— May Chee Chook Ying
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 19, 2012
APRIL 19 — Read that at 3 this morning, the university students and protesters at Dataran Merdeka were attacked by 40-50 thugs. Their tents and supplies were torn down. They were both physically and verbally abused. Some women were kicked in the faces while fast asleep, many injured and one reportedly hospitalised.
No second guesses to whom these thugs are beholden to. Raiding in the middle of the night, at 3am? If they dared to flash the colour of their shirts, why didn’t they justify their actions in broad daylight? This is not the first time our courageous young people have been attacked or needed to seek medical treatment after being attacked. Is “lawlessness” acceptable by the powers-that-be but not peaceful assemblies? This is senseless!
Just yesterday, while having our evening walk, I told my husband, let’s try to go up to KL to buy our young friends some dinner. If I were their age, honestly, I wouldn’t be brave enough to “risk it all”, like what they are doing now, to make their stand. They have a right to be heard. This is supposedly the best democracy in the world. They are the future of the nation. Their dreams today will be the reality of tomorrow. And you bash them in their faces while they assemble peacefully? What were you thinking?
These bravehearts out there at Dataran could be our very own children. I cried when my eldest came back from school one day, knees bloodied, when she was in Standard 1, just staring school. Apparently someone raised the bar as she was about to jump over it during her PE lesson. There were days when she came home with rather short colour pencils when she actually went to school earlier with long ones. I shared this with some of my friends. I was just teaching across the road and could very well have gone there to tell the bully off. My friends told me to hold my horses. My girl needed to fight her own battles. I subscribed to this till my youngest. Some bullies are monsters! They think they need to denigrate you till you fall into depression. They think they “win” when your every dignity is stripped for all to see.
And do you think these bullies actually fight their own battles? Of, course not. They use “hired hands”. Those stupid enough to believe the tales they spin. Those stupid enough to be outraged by the lies they are told. Or in this case at the Dataran, those perhaps paid to do what they do best. Thuggery, and nothing else!
From what I read, the police present stood by, watched and took videos. I try very hard to respect those who are supposed to maintain law and order. I do try. In fact, I do pity them for what they have to resort to, to make ends meet. I think of the amount of money I have to fork out for my kids’ tuition and I ask myself, with their pay, how can their kids pay for these extra lessons? My son used to say that he daren’t tell his friends how much his father’s salary was.
But this is not acceptable. Even if your own beat up a defenceless person into a pulp and you stood by, not doing anything, I think it’s double whammy! You are supposed to protect the public and those students are your public. Their parents pay your salary and are your paymasters. Those thugs are breaking the law. Aren’t you supposed to bring them in? Those police who were on duty at 3 this morning at Dataran must be hauled in themselves! They have been negligent in performing their duty! What if those injured were their own kids? Funny, haha, is it now?
By throwing every obstacle at our young when they try to express themselves peacefully, the powers-that-be, let me tell you this — you are not going to win their hearts or minds. They will be hardened and disillusioned. I just hope, not bitter!
To those bravehearts out there at Dataran: Thank you for being so brave, for trying to make a difference. I do hope your injuries are not too serious and your spirits dampened. Do not let those goons put a stop to your cause. You know you have a right to be heard. You know you are stakeholders in this country, one whose direction you will be responsible for, soon in the near future. Learn, and do not do to others what you do not want to be done to you. Continue to be brave, continue to be positive, continue to fight for others, even if not for yourselves.
Touch your hearts and know that the Almighty is with you every step of the way. The truth will prevail. Justice will see the light of day. Be part of that light that will illuminate the path of this beloved country. One, whose hope rests on you.
May God bless you all and those lovely people who gave birth to you.
//Those police who were on duty at 3 this morning at Dataran must be hauled in themselves! They have been negligent in performing their duty//
What if those paid thugs were actually policemen in plains clothes?
The thugs dare not come out during the daytime because there are just too many tourists with cameras around. They are only brave at night when there are few witnesses.
During the incident, there were just too many on-lookers some wearing yellow Bersih T-shirts. They just stood by and watched and didn’t want to get involved while the students were being bashed up. So why were they there at all?
The police also just stood by and didn’t immediately intervene. So why be there at all?
Day by day the country deteriorates. If Ah Jib Gor likes to walkabout, why doesn’t he just take a stroll down to the Dataran? Indeed, why does he even walk at all?
More than anything else, the bullying is highly dissapointing. Najib and UMNO clearly fails terribly in managing the thinking in their party..
The way this PTPN protestor should be looked at is no different than Occupy Wall Street protestors. Do they have the solution to the real problems? Perhaps not. BUT ITS NOT THEIR JOB TO COME UP WITH THE SOLUTION – THAT IS THE GOVT AND LEADER’S JOB..
What the PTPN protestor got right is there are real problems and real issues and the leaders and govt must be held accountable and forced to fix. In fact these protestors have been incredibly much more contributory to a solution by linking their cause to Tajuddin’s bail-out. Occupy Wall Street have not even been as positive a critic.
These problems are hard BUT it does not even get started to be fix or will ever be fixed if there are Tajuddin bail-outs and ministers can spent millions on ‘intimate arrangement’ while they are stuck with loans and jobs that cannot pay off those loans..
Do not let the powers-that-be institutionalize (condone as a norm in our society) political violence as what they have done with corruption.
There is nothing wrong with the PTPTN loans scheme. This scheme offer to those who wish to apply with lower than the commercial interest rate. The students can apply if they wish but they do not no body will force them. Now let ask the question why then the students protest and use this loan scheme as an issue? The main reason can be found from what the student leader said that they will repay the loan if our famous tajuddin also do like wise repay his millions that the government has given him. That the reason. If not only millions but billions can be just wasted in giving out to tajuddin and PKFZ and the latest NFC, for those with power and already rich to investment in condo and etc, why the government can provide free University education to all who are eligible? Then the main issue that these students are asking the present government to give them an answer.
Instead of understanding why the students protest about, the higher education minister ask the stupidly that the students if not happy just rerun the loans. It is the issue of PTPTN loans at faults, it was they way that the government has conduct it financial management. To the students they believe the government can provide free education up to U level is they did not corrupt our money. That the main issue.
Who were the ‘thugs’ ? What was their motive in wanting to get rid of the student protesters? Were they given incentives for doing so? Who gave the orders? Were they doing it just for ‘fun’ ?
This incident reminds me of the similarities with another tragic case involving two henchmen who had no motive.
Sad very sad that thugs are bullying openly with police standing doing nothing…until someone get seriously injured.
It is some sort of message the police is giving…..you break the law….accept the consequences?
Two wrongs do not make one right.
It seems Najib is suffering from blindness and deafness these days.
The protectors have much to be admired!
They took the blows with no angers.
That will be our freedom attitudes….disobedience without violence.
Always remember how Mahathir Gandhi got freedom for Indian against mighty rouges and thieves and bullies.
A very good article why we must deconstruct PTPTN by Praba Ganesan in MI-Opinion “PTPTN: We didn’t start the fire”! It was developed during Haji Datuk Najib as Education Minister under the responsibility of No Dr in the House.
It is just part of the Bigger Scheme of UMNO baru to milk the people’s money and national coffers. It is not their objective to provide more opportunities for tertiary education ( I call it university schooling without standard and national objectives ). It is a scam and con. It is the beginning of the rot and down slide of the Education and Human Resource Training Development and standard in Malaysia!
I really empathize with those raven hearts who shoulder our responsibilities and fight our common cause to bring “Light and Hope to fellow Malaysians”. UBAH! UBAH! BANTAH DUDUK! Jom Bersih 3.0 pada 28hb. April 2012.
BN Government’s failure to act against these cowardly perpetrators translates to only one truth – that they condone and allow this political violence to perpetuate as an effective tool to initimidate and silence the voices of Malaysians.
In doing this, BN Government merely demonstrates that it fails the rakyat and is no longer a people-centric, principle-holding Government. It has lost all grounds in ethics, reliability and accountability and is no longer credible to serve the rakyat.
What happened in dataran merdeka does not initimidate Malaysians who have already been waiting only too long for 28 April 2012 to come by so that this government can be taught a thing or two about people power,
and also why the PROTESTOR was the TIME Person of The Year in 2011 …
The students were lucky none got seriously injured or killed.
TUAN REMPIT MCBULLYS, all of them umnoputras. And Hamba deBullys, the rest of us. Unfortunately orgy time for the former is ending soon.
Hey cintanegara, were you one of those Tuan Rempit McBullys who were there in dataran kicking away?
Those Umno lapdogs in blue uniforms should be hauled in for questioning and fined as they should be for neglecting their national duty to protect the public.Their lackadaisical attitutes and responds towards the incident posed a serious disgrace to the PDRM and the nation as a whole.