Students must not allow Opposition to use them

                       AS students of a private university, my fellow students and I are appalled at the behaviour of a
                       group who demonstrated outside Dewan Tunku Cancellor, Universiti Malaya, at an event where
                       Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was delivering a lecture in
                       conjunction with UM's 50th anniversary.

                       While I respect freedom of speech and expression in this country, I am totally displeased with the
                       way those students, who claim to represent the two student bodies, acted while seeking to air
                       their grouses with the Government.

                       If the intention was to embarrass Abdullah in front of other leaders and dignitaries, then they failed
                       miserably for he had bravely confronted them with a firmness of a leader, yet retaining his fatherly
                       nature by hearing out the protesters.

                       I salute Abdullah for not falling into the trap set by the protesters. In meeting them face to face he
                       has proven that the Government is always willing to listen to whatever complaints students have
                       and is not high-handed in dealing with their issues.

                       Abdullah's promise to look into their memoranda reflects his caring and easygoing leadership.

                       Among the demands contained in the two memoranda are the abolition of the Internal Security
                       Act, review of the Universities and University Colleges Act, urging the Government to continue its
                       anti-Israel policy, pressing the Anti-Corruption Agency to prosecute a Cabinet Minister for
                       corruption and calling for the setting up of a royal commission to investigate into the alleged
                       poisoning of former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

                       The demands all seem to be rather noble, justified and well-intended with the underlying cause of
                       fighting for justice and upholding the truth, something which is universal and not peculiar to the
                       protesters.

                       What bothers us is that the manner these demands are put forward for the Government's attention
                       is similar to that of opposition parties.

                       The handing over of the memoranda and unruly street protests seem to be the culture that the
                       Opposition is trying introduce into our society and, sad to say, those students who took to the
                       streets on Friday are acting in tandem with the Opposition's tactics and strategies to undermine
                       the peace and stability of this country.

                       Before they go on any further with their fiery brand of fighting for their so-called noble causes, I
                       advise them to ponder on the students' reformasi movement that has brought so much misery and
                       suffering to the people in Indonesia.

                       They succeeded in forcing Indonesian president Suharto to step down but at the same time the
                       reformasi group unwittingly sold out their country to the foreigners.

                       Now we see the foreigners, especially the Americans, practically have a say in every
                       decision-making of the Government, in matters concerning the economy and politics.

                       Every law passed and regulation made in Indonesia must take into consideration the interest of
                       the United States, if not the Bills will not see the light of day.

                       The once proud bangsa Indonesia has lost its pride and fighting spirit and has become subservient
                       to the United States and western interests, all because the students wanted change. Eventually,
                       change is what they got - for the worse!

                       Indonesia can no longer say "No" to the US and we see that the real benefactor of the reformasi
                       is America and foreign firms. The Malaysian National Council of Students and the Peninsular
                       Malaysia Muslim Students' Association should really look into their hearts and souls whether
                       what they did was only for their benefit and vested agenda or were they truly thinking of the
                       nation's wellbeing and safety?

                       The Indonesian students too wanted to uphold justice and truth. In the end what they got was
                       mayhem, destruction and chaos.

                       Are our students willing to be blamed by the present and future generations for repeating the
                       same mistake as their counterparts in Indonesia?

                       It is indeed unfortunate if these student bodies allow themselves to be used by the Opposition for
                       their own political agenda.

                       While it is generally accepted that students represent a unique and important section of society in
                       terms of their enthusiasm and burning desire in the fight for justice and truth, it does not, however,
                       mean the fighting spirit must always be translated into an anti-Government or anti-establishment
                       outlook.

                       Student bodies hold a heavy responsibility of being the eyes and ears in a system of governance
                       where they provide a check and balance mechanism to prevent the occurrence of abuses and
                       mismanagement in a government.

                       This noble duty must be carried out in the full knowledge that the fate and destiny of a nation rest
                       on their shoulders.

                       Should an incident like that at the UM happen, then certainly the students must reassess their true
                       role in society.

                       There should also be paradigm shift in the mindset of our students from being known to society as
                       a group that easily falls prey to the Opposition's ploys to that of a pro-active and progressive
                       entity that acts as the bastion and guardian of society.

                       As fellow students, we urge our brothers-in-arm to move away from the Opposition's sway upon
                       them and take charge of their minds as a truly responsible and committed rakyat of Malaysia.
 

                       H. Sani
                       Petaling Jaya