Edit: An article is published to clarify the identity of parties involved in the occupying action and wish not to be confused among each other. Mistaken Identity
This morning I was shocked by the news of students being assaulted by a group of gangsters last night. It is actually a peaceful protest and demonstration that request for free education which is held at Dataran Merdeka, where students construct tents and make-shift shelters to “occupy” Dataran Merdeka with the hope that the authorities are alert of their request.
Before going into the incident, I would like to state my stand. In my opinion, free education is definitely a good cause to support. Some countries in the Europe, as well as New Zealand, give almost free tertiary education to their citizens. While in Malaysia, we do enjoy free primary and secondary education in government schools. Tertiary education in Malaysia is mainly divided into two types: government subsidized and private funding.
Local universities in Malaysia have their fees subsidized by the government, which let us enjoy one of the lowest tuition fees in the world, while private universities have a wide range of tuition fees, depending on whether it is a local private university or foreign university. Let’s not compare the quality of education provided by these universities and just concentrate of the cost of tertiary education.
Tertiary education is expensive but it is still affordable (almost) because there is a wide range of selection of university and course to fit into your budget range. Furthermore, we have many different scholarships available for bright students to obtain, whether it is from the government, private sectors or even the university itself. So, what about students who cannot afford to study and also unable to secure a scholarship? They have no choice but to give up studying and to work until they have enough money to support their studies, or they opt to get a study loan in hope that they will be able to secure a good pay job to return the debt in the future.
In the need of a study loan, government has setup a public fund to provide a more affordable study loan for students who are in need, which is known as PTPTN. I, myself is able to graduate from my university by the help of PTPTN to cover up the insufficient funds that I faced.
By all means, I’m in support of free education to ease the students, not wanting them to become in debt before even start working. However, free education doesn’t literally means “free” because in economic terms, there’s no free food and someone has to fork out with the money for the cost of free education, which in turns, the money will be coming from the government (the people). Students need to be nature and independent enough to withhold the responsibility of being a student and not wasting the effort and money spent on them.
Education is not a cheap investment. In order to provide free education for all, the government must have enough money to fund and to sustain it, in hope that these graduates will contribute back into the pool once they start earning. The tuition fees in local universities are cheap enough and with the aid of PTPTN, it is fairly easy for student to graduate with all these financial aids.
Hence it now boils down to the intention of the students to have such protest. If they are requesting free education for future generations and students, then it is a good move. However, if they protest in the hope by abolishing PTPTN, they are not required to pay for their study loan, then, it is over the line.
One must understand that, once you signed the loan agreement, you are obliged to fulfill your role as a debtor and repay your loan once you are required to do so. The real motive of students demanding to abolish PTPTN is questionable whether they want it for the benefits of future students or just merely themselves. Anyhow, they carried it out with a good intention and in a proper manner where they did not threaten the safety and security of the community and all they want to do is to convey a message to the public and will be dismissed after some time I believe.
The authorities tried all sorts of method in the attempt to dismiss the students. They tried negotiating with the student heads and even dismantling the tents erected by the students. However, the students still remain strong and insist that it is their right for freedom of assembly and freedom of speech as honoured by the constitution.
This peaceful “occupy” activity comes to an end when the students were assaulted by a group of gangsters during the midnight. The motives and origins of these gangsters are yet to be identified, but the bigger question is, why are they allowed to do so under the eyes of the authorities? Have they no respect to the law and to the authorities and the public that are present at the scene? They came in a huge group and hence they have no fear for anyone. They destroyed all the tents at the scene and barbarically beat up students and people who tried to stop them.
More ironically is, they are doing this under the nose of the DBKL officers and police officers. These peacekeepers that are supposed safeguard the citizens literally stand beside and watch the whole event, as reported by many online media. I'm not sure how true is it since i'm not at the scene, but if this is what really happens, then it definitely strikes everyone’s mind.
Why did the police do nothing to stop the violent act?
Are they enjoying the scene while saying “serve you right for not evacuating” as ordered?
Are they too afraid of the huge crowd of approaching gangsters?
Are they not policemen who suppose to protect the citizens?
Are they not taught to handle such situation? OR
Are they ordered not to be involved in it due to some undisclosed reasons?
This is not the first time where police allows gangsterism to occur right in front of them. The previous case of the Anti-Lynas protest in Penang do have similar cases where the police officers just simply allow the gangster to beat up and chase people away, claiming that it is the organizer’s fault first who did not apply for a permit to have an assembly, hence they will not be responsible for any consequences of that. This is utterly bullshit I would say, it’s like your parents told you not to run but you end up falling on the ground and injured and then refuses to give you treatment by saying “I told you so..”?? Or a doctor telling you that you cannot take sweet food/sugar and then refuses to cure you when you are diagnosed with diabetes? Saving a murderer’s life is still a doctor’s job even thou he took another human’s life. It’s not whether they deserve it or not, it’s about the job and duty you possess. Once you are wearing the uniform, then you are responsible of the safety of the public.
It’s the doctor’s job to save people’s life regardless of their background; it’s the parent’s duty to bring up and protect their kids no matter how naughty they are; It’s the politician’s job to serve the people regardless he/she supports you or not; it’s the police’s duty to protect citizens whether they obliged to the law or not.
Let’s take an example. The police told our ministers/VIP not to go some places, but the minister/VIP insists that he wants to go. So, he got assaulted by people during the visit and what will the police do then? Will the police stand aside and say “I told you so!” “I’m afraid of the assaulter!”
OR
The police will fight the assaulter and protect the minister and then arrest the assaulter back to the police station? Try imagine this with our prime minister then I guess the answer is pretty obvious then. So, why the police officers did not take any action during the assault? Is it double standard? Their job is to protect VIP, not normal civilians? Or they are some other reasons? We don’t know, and never know.
So here comes the million dollar question.
Q: What is the role of a student?
A: Of course to study.
Q: Then what are they doing protesting at the middle of the night, not spending their time on their desk studying?
A: Because they want to study..
Q: What nonsense? They should be at their rooms sleeping or studying then!
A: Because they want to study, that’s why they are out there protesting. They want to fight for the rights of free education. Even though they know it might fall on deaf ears, but they hope to bring the message to the government, that they want free education, because they want to study. They do not want do drop out from school because they cannot afford to attend it, and end up being like the gangsters that beat them up.
It’s very sad to see that such incident can occur in our country, a so called civilize country where we always heard that Malaysians are very friendly and well mannered. Yes, we are, majority of us. But there are still some people who are above the law, and manipulating people for their own benefit.
In this incident, the students are just expressing their thoughts and exercising their rights, maybe in fault of wrong method but generally still innocent. The gangsters are just doing their job as instructed by their “superior”, in fault for assaulted, but not initiating, cannot be totally blamed for it even thou they take up most of the guilt. The authorities are totally in fault for not able to control the incident, and not even putting effort to curb the situation. Last but not least, the mastermind behind this assault, which I believe will be very difficult to find out who’s the one giving instructions to the hooligans and barbarians.
Overall, I’m disappointed that such incident could happen to innocent students and the gangsters are allowed to behave at such a manner. I’m condemning the authorities for not able to contain the situation with swift action and allow it to happen just under their noses. The real culprit, will still be the one who give orders to the hooligans to initiate the attack.
This morning I was shocked by the news of students being assaulted by a group of gangsters last night. It is actually a peaceful protest and demonstration that request for free education which is held at Dataran Merdeka, where students construct tents and make-shift shelters to “occupy” Dataran Merdeka with the hope that the authorities are alert of their request.
Before going into the incident, I would like to state my stand. In my opinion, free education is definitely a good cause to support. Some countries in the Europe, as well as New Zealand, give almost free tertiary education to their citizens. While in Malaysia, we do enjoy free primary and secondary education in government schools. Tertiary education in Malaysia is mainly divided into two types: government subsidized and private funding.
Local universities in Malaysia have their fees subsidized by the government, which let us enjoy one of the lowest tuition fees in the world, while private universities have a wide range of tuition fees, depending on whether it is a local private university or foreign university. Let’s not compare the quality of education provided by these universities and just concentrate of the cost of tertiary education.
Tertiary education is expensive but it is still affordable (almost) because there is a wide range of selection of university and course to fit into your budget range. Furthermore, we have many different scholarships available for bright students to obtain, whether it is from the government, private sectors or even the university itself. So, what about students who cannot afford to study and also unable to secure a scholarship? They have no choice but to give up studying and to work until they have enough money to support their studies, or they opt to get a study loan in hope that they will be able to secure a good pay job to return the debt in the future.
In the need of a study loan, government has setup a public fund to provide a more affordable study loan for students who are in need, which is known as PTPTN. I, myself is able to graduate from my university by the help of PTPTN to cover up the insufficient funds that I faced.
By all means, I’m in support of free education to ease the students, not wanting them to become in debt before even start working. However, free education doesn’t literally means “free” because in economic terms, there’s no free food and someone has to fork out with the money for the cost of free education, which in turns, the money will be coming from the government (the people). Students need to be nature and independent enough to withhold the responsibility of being a student and not wasting the effort and money spent on them.
Education is not a cheap investment. In order to provide free education for all, the government must have enough money to fund and to sustain it, in hope that these graduates will contribute back into the pool once they start earning. The tuition fees in local universities are cheap enough and with the aid of PTPTN, it is fairly easy for student to graduate with all these financial aids.
Hence it now boils down to the intention of the students to have such protest. If they are requesting free education for future generations and students, then it is a good move. However, if they protest in the hope by abolishing PTPTN, they are not required to pay for their study loan, then, it is over the line.
One must understand that, once you signed the loan agreement, you are obliged to fulfill your role as a debtor and repay your loan once you are required to do so. The real motive of students demanding to abolish PTPTN is questionable whether they want it for the benefits of future students or just merely themselves. Anyhow, they carried it out with a good intention and in a proper manner where they did not threaten the safety and security of the community and all they want to do is to convey a message to the public and will be dismissed after some time I believe.
The authorities tried all sorts of method in the attempt to dismiss the students. They tried negotiating with the student heads and even dismantling the tents erected by the students. However, the students still remain strong and insist that it is their right for freedom of assembly and freedom of speech as honoured by the constitution.
This peaceful “occupy” activity comes to an end when the students were assaulted by a group of gangsters during the midnight. The motives and origins of these gangsters are yet to be identified, but the bigger question is, why are they allowed to do so under the eyes of the authorities? Have they no respect to the law and to the authorities and the public that are present at the scene? They came in a huge group and hence they have no fear for anyone. They destroyed all the tents at the scene and barbarically beat up students and people who tried to stop them.
More ironically is, they are doing this under the nose of the DBKL officers and police officers. These peacekeepers that are supposed safeguard the citizens literally stand beside and watch the whole event, as reported by many online media. I'm not sure how true is it since i'm not at the scene, but if this is what really happens, then it definitely strikes everyone’s mind.
Why did the police do nothing to stop the violent act?
Are they enjoying the scene while saying “serve you right for not evacuating” as ordered?
Are they too afraid of the huge crowd of approaching gangsters?
Are they not policemen who suppose to protect the citizens?
Are they not taught to handle such situation? OR
Are they ordered not to be involved in it due to some undisclosed reasons?
This is not the first time where police allows gangsterism to occur right in front of them. The previous case of the Anti-Lynas protest in Penang do have similar cases where the police officers just simply allow the gangster to beat up and chase people away, claiming that it is the organizer’s fault first who did not apply for a permit to have an assembly, hence they will not be responsible for any consequences of that. This is utterly bullshit I would say, it’s like your parents told you not to run but you end up falling on the ground and injured and then refuses to give you treatment by saying “I told you so..”?? Or a doctor telling you that you cannot take sweet food/sugar and then refuses to cure you when you are diagnosed with diabetes? Saving a murderer’s life is still a doctor’s job even thou he took another human’s life. It’s not whether they deserve it or not, it’s about the job and duty you possess. Once you are wearing the uniform, then you are responsible of the safety of the public.
It’s the doctor’s job to save people’s life regardless of their background; it’s the parent’s duty to bring up and protect their kids no matter how naughty they are; It’s the politician’s job to serve the people regardless he/she supports you or not; it’s the police’s duty to protect citizens whether they obliged to the law or not.
Let’s take an example. The police told our ministers/VIP not to go some places, but the minister/VIP insists that he wants to go. So, he got assaulted by people during the visit and what will the police do then? Will the police stand aside and say “I told you so!” “I’m afraid of the assaulter!”
OR
The police will fight the assaulter and protect the minister and then arrest the assaulter back to the police station? Try imagine this with our prime minister then I guess the answer is pretty obvious then. So, why the police officers did not take any action during the assault? Is it double standard? Their job is to protect VIP, not normal civilians? Or they are some other reasons? We don’t know, and never know.
So here comes the million dollar question.
Q: What is the role of a student?
A: Of course to study.
Q: Then what are they doing protesting at the middle of the night, not spending their time on their desk studying?
A: Because they want to study..
Q: What nonsense? They should be at their rooms sleeping or studying then!
A: Because they want to study, that’s why they are out there protesting. They want to fight for the rights of free education. Even though they know it might fall on deaf ears, but they hope to bring the message to the government, that they want free education, because they want to study. They do not want do drop out from school because they cannot afford to attend it, and end up being like the gangsters that beat them up.
It’s very sad to see that such incident can occur in our country, a so called civilize country where we always heard that Malaysians are very friendly and well mannered. Yes, we are, majority of us. But there are still some people who are above the law, and manipulating people for their own benefit.
In this incident, the students are just expressing their thoughts and exercising their rights, maybe in fault of wrong method but generally still innocent. The gangsters are just doing their job as instructed by their “superior”, in fault for assaulted, but not initiating, cannot be totally blamed for it even thou they take up most of the guilt. The authorities are totally in fault for not able to control the incident, and not even putting effort to curb the situation. Last but not least, the mastermind behind this assault, which I believe will be very difficult to find out who’s the one giving instructions to the hooligans and barbarians.
Overall, I’m disappointed that such incident could happen to innocent students and the gangsters are allowed to behave at such a manner. I’m condemning the authorities for not able to contain the situation with swift action and allow it to happen just under their noses. The real culprit, will still be the one who give orders to the hooligans to initiate the attack.
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