Why I Left MSD, MINDEF (Part 2)

Dedicated to Low Geok Seng, My Nephew--A Victim Of Governmental Paranoia

"At the Washington Summit in 1987, U.S. president Ronald Reagan and Soviet Communist Party general secretary Michael Gorbachev worked out the terms of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, for the first time agreeing to destroy a category of nuclear weapons. In May 1988, at the Moscow summit, the Soviet Communist Party general secretary and the U.S. president finally signed the INF Treaty and resolved a considerable range of remaining Cold War-related regional conflicts. The Cold War began to recede, and with it the threat of humanity-destroying nuclear war."

[Source: Timelines of the 20th Century (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1996) by David Brownstone and Irene Franck]

In 1976, I had a personal encounter with the kind of so-called "threats" posed by alleged "Communists" (who were famously arrested and detained in a massive ISD operation in 1963 under the codename Operation cold Store).

I was working in the Registry of Military Security Department (Ministry of Defence) at that time. As a clerical officer, I read regular reports from secret operatives on their targets (suspected "Communists" in the SAF).

One day, I came across a disturbing Secret report which listed the name of one of my nephews (Low Geok Seng) as one of a few suspected "Communists". I was shocked. I knew then that I could no longer continue to work for MSD. That was one of the major reasons why I decided to resign from MSD, after working for the department for about 10 months (between Dec 1975 and Oct 1976). (I had already disclosed my other major reason for leaving MSD in my other postings in this blog and in other related blogs : see http://wholecity.blogspot.com/; and http://pre-implantationdays.blogpot.com/.)

After leaving MSD, I learnt that my nephew was arrested and detained by the PAP Government for his "Communist" activities. I later found out that he was probably also tortured by the ISD agents or officers to extract information (and a confession?) from him.

Low Geok Seng was eventually released by the PAP Government. I did not have any contact with him before or after his arrest and detention--and also for quite a long time after his release.

Today, Low Geok Seng's mother, my eldest half-sister Tan Kim Kee (or Ah Kee, as we like to call her), lives with his other surviving son, Low Geok Ann, together with her husband (Low Ah Gong) in a rented HDB flat at Jalan Berseh. She has a married daughter, Low Geok Kwee, and another (deceased) son, Low Geok Leong.

Low Geok Seng, who is married with children, now owns and manages a shop selling souvenirs to foreigners and tourists and regularly supports his mother financially.

Was Low Geok Seng a Communist? I have yet to hear him tell me about his days of being tortured by ISD officers or agents during his detention. Was he a victim of the government's paranoia during the Cold War era?