Open Letter to Chee Soon Juan

#readerscontribution

Dear Dr Chee,

I saw the  video you made with your family. I struggled over the last week with the question whether you are really a changed man and in the end, I decided to mind my own business and let sleeping dogs lie. I am not interested in your politics. I am also not interested in the confrontational brand of political activism you employed in the past although I did disapprove of your  tendency to do these things to court foreign media attention during international events in Singapore.

What I am concerned about is more personal. You see, I know what you have done to Chih Mei in the past.  The first time I heard about your beating her during your hunger strike after being dismissed from your uni job, I was shocked and just could not believe it.  I was even more appalled to learn that it was not the first time you had laid your hands on her. I left it at that wanting to believe that you must have been under tremendous pressure at that time. After all Chih Mei forgave you each time you come back remorseful.

Some years later, I learnt again of your mistreatment of Chih Mei.  Even when she had a miscarriage and was depressed after returning from KL after her D&C, you could not control your temper and beat her. And when you learnt that she confided in her friend, MT, you exploded and beat her again.

I really don’t know how Chih Mei puts up with you all these years. The tears she must have cried in silence. I asked God how can a man be so heartless and brutish. Your mum and sister may forgive you. So too has Chih Mei because she is a devoted, Chinese woman who is a loyal wife and a doting mother. Family is everything to her especially the girls and the little boy – her children are her everything. For that, she would sacrifice all and suffer in silence.

Today I saw a media article on another candidate called Luke and it reminded me of you. Once again, strong feelings of disgust and anger rose in me that dishonourable   men like you who beat your wives can put up such a hypocritical show for the world. I asked myself whether Singaporeans need to know.  This is not about your politics, it is about who you are as a human being. But who you are as a person must be directly relevant to the public office you seek to attain because it rests on the trust of so many people who you are seeking support from. You should be honourable and come clean by yourself and not be exposed.  

I really do hope you are a changed man. And that you are not the same monster who repay a loyal wife and devoted mother of your children with cruelty and unkindness, that you are not the same closet wife beater  I know of from the past.

I hope you are changed and that you will do the right thing and be a real man, a gentleman like how you want to the public to see you before you are exposed.

From: Someone who  despises men who beat their wives.