the UK.
My interest in politics stems from the inequalities of opportunities, education, and income amongst Malaysians, the corruption and abuse of powers by the ruling elite, and the practice of racial politics by the political parties of the ruling coalition. All these social injustices were staring me in my face.
Within months of arriving in the UK I was involved in students’ political activities relating to Malaysia following my meeting with progressive students. The May 13, 1969 racial riots in Malaysia that killed thousands (though the government claims a few hundred), sparked off by the extreme wing of Umno because the opposition made gains in the May 1969 elections galvanised the intensity of my involvement.The aftermath of the riots within the Malaysian community in the UK was a great thirst for knowledge about the real causes of the riots and the alternative to the race-based, corrupt politics of Malaysia.
From May 1969 until early 1972 I devoted all my time outside work (deferring my Chartered Accountancy studies) and gave every penny I earned, apart from what I needed, to what I believed was a patriotic and just cause of exposing the racist, corrupt self-serving ruling parties and seeking alternative socio-economic-political models.
It was from this time that my close involvement with the group of progressive Malaysian and Singaporean students led by Ara began. I worked closely with Ara from mid-1969 to mid-1971 in political study groups, organising seminars, teach-ins and protest movements. Almost everyone who was involved in or supported the group was motivated by reasons similar to mine.
From about mid-1971, Ara began to marginalise me from the group. This culminated in May 1972 when I, together with a few others who were deemed close to me, was "expelled" by Ara from the group. I believe this was because Ara saw that I was a potential threat to his authority. He did not tolerate views that were different from his, dissent and signs of independent thinking, better leadership and assertive characteristics.
Ara's machinations
During the two years that I worked closely with Ara I gained insight into his megalomaniac ways and the methods he used to psychologically manipulate students, who had noble intentions but had no depth of political awareness and who were not street-wise, into submitting to his authority.
Ara's greatest crime is his abuse of the noble intentions of students and the use of his encyclopaedic knowledge of ideological and political issues to further his pathological needs to control and dominate under the self-delusion that he is a revolutionary leader. The methods Ara employs are used by many manipulative politicians including historical figures. These include:
Firstly, he will overwhelm you with his great grasp of knowledge. He is well read with a great memory and a great story teller. This instils in listeners varying degrees of respect.
Secondly, he will use social and appropriate occasions to glean as much private detailed personal information about you other than the information that is generally available. He will use this information to erode your self-esteem, your self-confidence, create self-doubt in your intellectual ability with the aim to turn you to be emotionally dependent on him.
Thirdly, he will weave a different analysis and interpretation of factual events in your life to create an atmosphere of doubt surrounding you.
Fourthly, he will create a deep sense of paranoia and the need for strict security to protect the "leadership" and demand all communication be cut off from friends and family in the name of security.
The group he led began to disintegrate towards the end of 1973 as more and more students saw through Ara's facade and his extremist ideological politics. The last time I saw Ara was in early 1975 when he and his handful of followers attempted to disrupt a meeting at the London University Students Union at Mallet Street attended by amongst others progressive Labour Party MPs to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the detention of political prisoners by the then Singapore prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew.
Ara and his remaining core, of his then common-law Tanzanian wife Chanda Pattni, the most unfortunate Aishah Abdul Wahab and one other individual, were given a humiliating send-off by all present at the meeting. From the recent press reports it appears that Ara departed from the Malaysian and Singaporean political community in London from about 1974 and got involved in the lunatic fringe of the extreme left.Ara was described in the media as a Maoist and on the extreme of left-wing politics. He is no different from the extremists of Christianity, Zionism and Islam who profess that they are doing the work of Christ, Judaism or the Prophet Muhammad but instead brought death and carnage all over the world.
I have good recollections of Aishah, the 69-year-old Malaysian who was released from the clutches of Ara. Aishah was very kind-hearted with a deep sense of social justice for the under-privileged. Under Ara's evil influence in her early days in London and in pursuit of her idealism she cut herself off from friends and family.
Probably by the time she realised Ara's true nature, she had no one in every sense of the word to go to in the UK, or for that matter in Malaysia.
STEPHEN CHANG, a 68 years old retired chartered accountant, was a political activist when he was an undergraduate at the University of Malaya and while he was studying in London in the mid-1960s and early 1970s.
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