Chia Thye Poh (born 4 April 1941) is a Singaporean former politician. A former member of the

Barisan Sosialis Barisan Sosialis (BS), also known as the Socialist Front, is a defunct left-wing political party in Singapore. It was formed on 29 July 1961 and was officially registered on 13 August 1961 by the leftist faction of the People's Action Party (PA ...

, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Jurong SMC between 1963 and 1966. He was the 4th

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

in 1966. A leftist populist, Chia is most notable for being detained between 1966 and 1989 under the Internal Security Act for allegedly conducting pro-

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

activities against the government, with the intention of causing a

communist revolution A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism. Depending on the type of government, the term socialism can be used to indicate an intermediate stage between ...

. As a result, he was imprisoned for 23 years without

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

and subsequently placed under conditions of

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

, also without trial, for another nine years—in which he was first confined to the island of

Sentosa Sentosa Island ( ), known mononymously as Sentosa, is an island located off the southern coast of Singapore's main island. The island is separated from the main island of Singapore by a channel of water, the Keppel Harbour, and is adjacent to ...

and then subject to restrictions on his place of abode, employment, travel, and exercise of political rights. All restrictions were eventually lifted in 1998. Prior to his detention, he was a teacher, physics lecturer,

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

political activist and a Member of Parliament. Subsequent to it, he was a

doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

student and an

interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

Early life

Born in 1941, he read physics at

Nanyang University Nanyang University () was a private university in Singapore between 1956 and 1980. During its existence, it was Singapore's only private university in the Chinese language. In 1980, Nanyang University was merged with the University of Singapore ...

. Upon graduating, he worked briefly as a secondary school teacher before becoming a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

at his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

Political activism

As a member of the

he was elected member of the Legislative Assembly for Jurong Constituency in 1963, being nominated as the candidate in replacement of a colleague who had been arrested by the

government of Singapore The government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore, Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to consist of the President of Singapore, President and the Executive. Executive authority of Singapore is vested in the Presi ...

. Concurrent with his holding of office, he worked as a university physics professor.

Ban from Malaysia

He was banned permanently from entering

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

in the wake of a political speech he delivered to the

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

division of the Labour Party of Malaysia on 24 April 1966.

Conviction and arrest

In July 1966, he was convicted for publishing a "seditious article" in the Barisan's Chinese-language newspaper. In the same month, he was arrested with 25 others and charged with

unlawful assembly Unlawful assembly is a legal term to describe a group of people with the mutual intent of deliberate disturbance of the peace. If the group is about to start an act of disturbance, it is termed a rout; if the disturbance is commenced, it is then t ...

for his participation in a demonstration against

United States involvement in the Vietnam War United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

that resulted in open confrontation with police. It has been noted that he was active among peace campaigners calling for an end to the US bombing of

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

in the 1960s. In early October 1966, he and eight other Barisan Sosialis MPs

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

ed the Parliament over the decision by the ruling

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...

(PAP) to split from Malaysia. This was part of the Barisan's strategy to protest "undemocratic acts" of the Government, by carrying their struggle against the PAP outside of Parliament. He declared that the means of the struggle would be "street demonstrations, protest meetings, strikes". On 8 October 1966, he led an illegal protest march of 30 supporters to

Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Meeting places of parliament Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * P ...

and handed a letter to the Clerk of the House demanding a general election be held under eight named conditions, with the release of all political detainees and the revocation of all "undemocratic" laws.

Arrest and imprisonment

On 29 October 1966, he and 22 other Barisan Sosialis leaders were arrested pursuant to powers afforded by the Internal Security Act. The official statement released by the Government alleged that Barisan's attempt to arouse a mass struggle outside of parliament was prejudicial to the stability of Singapore. The round of arrests was the second one conducted by the government, including those occurring as part of

Operation Coldstore Operation Coldstore was the code name for a covert anti-communist security operation that took place in Singapore on 2 February 1963, which was then an internally self-governing state within the British Empire. It led to the arrest of 113 peop ...

in 1963. Chia was specifically detained for his role in organising and leading the street procession on 8 October.

Ties with the Communist Party

The other detainees were released eventually after they each signed a document promising to renounce violence and sever ties with the

Communist Party of Malaya The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), officially the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was a Marxist–Leninist and anti-imperialist communist party which was active in British Malaya and later, the modern states of Malaysia and Singapore fro ...

(CPM). However, he refused as he felt that signing such a document would imply that he was affiliated with the CPM and, in his own words: "to renounce violence is to imply you advocated violence before. If I had signed that statement I would not have lived in peace." Thus, in time, and without ever being the subject of an indictment or a criminal trial, he became one of the longest-serving

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

s in the world – with some consequent restrictions upon his

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

remaining in place for a total of more than 32 years subsequent to his initial arrest. The length of his detention has been compared to that of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

, who was imprisoned for a total period longer than 27 years subsequent to his arrest, trial and convictions for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

and other

political crimes In criminology, a political crime or political offence is an offence that prejudices the interests of the state or its government. States may criminalise any behaviour perceived as a threat, real or imagined, to the state's survival, including ...

. He was deprived of Singapore citizenship in February 1968 as he could not produce a birth certificate to substantiate his claim that he was born in Singapore in 1933. He was served with a Banishment Order in August 1968. He remained detained in the Queenstown Remand Prison "awaiting deportation" (presumably to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

) until 1976, when the Banishment Order was dropped and he was served with a fresh detention order under the ISA in June that year. During his incarceration, he spent substantial time in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

at the Whitley Road Detention Centre. In late 1978,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

confirmed that he was detained at the Moon Crescent Detention Centre located within the grounds of

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison complex in the namesake district of Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. It is the oldest and largest prison in the country, covering an area of about . Opened in 193 ...

. In 1982, he was moved out of prison and into a series of government

halfway house A halfway house is a type of prison or institute intended to teach (or reteach) the necessary skills for people to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. Halfway houses are typically either state sponsored for those ...

s. In 1985, the government of Singapore asserted that the purpose of his detention related to the allegation that he had been a member of the CPM and suggested that he was therefore willing to participate in anti-Singapore political violence and terrorism.

Release

Confinement

On 17 May 1989, he was released from 23 years of imprisonment without charge or trial on the mainland, and instead confined to a one-room guardhouse on

where he was required to pay the rent on the pretext that he was then a "free" man. He was also required to purchase and prepare his own food. As he had no money, he was offered a job as the assistant curator under the employ of

Sentosa Development Corporation Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) is a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (Singapore), Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore. Purpose Islands The S ...

. He refused the offer on the understanding that it was a government civil service position in which he might, as a result, be "muzzled" from talking to the media without official permission. Instead, he negotiated an arrangement where he worked as a freelance translator for the

. About that time, he remarked about the circumstances of his continuing detention and the culture of politics in Singapore in general, continuing to criticise the PAP of arrogance and elitism, including ruling with "iron-handed policies".

Reduced restrictions

In 1990, there was some relaxation of the restrictions applying to him. Chia has stated his belief that representations by

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Helmut Kohl Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in the mid-1980s played some part in the Singaporean government's decision to soften its stance in regard to him. In 1992, he was allowed to return to the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or demogr ...

and visit the home of his parents, but was still placed under restrictions on travel, activities and associations. In November 1997, restrictions were further relaxed to an extent that allowed him to accept a fellowship from the Hamburg Foundation of the

German government The Federal Government (, ; abbr. BReg) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the federal level. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. The fundamentals o ...

for politically persecuted persons. He subsequently spent a year in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

studying economics, politics, and German language. He was also permitted to change his address and to seek employment without prior permission of the director of Singapore's Internal Security Department. In August 1998, he underwent a

prostate The prostate is an male accessory gland, accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found in all male mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemica ...

operation in Singapore. In November 1998, it was reported that the source of his income was the work that he performed as a freelance translator. On 27 November 1998, all remaining restrictions were nullified. He thus formally regained rights to make public statements, address public meetings, and participate in political activity. He immediately called upon the Government to repeal the Internal Security Act and expressed his interest in becoming involved in political activity. On 27 November 1998,

issued a public statement that restrictions on "Singapore's longest serving

prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

" had been lifted. Amnesty International considered the announcement to be more than thirty years' overdue.

Since release

In late 2000, he was pursuing a master's degree in

development studies Development studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social science. Development studies is offered as a specialized master's degree in a number of reputed universities around the world. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the ...

at the

Institute of Social Studies An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

and expected to complete those studies and return to Singapore in December of that year. In 2006, the supervision of his PhD thesis through the institute was completed and he has been conferred his doctorate. Longest-Serving Political Prisoner Chia Thye Poh Received Award A March 2008, version of his staff profile at the ISS describes his position as "Project assistant to the project

MPA MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * M ...

Governance Governance is the overall complex system or framework of Process, processes, functions, structures, Social norm, rules, Law, laws and Norms (sociology), norms born out of the Interpersonal relationship, relationships, Social interaction, intera ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

". In late 2011, he was awarded the Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award at a public ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. In 2015, he was nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

Writings

*''Transplanted or Endogenized? FDI and Industrial Upgrading in Developing Countries. Case study of Indonesia'' (2006), Shaker Publishing

References

External links

Singapore's gentle revolutionary

* See pp. 2–3.
Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs press statement of 26 November 1998

Amnesty International statement of 27 November 1998
*
November 1990 face images of Chia Thye Poh

November 1990 images of Chia Thye Poh in his room

November 1990 image of Chia Thye Poh waving to tourists

Interview with Chia Thye Poh

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chia, Thye Poh 1941 births Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Singapore Barisan Sosialis politicians Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni Academic staff of Erasmus University Rotterdam Living people Members of the Dewan Rakyat Members of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore Members of the Parliament of Singapore Nanyang University alumni Singaporean politicians of Chinese descent Singaporean prisoners and detainees Singaporean socialists University of Hamburg alumni