bobjots : redux

It seems that Nat’s own account of his detention has been travelling around the blogosphere. Have a look at the trackbacks his post has received. I was at the press conference this morning and a group of us; including Nat, his father and his sister, proceeded to a nearby Malay restaurant for lunch. As I didn’t have my car with me, Nat offered to give me a ride back to PJ. I was glad I took up his offer as I would have missed one very touching postscript to this whole affair if I had not.

We have heard so much about Nat the political activist, Nat the PKR webmaster, Nat the Anwar Ibrahim aide, Nat the Harvard graduate, et al. Here’s a little personal tale about my experience with Nat the person. Sorry mate, I know you didn’t want me to share this but I felt I just had to.

On our way back to PJ, we took a detour. This detour took us back to the Dang Wangi police district headquarters where Nat was detained throughout his remand. The reason …

As some of you may know, Nat was only given tap water to drink during the initial stages of his detention. While tap water is technically potable, the quality of our tap water over the last few years (come to think of it, its been much longer than just a few years) has been less than desirable. As Nat mentioned in his statement, he spent a lot of the quiet times in the lockup getting to know his fellow detainees.

The side trip to the Dang Wangi police lockup was basically a small “mercy mission” to bring clean, bottled drinking water to the detainees still held there. He did say that most of the detainees he met during his little stint there are probably no longer there but it still was something that he felt he ought to do in view of his own experience.

Now, I would agree that a good percentage of the detainees are probably held there for justifiable causes. Nonetheless, Nat’s action reminded me that they are still human beings; someone’s father, or son, or brother. If I were honest with myself, I doubt I would have wanted to even go near that place after having been unjustly detained. This small act of kindness does more to acknowledge and appreciate their humanity than any amount of political rhetoric (or the lack thereof) that I’ve seen to date.

I guess there’s still a lot for me to learn. I am humbled.

For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.

Matthew 25:35-36