Kula Flicks Away A Teardrop Of Remembrance On Patto S Death Anniversary

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 DAP stalwart is remembered by his protégé on the 30th death anniversary at a time when morale is not very good in DAP ranks.
From Terence Netto
According to DAP MP for Ipoh Barat, M Kulasegaran, there is nothing like an upsurge of consciousness of a past stalwart of the party like P Patto to rekindle the memory of times past and keep the flame burning.
Kula, as he is popularly called, was in the midst of a visit to a hi-tech plant in Chennai today, when memories of Patto welled up in his mind when he heard the manner of speech of someone who was receiving the DAP delegation which was visiting the plant.
“Coincidentally, I remembered the day as being the 30th death anniversary of Patto and I was struck by how the voice of the man that stirred the memory joined to prevent the occasion from lapsing by,” said Kula in a WhatsApp call to this journalist.
“If there is one thing you will not easily forget about Patto, (it) is his spirited nature. He can always be found thinking of something, some way, some avenue, by which to pursue a political matter,” he elaborated.
“I’m a little chagrined, I did not remember his death anniversary with a little more fanfare than I have done in Chennai, but it’s still good I caught a few moments of reflection on a man who was an unforgettable influence,” he remarked.
Patto died young, at the age of 48, on July 12, 1995 of a heart attack while he was a member of Parliament for Bagan.
He had been a longtime collaborator and right-hand man of former DAP secretary-general Lim Kit Siang.
Kula met Patto in London in 1970 while studying law. He was impressed with the fervour of the ex-teacher and kept the notion of a political career to himself till after he had built up a law practice.
Kula took up his acquaintance with Patto after the latter was detained in Kamunting under Operation Lalang in October 1987.
Frequent trips to Kamunting to visit the Internal Security Act detainees, especially the DAP ones, brought Kula closer to Patto, a man of fiery temper should Kula reveal anything that smacked of back sliding.
A casual disclosure by the young attorney that he was thinking of migrating to Australia elicited an irate outburst from Patto.
Kula dropped the idea and, after Patto died suddenly in 1995, took up the succession and plunged into DAP electoral politics, winning his first contest for Parliament in 1996.
The rest they say is history. - FMT
Terence Netto is a senior journalist and an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

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