In memorial, Irene Fernandez's fighting spirit lives on

PETALING JAYA: The late Irene Fernandez was immortalised in a moving tribute to her life as an activist who always stood up and never gave up the fight on Wednesday.

More than 200 people -- including family, friends, activists -- turned up at the Council of Churches here in a three-hour memorial which celebrated her 67 years on this earth, spent defending, at great cost to herself, the rights of others, the oppressed and marginalised.

Katrina Jose, Irene's youngest daughter, speaking to the crowd with her father and sister, gave thanks for the "beautiful tribute" which included eulogies, songs, poems and dance.

Katrina showed the last photograph taken of Irene: a 'thumbs up' given with a rosary in hand, even as the woman struggled with her illness in a hospital bed.

"This was last picture I took of mom. She was full of tubes, a pump in her heart. She couldn’t speak."

Katrina said the gesture embodied so much Irene's spirit to "make a point" and "would not be silenced" despite the odds against her.

"I was telling her, ma, you right now just need to rest, people are waiting for you, strangers are sending messages of encouragement, take your time, don't rush it. I also told her, activists around the world who are supporting you and we will keep on the fight. She then gave me a big thumbs up.

"She had tremendous faith in what was true and just, and principles of love," said Katrina.

Katrina said:"it has been an incredible privilege to be her kid. She was the embodiment of so much love. That was the biggest gift you can give anybody is to teach them how to love by teaching them to love openly."

Theresa Chan, Irene's former colleague at the Christian NGO YCW Malaysia, said Irene still lived among those who knew her.

"She taught me to 'see, judge and then act' ... also to make false teeth out of orange peel! She was all play when it came to play, all seriousness when it comes to workshops.”

Chan said to her, everything Irene did was "very real" and from the heart.

"She always told us: you wanna be somebody, if you wanna go somewhere: you better wake up and pay attention, " said Glorene Dass, deputy director of Tenaganita.

Glorene said sometimes she wanted to ask Irene to "stop and take a break" but those were words that were never in the indefatigable woman's vocabulary.

"That’s how and why we saved thousands of lives. Irene was my mentor. She IS my mentor, " she said, holding back tears.

“You are not there to run to… for advice… to brainstorm.. to shout at each other.. and simply sit and laugh...so difficult to do it (our work) without you. (But) you taught us, that.. nothing is impossible.

“We will not stop for one second, when it comes to saving lives, because you laid that strong foundation in us," said Glorene of her inspiration, the "Iron lady"

Speaking about her 12 year court trial after she highlighted conditions of detention camps, Steven Gan, editor of Malaysiakini, called Irene "Malaysia’s Joan of Arc of abused migrant workers."

“Indeed, like Joan of Arc, Irene fought insurmountable odds, in the face of overt oppression. She remained defiant and undefeated until the very end. Her task is not done, it is up to us all now to complete it.”

According to the lawyers who help fight Irene's case, hers was "perhaps" longest criminal court case in Malaysia."

Sivarasa Rasiah and M Puravelan said a total of 310 days was spent in court in a "political trial"

“She told us: fine! We’ll turn this trial into a campaign on free speech and .. speak for migrant workers. And that was what we did," said Sivarasa.

He said Irene "took a threat and turned it into an opportunity" and that was how Irene always was.

PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recounted the days as youth leaders with Irene in Universiti Malaya. He said Irene, despite her strong nature, was "exceedingly kind", even when he was an UMNO minister in the 90s.

"When she was found guilty in court. I was looking forward to having working meetings with her in Sg Buloh prison, " Anwar joked.

Anwar said Irene always refused to talk about her own problems, the trials and tribulations."Pity on others yes, but never of herself”.

Ending with a poem, Anwar said Irene lives on in the hearts of those she loved.“Remember that, you never die Irene”

The memorial also included the sharing of those refugees and migrants she helped.

Rachel, who stayed at the Tenaganita shelter, said Irene helped her when she was "fearful and insecure"

"We have lost a great lady with a heart of gold. How much we miss her can never be told….Thank you so much for all you have done always.”

CARAM Asia director Mohammad Harun Al Rashid said Irene was the person who made him who he was today.

"The first question she asks me when we are eating “What do you want to be in your life”. I replied: want to be like you," he said, adding that Irene then guided him for years to be an activist.

In a video tribute to her called "Defender of People", Pusat KOMAS briefly went through the journey through her life, the organisations she help set up and the lives she touched.

There was also a dance by a Nepali man who expressed how he missed her and songs by a Myanmar group and a woman from the Philippines. The tribute ended with a favourite song of Irene's by Bob Marley "get up, stand up" while candles were lighted.

Irene passed away after succumbing to heart failure on the morning of March 31, 2014.